Bake your way through 8 hand pies recipes—sweet and savory pockets of joy with step-by-step instructions, flavor-packed fillings, and flaky crusts that always deliver.
Here’s the thing about hand pies—they’re rebellious little pastries. Over the years, I’ve baked enough hand pies to feed an army—or at least the hungriest picnic crowd in Pennsylvania. Sweet, savory, hot, cold—they all have one thing in common: comfort you can hold. And as an old bakery sign in London once read: “A pie is a story you eat.” So here are 8 hand pies recipes that will make you believe in pocket-sized joy!
Hand Pies Recipes
1. Classic Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies
If autumn had a passport, this would be stamped on the cover—warm apples, cozy cinnamon, and a crust so flaky you’ll forgive it for showering crumbs down your shirt.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- 2 large apples, peeled, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 package ready-made pie crust (or homemade, if you want bragging rights)
- 1 egg, beaten (egg wash)
Instructions:
- Cook apples with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and flour until thickened. Cool.
- Roll crust, cut circles. Place filling in center, fold, and seal edges.
- Brush with egg wash, bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20–25 minutes until golden.
2. Peach and Vanilla Bean Hand Pies
This one tastes like summer wrote you a love letter and sealed it inside buttery pastry.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- 2 ripe peaches, diced
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ vanilla bean (or 1 tsp extract)
- Pie dough
- Egg wash + sugar for sprinkling
Instructions:
- Simmer peaches with sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla until thickened. Cool.
- Fill pastry circles, fold, and crimp edges.
- Brush with egg wash, sprinkle sugar, and bake until golden and bubbling.
3. Blueberry Lemon Hand Pies
Sweet blueberries and zesty lemon—basically jazz in pastry form.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Pie crust
Instructions:
- Cook blueberries with sugar, zest, and cornstarch until glossy. Cool.
- Fill pastry rounds, fold, and seal.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes until golden brown.
4. Savory Chicken Pot Pie Hand Pies
Comfort food that doesn’t require a bowl—creamy chicken and veggies wrapped up like a warm hug in crust.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
- ½ cup peas and carrots
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup cream
- Pie dough
Instructions:
- Make sauce: melt butter, whisk flour, add broth and cream until thick.
- Stir in chicken, peas, and carrots.
- Fill pastry, fold, seal, and bake at 375°F until golden.
5. Ham and Cheese Breakfast Hand Pies
Move over breakfast burrito—ham, eggs, and melty cheese have found a new pastry penthouse.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- ½ cup diced ham
- ½ cup shredded cheddar
- 2 scrambled eggs
- Puff pastry sheets
Instructions:
- Layer eggs, ham, and cheese on pastry squares.
- Fold into triangles, seal edges.
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes until puffed and golden.
6. Spinach and Feta Hand Pies
One bite and you’re suddenly in a café in Athens—minus the airfare.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- 1 cup sautéed spinach
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- 1 egg
- Puff pastry or pie crust
Instructions:
- Mix spinach, feta, and egg.
- Fill pastry circles, fold, and crimp.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes until golden.
7. Nutella Banana Hand Pie
Dessert disguised as a snack—Nutella oozing out, banana slices inside, and your inner child doing cartwheels.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- 2 bananas, sliced
- ½ cup Nutella
- Pie crust
Instructions:
- Spread Nutella on dough, top with banana slices.
- Fold, seal, and bake at 375°F until golden.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
8. S’mores Hand Pies
Campfire nostalgia without the smoke in your hair—gooey chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers all tucked into pastry heaven.
Ingredients (Makes 8):
- ½ cup mini marshmallows
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ¼ cup crushed graham crackers
- Pie dough
Instructions:
- Place chocolate, marshmallows, and crumbs inside dough circles.
- Fold and crimp edges.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Kitchen Wisdom (Because Sides Talk Too)
- Cool fillings before sealing pies to avoid pastry explosions.
- Egg wash = golden, bakery-worthy crust.
- A sprinkle of sugar on sweet pies or sesame seeds on savory ones elevates them instantly.
Hand pies are the poetry of practicality—tiny parcels of love that don’t need forks, knives, or excuses. Sweet or savory, they travel well, comfort deeply, and impress effortlessly.
As an old Southern baker once told me while pulling trays from her oven: “Life should be lived hand to mouth—with pie in between.”
Bake these 8 hand pies recipes once, and you’ll never look at a full-sized pie the same way again.
Do not miss this Southern Tomato Pie Recipe!
