Blueberry Peach Walnut Hand Pies + Video
OHHHH GOSH. It’s already mid-August. NOOOOO. I want summer forever. STOP THE CLOCK!!!
But. It’ll still be August for a good couple more weeks. And it’ll still be summer for over a month. So, let’s get to today’s dessert that screams all things summer and picnics and sunshine and joy.
What we got? We got blueberry peach walnut hand pies! I gotta say, I’ve really been going at it with the summer fruit desserts this season. Some fruit recipes I’ve shared these past few months: a strawberry shortcake, mixed berry scones, a peach Bundt cake, strawberry crumble bars, a sour cream lemon blueberry cake, and a stone fruit cookie cobbler, to name a few.
But let’s discuss what I have for you today. Let’s talk about these flaky and buttery and juicy and sweet and tart blueberry peach walnut mini pies. Oh, and something else I have for you today: a video tutorial, on how to make these adorable hand pies. Press to start:
Or, watch it on YouTube.
Hand pies are pie, in mini, hand-held, individual, utensil-free, cute AF form.
Which means you’re making a classic pie crust. And a classic pie filling. But instead of baking everything up in a pie dish, you’re baking little rectangular pies spaced out on a baking sheet. PIE POCKETS, I SEE YOU.
Hand pies are a little more time-consuming to make than a full-sized pie, because you have to form each individual pie. But these fruit pies are fun to assemble. And are so satisfying to produce. And they’re actually less finicky than a whole pie in the sense that you don’t have to worry about a soggy pie crust or a lattice-top decoration or excessive juice leaking or an interminable baking time.
This pie crust. It’s flaky and crispy and tender and buttery (it’s all-butter, of course — no shortening nonsense) and can be made by hand or in a food processor. The dough uses vodka, which I find helps yield the crispiest, flakiest, crunchiest layers.
And while the dough chills, you make the blueberry peach walnut filling.
This filling has juicy, tart, bursting blueberries and sweet, tender, succulent peach slices and crunchy, earthy walnut bits and a kick of tangy lemon juice and hints of spicy cinnamon and nutmeg and vanilla extract and sugar for sweetening and cornstarch for thickening.
You can use fresh or frozen fruit. Both work wonderfully, especially since you don’t really have to worry about the visuals, because the fruit is cocooned in those flaky pie pockets and isn’t really noticeable until the hand pies are bitten into.
Finish the blueberry peach hand pies off with an egg wash brushing and a generous sprinkling of raw sugar and you’ve got yourself some beautiful, darling fruit pockets that are shining and sparkling with sugar crystals.
The pie dough, as is the case with most pie doughs, isn’t all that sweet. Which is why I was fairly generous with the sugar in the blueberry peach filling. And why I was liberal with the raw sugar sprinkling.
And don’t worry, you’ve got that tanginess and spiciness to offset the sweetness.
What’s a better name for these mini pies — “hand pies” or “fruit pockets?” I went with “hand pies,” clearly, but would “fruit pockets” have made a better title? Ugh, I feel like maybe it would have. Well, too late now.
Flaky, buttery, crispy pie crust layers encasing a sweet, succulent, juicy, tart, nutty, spiced blueberry peach filling. No plates and forks required.
Blueberry peach walnut hand pies — imma eat you now, imma pack you to go, and well, I may just eat the packed-to-go pies before I actually go.
Blueberry Peach Walnut Hand Pies
Yield: about 14 hand pies
Pie Crust:
2 ½ cups flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cubed
4+ tablespoons ice water
4 tablespoons cold vodka (can sub water)
Fruit Filling:
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 peach, thinly sliced (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-Egg, for brushing
-Raw sugar, for sprinkling
1. Crust: In a food processor or large bowl, pulse/stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add in the cubed butter and pulse a few times/cut into dough until butter is in pea-sized clumps. Do not mix till smooth.
3. Add in the water and vodka and pulse/stir a couple more times until dough is crumbly and moistened, but not smooth. If the dough sticks together when pressed between fingers, there’s enough liquid. If it’s too dry, add a bit more water.
4. Divide dough into two. Pack each piece of dough together with your hands and flatten into disk. Wrap each in large piece of parchment paper. Place disks into fridge for 40+ minutes or freezer for 25 minutes. While chilling, prepare filling.
5. Filling: toss all filling ingredients together gently until fruit is evenly coated. Let filling sit 10+ minutes while rolling out dough.
6. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Keep the second dough in the fridge while working with the first one. Roll out first disk of dough on the parchment it was wrapped in into a thin, but not transparent, rectangle, flouring dough and rolling pin as necessary. Cut the edges of the dough with a knife to make a neat rectangle. Then, cut the dough into 15 equal-sized rectangles.
8. Using a mini cookie cutter, cut out the centers of every other rectangle. (Alternatively, slice an ‘x’ shape or a few diagonal lines into the centers of the rectangles.) Using a slotted spoon, drop a spoonful of the fruit mixture onto the center of an uncut rectangle. Place a rectangle with cut out center over the fruit and press the four edges of the two rectangles together to seal well.
9. Crimp the edges of each hand pie with a fork. Brush tops with a beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar. Space out hand pies onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with second disk of dough.
10. Bake hand pies for 22-26 minutes, until they’re golden brown and fruit juices are bubbling. Serve warm or room temperature.
