If you, like us, are a sucker for pie crust, allow us to introduce your next baking project: homemade hand pies, aka toaster pastries! They might require a little more effort than just preheating the oven, but the flaky crust and fruity filling are well worth it. Can’t find freeze-dried strawberry powder for the glaze? Feel free to leave it out for an equally tasty vanilla version.

Get the recipe for Strawberry Hand Pies:

Strawberry Hand Pies

Author: Misfits Market

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Ingredients

Scale

For the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the dough surface
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
¼ cup ice water
2 eggs, beaten

For the filling:

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and finely chopped
2½ tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the glaze:

1½ cups powdered sugar
1½ tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder
2–3 tablespoons milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Toppings: sprinkles, sanding sugar, freeze-dried strawberries

Instructions

For the crust: In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and sugar. Add chilled butter pieces and, working quickly, use your fingers to combine butter pieces into the flour to create large scraggly pieces of dough. (The idea is to create different-sized clumps and strands of butter to achieve a flaky pastry.)
Evenly drizzle ice water over the dough. With your fingers, bring the dough together—the dough will look a little dry. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead two to three times until the edges come together. Flatten the dough to form a 1-inch thick square, then wrap it in plastic wrap. Set in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
For the filling: Combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, ginger, lemon juice, zest, vanilla extract, and salt in a medium bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes.
To assemble your hand pies, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Using a sharp knife cut out 12, 3×5-inch rectangles and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can re-roll the scraps to make more rectangles if needed.
For the egg wash, whisk together eggs and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the egg wash along the borders of 6 of the rectangles with either a pastry brush or a finger, then place the remaining egg wash in the fridge for later.
Fill the rectangles (leaving the egg wash borders untouched) with with 1 tablespoon of strawberry filling, trying to avoid adding excess liquid.
Place the remaining 6 dough rectangles on top of the filled pastry and press down gently on all four sides to seal the edges. With the tip of a fork, press around the entire border of each hand pie. (You can dip the fork in flour if it begins to stick). Using the same fork, poke 3 rows of holes along the top of the hand pie to allow steam to escape.
Place hand pies in the freezer for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Before baking, brush each hand pie with the remaining egg wash. Bake until the crust has puffed up and is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
For the glaze: Combine powdered sugar, freeze-dried strawberry powder, vanilla extract, and milk. Whisk together until smooth. The consistency should be similar to a thick cream. (If it’s too thick add more milk and if it’s too thin add more powdered sugar).
Working one hand pie at a time pour about 1 tablespoon glaze over top and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Before the glaze sets, top with sprinkles, sanding sugar, or chopped freeze-dried strawberries.
Let the glaze set before enjoying. Hand pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.