Lime Cherry Hand Pies are a simple, sweet heart shaped hand pie recipe to enjoy year round.
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Cherry hand pie recipe
Based off my original hand pies recipe these yummy little pies are basically the cherry limeade to my Strawberry Lemonade Hand Pies. With lime zest in the crust and in the homemade cherry pie filling, these little personal pies are simple to make but are also full of flavor.
This is a baked hand pie recipe but you can also pan fry or air fry hand pies instead.
Heart shaped hand pies are like the mini cherry pies and are the perfect portable dessert for a Valentine’s Day adventure, outdoor date, party, picnic and more.
I like to make a big batch before camping or heading out on a road trip. I also consider them a perfectly acceptable breakfast when on vacation. Or any day, really 😉
Ingredients
- Cherries – fresh or frozen. Or you can use any fruit of your choice – fresh or frozen. Make blueberry, peach, or blackberry hand pies using this same method and adjusting the sweetener based on the fruit’s natural sweetness.
- Lime – to juice and zest and use in both the hand pie pastry and in the hand pie filling.
- Eggs – separated, whites used as a egg wash and yolks used to make the sturdy pastry dough.
- Granulated sugar – to sweeten the pastry dough and also the filling.
- All purpose flour – to make the pastry.
- Cornstarch – to thicken the filling.
- Butter – to make a flaky pastry.
- Salt – for the pastry and the filling.
Step by step instructions
- Make lime hand pie dough from flour, sugar, salt, zime zest, butter, egg yolks and ice water. Divide dough in half and wrap each piece with plastic wrap then flatten into a disc. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- Then roll dough and cut into shapes, re-rolling scraps and continuing to cut until dough is gone. Refrigerate or freeze pastry shapes until ready to fill.
- Meanwhile make homemade cherry pie filling by simmering fresh or frozen pitted cherries with lime juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt until most of the liquid is evaporated and mixture is thick and jammy. Remove from heat and cool.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare baking sheets.
- Place 1 tablespoon cherry filling into the center of half of the dough shapes.
- Cut small vent holes in the other half and run water along edges of the filled dough with finger then top with the unfilled pieces. Press edges to seal with a fork, being careful not to stretch edges too thin.
- Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Then transfer to wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy!
How to store
Store hand pies at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Alternately you can freeze baked hand pies for up to 3 months, but I’d suggest freezing them unbaked and baking fresh from frozen instead.
How to make ahead of time
To make cherry hand pies ahead of time you can refrigerate filling and pastry up to 3 days before assembling.
Or assemble and freeze hand pies unbaked for up to 3 months. Then simply bake frozen, adding an extra 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Yield
This hand pie recipe yields 10 medium sized hand pies. But the amount can easily be adjusted to serve more using the adjustable serving size in the recipe below.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup ice water
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 1 cup frozen cherries pitted
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ cup coarse sugar
Instructions
- Begin by making lime pastry dough. Whisk flour, half of the sugar, salt and half the lime zest in a large bowl. Cut cold butter into cubes and work into flour mixture until only pea sized pieces remain. Add egg yolks and ice water, stirring just until the dough begins to come together. If dough is too dry add more ice water. Be careful not to over mix. When it starts to form a ball, divide dough in half and wrap each piece with plastic wrap then flatten into a disc. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 cup unsalted butter, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup ice water, 2 teaspoons lime zest, 2 large egg yolks
- Meanwhile make homemade pie filling. In a small saucepan over medium heat stir frozen cherries, remaining zest, lime juice, remaining granulated sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated about 15 minutes, smashing cherries with a spoon and stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened. Then remove from heat and allow filling to cool.1 cup frozen cherries, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- On lightly floured surface roll pastry to ⅛" thick. Using a large cookie cutter cut as many shapes as possible, re-rolling scraps and continuing to cut until dough is gone. Refrigerate or freeze pastry shapes until cherry filling is cool.
- When ready to bake preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Place 1 tablespoon filling into the center of half of the dough shapes. And cut small vent holes in the other half. Run water along edges of the filled dough with finger then top with the unfilled pieces. Press edges to seal with a fork, being careful not to stretch edges too thin.
- Beat egg whites and brush evenly over heart shaped pastries then sprinkle with coarse sugar.2 large egg whites, ¼ cup coarse sugar
- Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Elaine
These pies are unbelievable! And I am glad I’ve stumbled upon this recipe now – so timely! 🙂
Renee | The Good Hearted Woman
These little handpies are simply adorable – so sweet, in all the ways. I can’t wait to make some for Valentine’s Day!
Tonje
These are amazing! And the heart shape is a great idea for valentine!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Oh wow, these sound absolutely delicious! Lime and cherry are two of my most favourite flavours.
Chris Collins
Lime and cherries are a match made in heaven! Definitely trying out these hand pies, thanks so much for sharing 🙂