Cherry Hand Pies
Hand held cherry pies have a simple pie filling and a buttery crust. They are perfect for the beach or to take on a picnic
Servings: 6 hand pies
Ingredients
For the pie crust:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp xanthum gum
- 22 tbsp butter (2 sticks and 6 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- egg wash (optional)
For the cherry pie filling:
- 3 ½ cups cherries, pitted (3.5 cups is about one bag of cherries)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tbsp water
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the cherry pie filling:
- If you are using fresh cherries, pit the cherries and then place them in a medium sized sauce pan. If you are using frozen cherries, no need to pit them. Once all the cherries are pitted and in the sauce pan, add the maple syrup and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. The cherries will start to soften and become watery
- Make a slurry by combining the arrowroot powder and the water in a small dish and mix. Pour the mixture into the boiling cherries and mix well. The cherries will start to thicken and appear kind of gummy. Once thickened, place the filling in a glass container and chill
For the pie crust:
- In a food processor, combine the almond flour, coconut flour and xanthum gum. Process for a second or two until the flours are mixed
- Cube the butter and place in the food processor. Process until just crumbly and all the butter is no longer in large cubes
- In a bowl, combine the egg, maple syrup and vinegar and then place into the food processor. Process for 3-5 seconds or until everything is just combined. You do not want the dough to form a ball. Stop the processor right before it starts to come together
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of one hour. The dough can sit in the fridge overnight with no problem
To assemble the hand pies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Remove the pie dough from the fridge and roll out between two pieces of parchment paper until about ¼ of an inch thick. Using whatever size round cutter you want (I used the mouth of a glass Pyrex container to form my circles. It was about 4 inches in diameter), cut the desired amount of hand pies making sure to have a top and bottom for each. The size circle I used allowed for six hand pies. You may have more or less depending on the size. Cut out the bottoms and then place on the baking tray.
- Making sure the cherry pie filling is now chilled, place about ¼ cups worth or the desired amount to fill the circles, in the center. Continue with all the pie dough circles. Take a cut out pie dough circle and place on top of the cherry pie filling. I find that keeping the tops very cold allows me to work with them without breaking. Once they are on top of the pie filling, allow them to gently warm up and then press the top and bottom dough together using a fork. Poke one or two holes through the top of the hand pie to allow steam to release during baking. Once all the hand pies have tops and the edges are pressed together, rub with the egg wash (1 yolk with 1 tbsp water), sprinkle some coconut sugar on top (optional) and bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completey. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or eat by themselves. Enjoy!
Notes
-The pie crust is not my recipe. I made some modifications but the credit belongs to Paola of Gnom Gnom. You can find the original recipe here.