The Essential: Hand Pies

From savory empanadas to pot pies, patties, and pasties, the first hand pies provided a portable and quick meal, satiating appetites for hours. And who could resist a complete meal in edible packaging? Whether it’s potato-and-pea samosas or spinach-and-feta spanakopita, nearly every geographical region in history has offered a savory version of hand pies. Thus, the jump to sweet hand pies was only natural. Though baked sweet pies were likely a concept brought to America by colonists, it’s said that the first sweet fried pie in the US was a beacon of the South. Dating back to 1770, these pies were slitted multiple times for venting and were filled with a popular crab apple filling, duly gaining the nickname of “crab lanterns.” As technologies progressed, hand pies entered commercial production. In the 1920s, Hubig’s Pies became the local pie authority in New Orleans, Louisiana, packaging hand pies in flavors like lemon, apple, and peach and setting the stage for brands like B&G Pies, Hostess, and Drake’s to hit the market in later years.

These convenient treats continue to sweep the nation—and for delicious reason. No matter how you fill it, fry it, or bake it, this treat, rich with culture and history, is versatile and simple to pull together once you get the basic technique. We’ll teach you how to shape, fill, and cook these pockets of deliciousness fora sweet adventure, handheld-style.

Ingredient Review

Here’s how each ingredient does its part to result in the perfect Hand Pie Dough

FLOUR is the base ingredient, lending carbohydrates and proteins that provide structure to dough. Pastry flour is renowned for creating tender pastries, owing to its lower protein content, but for our recipe, we free up shelf space and reduce trips to the store by reaching for a more readily available alternative. All-purpose flour has an intermediate protein level of around 10% to 12% and, with a little care, can achieve perfect results.

FAT ensures flakiness by serving as a spacer between layers of dough. The larger the pieces of fat, the flakier the crust becomes. It also keeps the dough tender by coating the flour proteins. There are several fat options—butter, shortening, lard, and oil—and all lend different results. We chose butter for flavor, and because of its water content, butter makes the flakiest crust. As the butter melts in the oven or when frying, its water content turns to steam. The superheated steam puffs up and separates the layers of dough.

SALT not only boosts flavor but also inhibits gluten formation, leading to a more tender crust. We like kosher salt because it’s not as dense as regular salt and is additive-free. As with any recipe, keep in mind that all salts are not created equal and some salts weigh more than others. We recommend using a scale to measure this ingredient to get the perfect salt ratio every time.

ICE WATER serves as the binder. When mixed with flour, water gives dough the structure it needs to form gluten and hold together. The amount of water you use is critical. Too much and your crust will be too tough. Too little and your crust will be too crumbly. Ice-cold water helps the fat remain cold and solid, giving you a flakier crust.

VINEGAR is an acid, and highly acidic environments are known to inhibit gluten formation. It takes a decent drop in pH to achieve this result, though, and the small amount of vinegar in our Hand Pie Dough won’t significantly restrict gluten formation. In fact, food science dictates that a mildly acidic solution will actually improve gluten structure at a pH of 5 to 6. Science aside, we love the hint of tart flavor and the texture that a splash of vinegar lends. However, this ingredient isn’t crucial for a great crust and can be substituted with water if desired.

Perfecting Hand Pie Dough

We found that using a food processor is not only more efficient, but it keeps the ingredients colder and, therefore, results in a flakier crust. Here’s how to do it right.

Become a Food Processing Pro

1. In the work bowl of a food processor, place flour and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture is crumbly and butter is pea-size, 12 to 15 pulses. What does it mean to be “pea-size”? Look for the largest bits of butter—those should be close to the size of a common pea. The rest of the butter-flour mixture will appear mealy, like coarse-ground cornmeal or grated Parmesan cheese. Be vigilant, as you can over process the mixture and begin to cream it if you are not watching. Once the mixture is overprocessed, you won’t be able to get those ideal lumps of butter back. It’s the chunks of butter that ultimately create the flaky, buttery crust we all know and love.

2. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup (120 grams) cold water and vinegar. With processor running, add vinegar mixture to flour mixture in a slow, steady stream just until dough comes together.

3. Mixture will look crumbly, but it should stick together when squeezed between your fingers. This crumbly dough may appear a bit messy, but this hydration level is ideal to limit gluten formation. Flour, depending on how it was processed and where it is stored, will absorb liquids at different rates. We control the hydration factor by adding the vinegar mixture just until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the food processor bowl. Once this happens, you can discard any additional liquid that you did not use—you won’t need it.

4. Turn out dough. Divide in half, and shape each half into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Over time, dough can develop a slight gray tinge due to oxidation. The addition of vinegar in the dough helps to slow this process, keeping your dough closer to its original color during storage.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

When we talk about protein in flour, the conversation often leads to gluten, but through a magnified lens, there are actually two proteins that add to the story. In short, these are called glutenin and gliadin. As these two proteins encounter liquid, they bond together, forming the protein complex that gives stretch to dough and creates flaky pastries. This complex is called gluten. Now, the more dough is handled, the stronger the gluten network becomes, and molecules align to create elasticity. With bread, working the dough extensively develops this gluten network, which captures gases, creates rise, and lends the airy crumb and undeniable chewy texture. For pastry, however, we need just enough gluten to hold the delicate pastry together, but not so much that we get a chewy, tough dough. Thus, choosing flour with an intermediate protein content and limiting how much the dough is worked is one simple method that leads to tender, flaky pastries.

The Filling Station

ROLLING

For a perfect proportion of dough to filling, roll the dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Reroll scraps only once to avoid overworking the dough, which creates a dough with tough texture. Tasty tip: hold on to your scraps. You can toss them in cinnamon sugar and then bake them for a pastry cookie-like treat.

SHAPING

Cut the dough into desired shapes using a biscuit cutter, paring knife, pizza cutter, cookie cutter, or the rim of a glass. Remember, for each hand pie, you’ll need two cutouts—a bottom and a top. For the Baked Strawberry & Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Hand Pies, we found that cutting the tops slightly larger than the bottoms allowed more room for filling. For the Baked Lemon Curd Hand Pies, gently stretch the top rounds before placing over the filling.

FILLING

The filling for hand pies is extremely versatile—think fresh fruits, jammy preserves, mini marshmallows, chocolate, and even savory options like cheeses, veggies, and meats. Because fillings can melt or congeal differently, we’ve designed our recipes with the perfect amount of filling, so for ensured success, follow the amounts exactly. You’ll also note that the recipes call for leaving a ½-inch border around your filling. This allows for topping with your second piece of dough and crimping.

CRIMPING

Before topping hand pies, lightly brush the edges of the bottom dough with egg wash around the filling. This acts as the glue that will make sure the hand pies stay closed during cooking. Press edges tightly together to seal, pushing air out from center of pies. Then, using the tines of a fork, firmly but gently (don’t break through the dough) press around the edges of the hand pie to seal completely. A note on fried hand pies: take care to press out any air between the top and bottom dough before sealing. Trapped air could cause the pies to awkwardly buoy and cook unevenly in the oil.

CHILLING

After assembling, freeze your hand pies for 30 minutes to 1 hour to firm up the butter and increase the flakiness factor. You can also assemble the hand pies and then freeze them for up to 3 months before cooking. Freeze hand pies separately on a baking sheet and then store in an airtight container to prevent off flavors. When hand pie cravings strike, allow the frozen hand pies to come to room temperature while your oven is preheating or your oil is coming to temperature. Then, proceed as planned.

EGG WASH

The secret to a gorgeously browned and shiny hand pie is a simple egg wash. A splash of water thins the egg just enough to make it brushable. To apply your egg wash, use a pastry brush and gentle strokes. Skip this step if frying, but if you are baking, make sure to apply the egg wash before venting to avoid filling or closing the vent.

VENTING

Hand pies, like traditional double-crust pies, need to be vented before baking to allow steam to escape. If you forgo venting, the steam in the hand pies will cause the pastry to puff like a balloon and the pastry will likely break open on the side, spilling out the contents in the process. For our Baked Lemon Curd Hand Pies, a simple “X” in the middle marks the spot, but for larger hand pies, like our Baked Strawberry & Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Hand Pies, three small crosswise slits will be needed.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Pastries are often coated with either egg, dairy, or a combination of the two before baking to promote gloss and browning. The science behind it? Eggs contain a mix of fats and proteins, allowing for intermediate browning and promoting a glossy shine. Dairy, like milk or cream, contains fats, proteins, and a larger proportion of sugars. Whenever proteins meet sugars in the presence of heat, browning occurs, which is why you will get more color from dairy than from egg alone. But unlike egg, a dairy-only wash does not showcase the same sheen. That’s why some egg washes contain the dairy-egg combo, which gives shine and increases browning—sometimes lending too much color, though.

PRO TIP

The three recipes developed here can be baked or fried, so feel free to choose your favorite cooking method. Just remember that baked hand pies are brushed with egg wash and then vented, and fried hand pies skip these two steps.