Blueberry Hand Pies
I just got back from a few days away in Grand Marais, MN. I spent most of my time next to Lake Superior, walking, reading, writing, eating delicious food, and sipping wine, coffee, and locally-brewed beer. It was glorious. The entire small town hugs the lakeshore, making for the most incredible lake views. It is, hands down, my favorite place in the world. I mean, just look at all of this beauty!
Celebrate the Little Things
Whenever I’m on vacation, I think a lot about celebration — especially taking time to celebrate the little things in life, like a sunny day, a quiet morning, the sound of birds singing, or time spent with loved ones. In the day-to-day of life, I often forget to stop and find something to celebrate. But when I do, my day is always brighter.
Finding something to celebrate every day makes for a fuller, happier life, in my opinion. And while you don’t always need a special treat for those small celebrations, it sure doesn’t hurt to have something tasty to enjoy while you celebrate. 🙂
Something like these Blueberry Hand Pies may seem like a lot of bother for a non-holiday, but they sure do make a dull day much more celebratory. Pie always does, really. And tiny handheld pies are all the more delightful.
Blueberry Hand Pies — Inspiration and Filling
I was lucky enough to go blueberry picking a couple of weeks ago, so I had a wealth of fresh blueberries just waiting to be baked into something delicious. I’ve been wanting to make a blueberry pie for a while now, so naturally I jumped at the chance. And since a pile of small handheld pies is way more fun than one big pie, hand pies were the way to go.
The filling in these pies is an adaptation of Erin McDowell’s Mixed Berry Hand Pie recipe in her cookbook, The Book on Pie. It’s chock full of blueberries, of course, as well as lemon juice and zest, and just a touch of cinnamon. It’s such a simple filling, but oh so tasty.
The biggest trick I’ve learned from reading through Erin’s cookbook is to cook fruit pie fillings before adding them to your pie. Doing so cooks off some of the moisture in the filing, making for a thicker filling and less leakage when you bake, plus it helps keep your crust from getting soggy.
Extra Flaky Crust = Extra Tasty Pie
Another trick I learned from Erin is how to make your pie crust EXTRA flaky. Like, insanely, almost-puff-pastry flaky. And it’s so simple.
To get layers upon layers of flakiness, you simply add a couple of folds into your crust-making process, like so:
- First, mix up your crust, leaving the butter in big, flat chunks about the size of walnut halves. Then chill your dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Then, roll out the dough to about 1/4″ thick and do your first of two folds: fold the dough in half, then in half again. Wrap it back up and pop it in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat the rolling and folding one more time, then chill for at least 30 minutes before using your dough.
And then just roll out your dough as usual. Easy, right? And you end up with insane layers — here’s what my dough looked like before I rolled it out to use it. So many layers!!
Egg Wash, Crimping, and Venting
For these little pies, you’ll need a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter. You’ll cut your dough out just like you would cookies, then place one crust on your parchment-lined cookie sheet and add a scant tablespoon of filling. Then — and this is crucial — you need to brush the edges of the bottom crust with egg wash before adding the top crust. This helps the two halves of your crust to stick together. Finally, crimp the edges with the tines of a fork.
Refrigerate your pies while you preheat the oven (all of the chill time we’re giving the crust throughout this recipe helps keep the butter cold for ultimate flaky crust). Then, before popping them in to bake, brush the tops with more egg wash. The egg wash helps you get that nice, golden brown color that makes a pie look so appetizing. But since your pie edges will brown plenty on their own, you’ll want to keep the egg wash to the center of the pie.
Finally, cut a small “x” in the top of each pie (to allow steam to escape and help prevent your pie filling from exploding out), and sprinkle with coarse sugar for extra sparkle.
Bake until golden brown, cool completely, and enjoy!
Love Fruity Pies? You’ll Love These Other Fruit Pie Recipes
If blueberries aren’t your jam (pun intended), or if you’re looking for a full pie or even a slab pie, I’ve got you covered. Check these recipes out:
- Peach Ginger Pie
- Plum Slab Pie
- Sour Cherry Galette
- Rhubarb Curd Tart
- Mini Rhubarb Galettes
- Rhubarb Custard Pie
- Caramel Apple Galette
- Apple Slab Pie with Chai Spices and Lemon Drizzle
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Blueberry Hand Pies
Equipment
- 3-inch cookie cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Medium saucepan
- 2 half-sheet pans
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
Pastry
- 3 3/4 c flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 T granulated sugar
- 3 sticks (12 oz/24 T) butter, cold, cut into 1/4-in pieces
- 1/2 c ice water
- 1/4 c apple cider vinegar
Blueberry Filling
- 12 oz blueberries
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/4 c granulated sugar
- 2 T corn starch
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- zest of 1/2 lemon
Egg Wash & Topping
- 1 large egg
- 1 T water
- Coarse sanding sugar or Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top, optional
Instructions
Pastry
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Toss in the butter pieces, making sure they're all covered in flour. Using your hands, squeeze the butter pieces into the flour until they are all about the size of walnut halves. Then drizzle in the water and vinegar a little at a time, stirring gently with a fork until the mixture looks like a shaggy mess – ha:) Really though, it won't look very promising at this stage, but don't add more moisture (at least not yet). Gather it all into a ball, pressing gently. At this point, if it won't come together, add more water a tablespoon at a time until it does. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half, then in half again. Re-wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. Repeat this process one more time, then chill for at least 30 minutes more before using. The folding process produces insanely flaky pastry (look at those layers!) — don't skip this step.(Note: You can stop at this point and continue the next day, if desired)
Blueberry Filling
- Combine the blueberries and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the berries begin to break down and get juicy.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Add to the berries and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. The filling should be getting thick at this point. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Put it all together
- Mix up your egg wash by whisking together the egg and water until well-combined. Set aside.
- Line 2 half sheet pans (or cookie sheets) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pie dough to about 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Use a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut circles from the dough. You should get 15-20 circles. (Note: you can re-roll the pie dough scraps to cut more circles, but note that those won't bake up quite as thick and flakey…they'll still be delicious though)Transfer half of the rounds to one of the prepared pans.
- Spoon a little less than 1 T of the pie filling into the center of each round. Using a pastry brush, brush a little egg wash along the edges of each round. Then top with another dough round and seal the edges by crimping with a fork. Repeat with the rest of your dough and filling, then refrigerate the pies while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Once oven is up to temperature, pull the pies out of the refrigerator and brush the tops with egg wash (don't egg wash the edges though — they'll brown up just fine on their own). Sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired, then use a sharp knife to cut an "X" into the top of each pie.
- Bake pies until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.
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