Strawberry Hand Pies with Roasted Strawberry filling
Strawberry Hand Pies are the perfect early summer treat. Roasting the strawberries for the filling intensifies the flavor. Grab a pie and dig-in, no utensils required!
When strawberries come into season I mostly prefer to eat them out of hand. Here in the northeastern U.S., we get to enjoy local strawberries for just a few short weeks.
Once I get my fill of fresh berries, then it’s the time for shortcakes, tarts, tempura strawberries (yum, more on that in a later post) and pie.
The tips for making the best Strawberry Hand Pies
- A seasonal strawberry is glorious to eat because it’s so juicy. But this is also what makes cooking strawberries in a pie a bit tricky. Put uncooked berries into a pie crust you’ll end up with a soggy crust and a mushy filling.
- This is especially a problem when you’re making hand pies. Hand pies, as the name suggests, need to be sturdy enough to pick up and eat without falling apart in your hands.
- For my Strawberry Hand Pies I wanted a filling that tastes as close to fresh strawberries as possible. My goal was to pre-cook the berries enough to avoid a soggy pie, but not so much that I made strawberry jam.
Hmmm, seems like a little experimentation is in order. You know I’m always looking for an excuse to do another kitchen experiment!
Two easy steps to great strawberry hand pie filling:
- There was no question how I would start the filling – macerate the berries to draw out some of the juice. Macerating helps the berries keep their shape while cooking. I use the same technique for making Peach Pie.
- After macerating I planned to roast the berries because roasting intensifies flavor. But rather than just assume roasting was the way to go, I made the filling two ways to be sure.
- After macerating and draining the juice from the berries, I cooked half the strawberries on the stove top and the other half I roasted in the oven.
- I preferred the filling made with the roasted berries because the flavor was a little more intense and the fruit remained whole rather than breaking down.
Scroll through the process photos to see how to make a great Strawberry Hand Pie:
Cream Cheese Crust is perfect for sturdy hand pies:
The crust for the hand pies has both cream cheese and butter. By mixing in the cream cheese first you’ll coat the flour to help keep the dough tender and by leaving the butter in large flakes you’ll help create flaky layers.
It’s a very easy dough to work with. Of course you can use your favorite pie crust recipe for the hand pies, or you can use puff pastry.
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Strawberry Hand Pie Recipe
Roasting the strawberries for the filling intensifies the strawberry flavor. The roasted berries are wrapped in cream cheese pie dough.
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Ingredients
- 1 recipe Cream Cheese Dough
- 1 pound strawberries (clean and hulled)
- 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 egg ( for egg wash)
Instructions
Prep
- Make1 recipe Cream Cheese Dough at least 2-3 hours ahead of time so it has time to rest.
- Cut 1 pound strawberries in halves or quarters if very large. Toss the berries with 2 oz granulated sugar and allow to macerate for 1 ½-2 hours.
- Roll the dough to ⅛" thick. Use a 3½" biscuit cutter to cut circles. Place the circles onto a parchment lined sheet pan with a sheet of parchment between each layer of circles.
- Piece together the scraps and form them into a disc, re-roll and cut until all the dough is used. Cover and refrigerate the dough rounds while you make the strawberry filling. The dough rounds can be held in the refrigerator for a day or frozen for up to a month. Defrost before using.
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Drain the juice from the berries. Place the drained berries onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes until the berries are nicely browned and fragrant.
- While the strawberries are roasting, pour the drained juice into a small sauce pan with 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juiceWhisk 2 teaspoons corn starch into the juice until there are no lumps (do not heat up the juice before adding the cornstarch!)
- Cook the juice mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil, thickens and becomes translucent. Toss the thickened juices with the roasted berries. Allow the berries to cool completely (you can put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling). The berries can be prepared up to a day ahead.
Assemble and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Whisk 1 egg with a pinch of salt to make an egg wash. Lay 1/2 the chilled dough rounds on your work surface. Brush the rounds with egg wash, making sure to go all the way to the edge of the round. Divide the strawberries among the egg-washed rounds, there should be about a tablespoon per pie.
- Place a top onto each pie, being careful to keep the strawberries in the middle of the dough. Gently pinch together the edges of each pie, making sure they are well sealed. Place filled pies on the prepared baking sheet. Cut vent holes in the top of each pie. Brush each pie with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes. The pies are best the day they are baked but will keep at room temperature for a day or two.
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Great recipe – I will be making these in a few days! I am wondering if I could put them together and freeze them before baking ?
I didn’t try freezing them before baking, but I’m guessing that you could. Let me know how it works if you try it.
We just came back from a nice long walk and I KNEW I should not have clicked on your pinterest photo! Now I need to just have enough self control not to eat the strwberries before putting them in the little pies 🙂 YUM!
Thanks, Wayne. Just buy twice as many strawberries so you can eat and bake with them!
I bet those strawberries just get even more sweet and intense when you roast them. Then you put them in that deliciously flaky crust? YUM!
Thanks, Christie. Yes the flavor intensifies but they still taste fresh.
I can’t wait for strawberry season to begin…can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I belong to a cooperative farm and the season always begins when the strawberries are ready. They taste even better when you have to wait for them.
These look delish! I just made roasted strawberries for the first time this year this is a great!
Thanks, Tammi!
Welcome to Sunday Supper. You came in with a bang–this recipe is fabulous!
Thanks, Kristen.
My fist Sunday Supper post too! These look so awesome, I love roasted strawberries : )
Thanks, Laura!
Welcome Eileen! Your strawberry pies sound amazing!
Thanks, Cindy!
I love love love roasted strawberries. It’s been too long since I’ve made them. Love that you then made hand pies with them!
Thanks, Laura!
These are too adorable and I imagine quite tasty. I have always wanted to make little hand-held pies. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Tracy.
I love fruity hand pies, but have never macerated strawberries before – that seems like it would break them down and make them perfect for a pie like this! I can’t wait to try.
Thanks, Nicole.