These cranberry hand pies are made with an incredibly crispy and flaky pie crust and filled with a tart cranberry sauce filling. They have everything you love about pie but in a mini handheld pastry.
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These cranberry hand pies are perfect if you love fruity pies but don't want to go through the trouble of making an entire pie. Hand pies are an easier alternative to a full-sized pie. You can bake off as many as you want and they're in the cutest mini handheld packages. The crust-to-filling ratio of hand pies is PERFECT.
Even if you're not usually a lover of pie crust, this recipe will hopefully change your mind. This pie crust is so buttery and flaky thanks to the layers and pockets of butter pieces throughout the dough that melt and cook the pastry to crispy perfection. The cranberry filling is tart and jammy and balances the crust.
This is the same base recipe as my favourite Apple Hand Pies that I prefer to use for all my pie and hand pie recipes. This pie crust recipe never fails me! I love making this cranberry variation around the holidays for a festive dessert.
Why you'll love this recipe
- This pie crust recipe is super crispy and flaky. Never any soggy bottoms here.
- The cranberry sauce filling is very easy to make. Any leftover cranberry sauce can be used in other recipes or served with other meals.
- These pies don't feel too heavy because of the tart and fruity filling.
- These hand pies freeze well so you can make them in advance and bake off fresh pies whenever you want.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - Use high quality butter since it is the main component of the pie crust. Your butter needs to be cold and straight from the fridge. Roughly cut them into cubes to make them easier to break down into smaller pieces.
- Water - Your water should be ice cold. I'd recommend measuring it out ahead of time and keeping it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to add it.
- Cranberries - Use fresh or frozen cranberries but not dried cranberries. Fresh cranberries freeze very well with almost no change in texture so any extra you have can be frozen. Use them directly from the freezer, no need to thaw them.
- Granulated sugar - You can adjust the sweetness level of your cranberry filling to taste. The amount of sugar in this recipe is just enough for my preference while still keeping the cranberry filling tart.
- Egg - This is for the egg wash to create a golden brown and shiny finish. You won't use all of it.
- Sugar crystals or coarse sugar - This is optional but I highly recommend them for extra crunch and a beautiful sparkly crust like the ones you see in bakeries. You can usually find sugar crystals in the sprinkles or baking section of a grocery store. You can also use any coarse sugar like turbinado sugar or demerara sugar.
How to make cranberry hand pies
Cut the butter into the flour - In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Add in the cubed butter and toss to coat in flour. Press the butter in between your thumb and fingers to break them into smaller pieces, tossing to coat in flour occasionally. Work quickly and continue breaking the butter pieces down into about pea-sized pieces.
Hydrate the dough - Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour in ice water and mix with your hand to combine until it forms a shaggy dough.
Press, fold, and shape the dough - Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter. Use your hands to press the dough together. Fold the dough over onto itself 2-3 times to create layers of butter and to help it hold together. Press into a flattened disc shape.
Chill the dough overnight - Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press down to compact it against the plastic wrap. Chill dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
Make the cranberry filling - In a small pot, add the cranberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has thickened into a spreadable jam consistency. Set aside to cool completely before using.
Roll out the dough - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. On a floured surface, roll out the pie dough until about â…›" thick, lifting and turning it occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the counter.
Cut out hand pie shapes - Use a knife or pizza wheel to cut the dough into rectangles (about 4x5") or use a round cutter to cut out circles. If the dough has gotten too soft during this process, place them on a cutting board or baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut shapes into half of the rectangles or use a knife to make a few cuts to let the steam come out during baking.
Assemble the hand pies - Place the bottom pieces of dough on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 1-2" in between each. Spoon a generous amount of cranberry filling in the middle of each dough rectangle, leaving about a ½" border empty.
Crimp the edges - Place the top pieces of dough on top of the filling. Press a floured fork along the edges to seal them together.
Preheat oven - Chill the whole baking sheet of hand pies in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F.
Apply egg wash - Right before baking, brush each hand pie with a thin layer of beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar crystals or coarse sugar for extra crunch.
Bake - Bake hand pies for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy the pies while warm!
Storage
- Storing pie dough - This pie dough can be made in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days before rolling it out.
- Storing baked hand pies - Baked cranberry hand pies are best served on the same day they are baked for the best crispiness and texture. Leftovers can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. Reheat before serving to crisp up.
Freezing
Both the pie dough and the unbaked hand pies can be made ahead of time and frozen.
- Freezing pie dough - Wrap well with plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling it out.
- Freezing unbaked hand pies - Before adding the egg wash and coarse sugar, put the entire baking sheet of hand pies into the freezer for about 1 hour until the hand pies are solid to the touch. Wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil or place all the hand pies into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to bake them, arrange the frozen hand pies on a baking sheet and thaw them in the fridge overnight. Apply egg wash and coarse sugar before baking.
Tips & tricks
- Don't overwork your pie dough. Press the dough together and fold it over onto itself a few times but you shouldn't be kneading it. Once it can hold itself together without too many dry patches, stop working it. Overworked dough will encourage gluten development and become tough and gummy when baked. Fussing with it too much will also cause the butter to soften and melt which will ruin your flaky layers.
- Chill the dough overnight. The dough needs time to hydrate and for the butter to firm up again. You can use the dough after at least 4-6 hours but it will be more powdery and harder to roll out. I highly recommend making the dough the day before to allow for enough chilling time.
- Cook the cranberry sauce until thick. You want to cook off most of the water content in this filling to prevent loss of volume during baking. It should be a thick, spreadable consistency.
- Roll the pie dough thinly. This pie dough puffs up like puff pastry when baked thanks to the layers of butter. You should roll it out to about â…›" thick. If the dough is too thick, it will become hard and gummy when baked instead of crisp and flaky.
- Work with the dough quickly and chill often. If at any point in the recipe process, you feel like the dough is getting too soft or the buttery is getting melty, pop it all in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up before continuing. You want the butter layers to always be cold and firm so that they melt evenly and create beautiful flaky layers when baked.
- Overstuff the pies with filling. The moisture in the cranberry filling will continue to evaporate during baking so some volume loss is inevitable. Adding as much filling as you can without it spilling out the sides of the pies will help anticipate this. If any of the filling comes out of the sides of the pies after baking, just scoop it up and stuff it back inside the pies through the cutout opening.
- Enjoy your hand pies fresh. These cranberry hand pies have the best texture freshly baked or on the same day. The taste of these pies still warm out of the oven is unmatched!
Frequently asked questions
Hand pies are GREAT pastries to make ahead of time. Both the pie dough and the unbaked hand pies can be stored in the fridge or frozen before baking.
To prevent soggy bottoms on your pies, cook your fruit filling before adding it to your pies to remove some of the moisture. If you're using a very juicy fruit for the filling, add a thickener like cornstarch to soak up the juices that are released (not necessary for these cranberry hand pies). Always use the correct amount of water as instructed to make your pie dough. The dough may seem too dry at first but will hydrate completely as you work it and after chilling it.
Definitely! To make fewer hand pies, either divide all the ingredients by 2 or cut the pie dough into two halves and wrap them separately. Only roll out one of the halves and store or freeze the other half for another time. To make more hand pies, multiply the recipe by 2 or more (except for the egg wash). When making a larger amount of pie dough, you may want to cut the dough in half before chilling it so that it's more manageable when rolling it out if you don't have a lot of counter space.
More delicious pie recipes to try
Recipe
Cranberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 340 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 230 g unsalted butter, cold & roughly cubed
- 140 g water, ice cold
- 300 g cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 150 g water
- 1 egg
- sugar crystals or coarse sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Add in cubed butter and toss to coat in flour.
- Press the butter in between your thumb and fingers to break them into smaller pieces, tossing to coat in flour occasionally. Work quickly and continue breaking the butter pieces down into about pea-sized pieces.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour in ice water and mix with your hand to combine until it forms a shaggy dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter. Use your hands to press the dough together. Fold the dough over onto itself 2-3 times to create layers of butter and to help it hold together. Press into a flattened disc shape.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press down to compact it against the plastic wrap. Chill dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
- In a small pot, add the cranberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has thickened into a spreadable jam consistency. Set aside to cool completely before using.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. On a floured surface, roll out the pie dough until about â…›" thick, lifting and turning it occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the counter.
- Use a knife or pizza wheel to cut the dough into rectangles (about 4x5") or use a round cutter to cut out circles. If the dough has gotten too soft during this process, place them on a cutting board or baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing.
- Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut shapes into half of the rectangles or use a knife to make a few cuts to let the steam come out during baking.
- Place the bottom pieces of dough on your lined baking sheet, leaving about 1-2" in between each. Spoon a generous amount of cranberry filling in the middle of each dough rectangle, leaving about a ½" border empty.
- Place the top pieces of dough on top of the filling. Press a floured fork along the edges to seal them together.
- Chill the whole baking sheet of hand pies in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Right before baking, brush each hand pie with a thin layer of beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar crystals or coarse sugar for extra crunch.
- Bake hand pies for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy the pies while warm!
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