Raspberry Lemon Hand Pies
I appreciate all excuses to eat sweets, so Valentine’s day is a happy day for me. Sometimes I am on chocolate overload, so I decided to share a fun recipe that doesn’t have chocolate but is still very yummy. How about you? Are you a fan of this Hallmark holiday? Do you need all the chocolate? We try to keep it pretty low key around here, but it’s fun to do some special things for each other. Usually revolving around food of course. So, raspberry lemon hand pies! Are you ready?
Hand Pie Options
I’m usually a little overwhelmed with the idea of homemade pies. Some I can handle, like pumpkin, but others just seem like too much work. However, sometimes a light fruit pie is a nice change from the heavy chocolate that seems to abound in these winter months. So, I decided to go with raspberry and lemon for the flavors in this recipe. Both flavors I personally love. They’re really great in any season.
When it comes to hand pies, you can totally trick people and use store bought pie crust and some jarred fruit preserves to short-cut this. You can add pretty cut out designs or do some fancy trim work when sealing them. They can look impressive either way! Though, these days, why not go the homemade route? I’m often trying to find things to do at home that feel like something I would only do out of the house at a cooking class or with friends. So, try this one for an at-home event!
The Steps
I will warn you that these can be difficult when it comes to the pies bursting. I made some smaller pies and I think the dough was too thin and I left them in the oven a few minutes more than I should have. It was not a pretty sight. For me, I had better success with the larger sized ones which were about five inches wide (or long?).
Make this pie crust ahead of time as it needs to refrigerate for a few hours, at least. Overnight is great too! The filling just needs to chill for an hour or so, but it could also be made the night before. This is really not a difficult recipe, but it takes a few steps and some waiting time.Â
To make the crust, cut the butter into the flour until butter is in tiny pieces. Add the water and form the dough. Shape into a ball and refrigerate overnight or at least for a few hours.
For the filling, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add raspberries, water, sugar, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
Strain mixture to remove seeds and return liquid to the stove. Bring to a simmer and add arrowroot powder or corn starch to thicken. This will happen quickly, so watch it closely. Stir and remove from heat after it thickens. Allow it to cool completely.
Roll out your pie crust, store-bought or homemade, and cut into desired size and shape. Use a tablespoon or two of filling and egg-wash to close the hand pies. Bake until golden brown.
Top hand pies with lemon glaze for the perfect flavor punch. Whichever route you choose to make these, they look beautiful and taste great.
The Love
I love these because you can fancy them up or keep them simple, and they’re not overly sweet so you can enjoy them with your valentine for brunch or with a late night cup of tea. If you need a break from chocolate and decadence, this buttery flaky crust with smooth fruit filling will hit the spot.
Despite your feelings on this weekend’s holiday, love those around you! We all need a little extra these days.
Raspberry Lemon Hand Pies
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks cold butter
- 3 oz cold water
- 1 egg
Raspberry Filling
- 12 oz raspberries
- 3 oz water
- 3 tbsp arrowroot powder or corn starch
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sugar
Icing (optional)
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Pie crust
- Add flour to large bowl along with sugar
- Cut butter into small cubes and add to bowl
- With your hands or a mixer, break down the butter until it is mostly crumbled in small pieces with the flour
- Add the cold water and knead into dough
- Once most of the dough sticks together and leaves the sides of the bowl, form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap to refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight
Raspberry filling
- In a small saucepan, heat water, raspberries, sugar, and lemon zest
- Bring to a slight boil and then simmer for 5-7 minutes
- Strain raspberry mixture in a fine mesh strainer
- Return the raspberry liquid to saucepan over the stove
- Bring to simmer and add arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- Mixture will thicken quickly. Stir it continuously for a minute or two and remove from heat
- Once it is cooled, refrigerate until you’re ready to form the pies
(Optional) Lemon icing
- Mix sugar and lemon juice well and brush generously onto pies
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Roll out pie dough pretty thinly
- Cut into desired size for pies
- Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of pie filling into the middle of each cut piece of dough
- Use egg wash to brush the outside edges before sealing
- Use a fork to seal each pie
- Brush with a little more egg wash before baking
- For larger sized pies, they will bake for about 20 minutes. If you make mini sized pies, they will only need about 12 minutes to bake. Once they have a slight golden brown color, remove them and allow to fully cool.
- If using the icing, brush each pie generously and allow to dry.
- Enjoy!
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