Blueberry Hand Pies

Friends! I had the pleasure of teaching some Momma's and the their kids how to make blueberry hand pies! And boy are these hand pies good! It has been such a long time since I've made a pie! I've missed it and I've missed sharing the pies with y'all. So I thought I would share the recipe here with a few modifications. I mean, once you start making hand pies you might as well make all the hand pies, right?

Recipe

Recipe makes approximately 4 hand pies

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
You can make your own pie crust or use store bought. Never made a pie crust? See this post

Filling:
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup sugar of your choice (see tips and tricks below)
4 tablespoons flour
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
optional: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and spices if using. Gently stir together until berries are well coated and everything is combined. Set aside
3. Roll out the pie crust as you would if making a pie (until it's approximately 1/4" thick). Using a cookie cutter or other object (such as a bowl) that is at least 2" in diameter, cut several rounds (or you could cut dough into squares). Place rounds on baking sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Scoop out blueberry filling using a small serving spoon and place in center of each round/square. Once all filling has been placed in pie dough rounds, dip your finger in a bowl of water and run around the bottom edge of the pie dough. gently fold the dough over the filling and gently press the top of dough onto the bottom. Using the water will seal the dough and help it stick together.
4. After sealing all the dough rounds, you can use a fork to decorate the edges.
5. Cut slits in the top of the pie dough to help the hand pies breathe as they bake.
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and the tops are brown. If the mixture is bubbly before the tops are brown, place under a broiler until nice and golden brown. Allow to cool before eating

Tips & Tricks

1. You can substitute any fruit for the the blueberries really. Apples, pears, raspberries, blackberries, mixed berries. And on and on
2. If you don't want to use white sugar, you can substitute most sugars at a one-to-one ratio. If you use a liquid sugar (such as maple syrup, honey, or molasses, you will need to increase your flour by 1 tablespoon per 1/4 cup). Maple Syrup substitutes at a one-to-one ratio as well.
3. You can decorate the top of each pie if you'd like. Just remember that the pie needs to breathe so make sure you cut the slits (and don't cover them with the decorations!)
4. Don't have lemons on hand? That's okay! Use any citrus, lemon juice, or even a citrus extract. Mostly the juice is to keep the fruit from browning before you're ready to fill the pie crust(s), but it also helps bring out the flavors of the berries.
5. Dress up your hand pies by throwing in some lavender or making your own syrups and using those instead of sugar. So many possibilities!
6. This recipe easily doubles-use 2 pints of berries, 1/2 cup sugar, 8 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of flour, etc.
7. Want to freeze your hand pies? Just wrap them in plastic wrap or other airtight container once you've finished putting them together. Then when you're ready to bake them, just pull them out of the freezer, unwrap, and bake! Baking time might take a little longer if they're frozen.

That's it friends! So easy! We made these in under 30 minutes today. And really, the sky's the limit when it comes to make hand pies! Let me know if you make the hand pies. I want to see all the pies!

'til next time
-k
xoxo