I can think of no other dessert as satisfying and nostalgic as a summer fruit pie. Growing up, my grandfather always chose pie over cake or cookies, and I’m definitely my grandfather’s granddaughter that way. He taught me that pie can be breakfast, and a scoop of ice cream on top is always the appropriate accoutrement. Serious family wisdom, y’all.
Needless to say, I’m crazy for a juicy fruit filling, encased in a flaky, buttery pastry crust, but honestly, making a whole pie can feel a bit daunting. Enter, the hand pie. Not only are hand pies cute, portion-controlled twists on pie, they are portable and there’s no need to slice!
These pies combine one of my favorite fruit fillings, sweet and juicy summer peaches, with a tangy, creamy, cheesecake-like filling. The combination is a no-brainer in my book and a total crowd-pleaser. These pies are an adaptable party food, as they can be made ahead, frozen and baked-off as needed.
Let’s get started by making the pie dough. What good thing doesn’t begin with butter?
We combine butter with dry ingredients to make a coarse meal. It looks a bit like a shaggy mess, but we add super cold water to coax everything together. Cold ingredients are preferable for pie-making because it encourages maximum evaporation, which helps us achieve that flaky, tender crust we all know and love.
Once we bring the dough together and let it chill out, we make the fillings! First up, cream cheese, an egg yolk and brown sugar meet and mingle.
After we mix the cream cheese filling and we toss the peaches with some sugar and cornstarch, we roll out…the dough, that is. Then, cut it up!
Next, we spoon the fillings onto our little circles of dough.
Then, it’s time to seal and crimp. Crimping makes for securely sealed pies and pretty edges.
Then we brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. I just love a crackly-sugar topped pie.
Then they’re off to the oven.
Ingredients
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Crust
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1cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
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2 1/2cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
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2teaspoons granulated sugar
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1teaspoon salt
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4to 8 tablespoons ice water
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Filling
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4oz cream cheese (from 8-oz package), softened
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3tablespoons packed brown sugar
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1egg yolk
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2cups diced fresh peaches
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1 1/2teaspoons cornstarch
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2to 4 tablespoons packed brown sugar (depending on sweetness of fruit)
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Egg Wash
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Garnish
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Additional granulated sugar
Directions
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1In medium bowl, combine cold butter, flour, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar and the salt; toss to coat butter. Using fingers or pastry blender, pinch butter into flour until coarse crumbs form. Begin adding ice water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing with fork or spoon just until dough comes together when pinched between fingers.
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2Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead a few times just to bring dough together. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 flattened disks. Wrap each disk well in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
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3In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and the egg yolk with whisk or electric mixer until well combined. In another medium bowl, toss peaches, cornstarch and 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar to taste. Set Filling aside while rolling and cutting dough.
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4Heat oven to 400°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with silicone nonstick baking mat or cooking parchment paper; set aside. In small bowl, beat egg and milk with whisk for egg wash; set aside.
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5Roll out dough, 1 disk at a time, to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 3-inch round cutter or upside-down drinking glass, cut out rounds of dough (about 16 per disk). Repeat with remaining dough disk. Place half of the dough rounds on the 2 cookie sheets, leaving room between each (8 per sheet).
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6Divide cream cheese mixture evenly among rounds. Divide peach mixture evenly among each cream cheese-topped dough round. Lightly brush edge of each dough round with egg wash. Top each with second dough round to cover filling. (This may take some rearranging of peach chunks but don’t stress, just call them “rustic”.) With fork, seal edge of each pie; poke a few holes in top of each to allow steam to escape and prevent pie from exploding during baking. Brush tops of pies with egg wash; sprinkle with granulated sugar.
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7Bake in center of oven, 1 sheet at a time, 20 to 25 minutes or until bottoms of pies are golden brown and sugared tops are slightly crackled and beginning to turn golden. Remove from oven; cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
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