Compact and self-contained, the list of reasons to love a hand pie is long. Especially for people who love a well-baked, buttery pie crust. Hand pies know how much pie crust fans love them. Compared to a standard slice of pie, the ratio of crust to filling of a hand pie is excellent. These peach hand pies are best made with ripe, flavor-packed summer fruit. Goat cheese and a kiss of green chili pulls them toward the savory side, while a bit of brown sugar bumps up the sweetness of the peaches. They’re wonderful, and I’m thrilled I have a stack of them in my freezer right now – shaped and filled – ready to bake on a whim. Let’s talk about a few important details, to get them right.
What Makes a Good Hand Pie?
There are really just two main components that need focus: the crust and the filling.
- The crust: This is my ride-or-die all-butter, flaky pie crust. It’s perfect for these hand pies and provides all the flavor and structure you need. Basically, you need a crust that provides structure. If you don’t get that right, you’re in trouble. Be sure to bake your hand pies at high baking temperature until golden and well set. No pale, underbaked hand pies please. Look at the structure and color on this one below, that’s what you’re after.
- The filling: To avoid a soggy hand pie, moisture is a bit of an enemy. Fruit (like peaches) can put off a good amount of it. A bit of moisture (and the flavor that comes with it) is ok, but I like to use a slotted spoon when filling hand pies to leave some of that behind. I also like a filling with strong, balanced flavors.
Hand Pie: Step By Step
Ok, let’s do a quick run through of the major steps before you jump into the recipe.
First thing, roll out the pie dough (below). Go thinner rather than thicker – about 1/8 inch. You can gather any scraps into a ball, re-chill, and keep rolling until you’ve used all your dough.
Stamp out your hand pie shapes. Again, use all of your dough.
If your pie dough (little squares) is getting too warm at this point, arrange the squares on a parchment-lined backing sheets and pop in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. Summer is the most challenging season for handling pie dough. Now, get ready to fill the hand pies, working quickly. Use the egg wash at this point, brushing the edges of the dough, for a good seal.
Fruit first, goat cheese second. (below)
Once the pies are filled, top them, and use a fork around the perimeters for an extra good seal (photo below). This way the pies don’t leak while baking.
Pop the pies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (or longer), before brushing with more egg wash (below), and cutting a few vents in each pie top.
Exciting, you’re almost there. We’re ready to bake! Keep an eagle eye on the baking process and resist the urge to take the hand pies out of the oven too soon. Look for good color and structure. Look at the bottoms of the hand pies, in addition to the tops, in order to gauge where you’re at in the baking process.
Other tips:
Hand pies are best consumed sooner rather than later. A second day hand pie is, likely, a sad, soft hand pie. Although, you might be able to revive one by popping it back in the oven for a few minutes. Quite honestly, you’re better off freezing the pies just after filling and finish the baking process just before you want to enjoy them. This is a long way of saying, bake as many as you think you’ll eat, freeze the rest.
Variations:
- A Lil Bit More Rustic: Swap in a bit of spelt flour when making the pie crust. This recipe calls for 330 g of flour, and I like to swap in 30 g spelt flour.
- Pluot or Plum Hand Pies: Simply swap in whatever stone fruit you have for the peaches.
- Shape: Experiment with different shaped pies. I love hand pies with corners – shaped into squares or triangles. The corners get extra toasty and delicious. But have fun playing around with the shape of your hand pies. Circles are a classic, as are half-moons and crescents.
More Pie Recipes
- Shaker Lemon Pie
- Deep Dish Quiche
- All Butter Flaky Pie Crust
- Vegan Samosa Shepherd’s Pie
- Pumpkin Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Vegetable Pot Pie
- Berry Pie
- Heavenly Chocolate Pie
- Shaker Apple Pie
- all pie recipes
More Peach Recipes
- Peach Salsa
- Green Bean Salad with Peaches
- Peach Cobbler
Continue reading Peach Hand Pies on 101 Cookbooks
