I don't know about you, but my favorite part of pie is the buttery, flaky pie crust. So what's even better than a slice of pie? Mini hand pies!! These cute little heart shaped strawberry hand pies have homemade strawberry filling sandwiched between two layers of my perfect flaky pie crust! They're the perfect Valentine's Day treat!
how to make perfect pie crust
I've included the recipe for my perfect flaky pie crust in this recipe, but I also have a whole blog post dedicated to just pie crust! I break down my 5 main tips for making perfect pie crust and have links to all my favorite products that I use!
If making pie crust intimidates you at all, you need to check it out!!
how to assemble the hand pies
I use a 3 ¼ inch heart cookie cutter* to cut the hand pie circles, but you could make them in a variety of shapes! Almost any shape of cookie cutter will work, just make sure there's at least 3 inches
Don't overfill the hand pies! It's tempting to just load them up with that strawberry sauce, but you want to leave at least ½ inch around the edges so that you can get a good seal.
recipe notes
Since both the pie dough and strawberry filling have to chill, I recommend making them the night before you want to assemble the hand pies. Then the next day you just have to roll out the dough, assemble, and bake!
Both the dough and the filling can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
These strawberry heart shaped hand pies are delicious on their own or with icing, but they're also great with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
If you make these cranberry hand pies, please leave us a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. Happy baking!
Heart Shaped Strawberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold & cut into cubes
- 2 cups pastry flour , substitute all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup water, cold
- 1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
Strawberry Filling
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest, optional
Strawberry Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon strawberry filling
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Note: check out my post all about how to make perfect pie crust for more tips and tricks!
- Cut butter into small cubes and place in the fridge to firm up while you get the rest of your ingredients together.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Add the shortening and combine with your hands (or a pastry cutter) until coarse crumbs form. After the shortening is fully incorporated, add the cold chunks of butter and work them into the dough until you get pea sized crumbs.
- Add in the cold water and combine until dough forms a nice ball but is still slightly sticky.
- Take the formed ball of dough and separate into 2 equal sections and shape into slightly flattened disks (you can keep it all together but I find it's easiest to work with only half the dough at a time). Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This is important to keep the butter from melting so that the crust will be nice and flaky. The chilled dough is also much easier to roll out.
Strawberry Filling
- In a large bowl, smash strawberries with a potato masher until coarsely crushed.
- In a large pot over medium heat, add strawberries, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until thickened.
- Let cool to room temperature and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Make sure the filling is completely chilled before assembling the hand pies.
Hand Pie Assembly
- Note: I like to work with half the dough at a time. So make half of the hand pies then let those chill in the fridge while you make the other half. Then the second batch can chill in the fridge while the first batch is baking.
- Once both the dough and strawberry filling are chilled, preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you may need a second baking sheet).
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll out dough to about ¼ inch thick. Use a 3 ¼ inch heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out hearts of dough (re-roll the scraps 1 time). You should end up with about 30 hearts total.
- Lightly brush egg wash around the outside edge of each heart. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of strawberry filling into the center of half of the hearts then top with the remaining hearts, egg wash side down. Press the edges together and then seal by crimping the edges with a fork.
- Place the hand pies in the fridge to chill 15 minutes before baking.
- Remove from the fridge and light brush the tops with egg wash.
- Bake at 400°F for 18-22 minutes or until the hand pies are golden brown.
Strawberry Icing
- In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until your desired consistency is reached.
- Add in a small amount of the strawberry filling to tint the icing pink.
Notes
Nutrition
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