These cherry hand pies are amazing. Frozen empanada pie dough rounds make these handheld Cherry hand pies quick and easy to prepare. If you’re not a fan of cherry pie filling, you can always use another fruit — or make your own.
The results will be as equally as amazing. I’m usually an advocate of using the store brand when you can to save some money since store brands are usually packaged by one of the leading national brands but in this case, I feel the name brand pie filling works better. The store brand filling I opened tasted the same but honestly had far fewer cherries and twice the amount of “sauce” of the leading national brand.
If you prefer, you can make your own cherry filling. Fresh cherries are quite reasonably priced in season during the summer but note they will need to be pitted prior to use. You don’t need a special Cherry Pitter [paid link] for this task but I will admit that I do have one and it makes quick work of it pitting up to 6 cherries at a time.
That being said, I have to say these simple cherry hand pies have been my favorite dessert over the winter.
Today I’m using frozen Goya empanada wrappers for my pie crust but you could make your own pie dough or even use puff pastry. If you’re like me and are always on a time crunch and can’t make your own pie crust, these empanada wrappers or frozen puff pastry make a great stand-in.
The empanada wrappers are not as sweet as a traditional pie crust but drizzle a little glaze or some finishing sugar and they are perfect. Not too sweet not too savory. Mmmmmm. Pie.
Cherry Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 1 Pkg Frozen Empanada Dough Rounds , thawed
- 21 ounces Cherry Pie Filling
- 1 egg , beaten
- demerara [paid link] sugar , for dusting tops of pastry (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Divide dough in half.
- Top each dough round with 1 tablespoons pie filling onto center of each round.Fold the dough over in half. Press edges firmly together and seal with a fork. Cut 3 small slits in the tops of each pie to release steam while cooking.
- Brush each pie with egg wash and dust with demerara [paid link] sugar for a bakery-style finish.
- Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Serve warm or cool.
- To reheat, place in a preheated oven and heat until crisp and warm.
After your make them can you freeze them if so how to rewarm them
I have not tried this but I’m certain it is possible.
Tried this first with the cherries but also had a can of cinnamon apples on the shelf. Brushed the crust with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar! They were so amazing!
Thanks, Tiffany! So glad you liked it.
I made these for a School bake sale fundraiser for cheerleading and I was the first person sold out for goodies! Next time I will have to make a double batch( (and charge more)!!
Thanks, Emily! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I used Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts. I cut four-inch rounds using a small plastic bowl with a sharp edge. Two pie crusts yield a dozen little rounds. I could have made several more if I had had a rolling pin. I wound up using 3 cherries plus sauce, or 4 cherries without much sauce per round. Since I don’t usually bake, after the egg wash, I sprinkled cinnamon/sugar on the tops and baked them at 350 for 25 minutes. They. Were. Delicious. Light, flaky, cherries in every bite. Will definitely make them again. And I will invest in a rolling pin.
Thanks Julie! That sounds scrumptious _ I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
the empanada wrappers turned out to be perfect especially with the demara sugar sprinkled on top.
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumble upon every day. Thanks for posting.
Hi Strona, thanks for visiting and taking the time to leave a comment. Happy Holidays.