Mini cherry pies may remind you of a certain hand pie you ate as a child but they taste so much better! The cherry filling is good enough to eat all by itself. Whether you use homemade or store-bought pie dough or puff pastry, you’ll find it hard to stop at just one of these little beauties!
You might also enjoy this pie dough tutorial post.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
Cherry season is fleeting so make the most of it! Eat as many as you can and then when you’re satisfied, pit a couple cups of cherries and make this cherry pie filling for adorable hand pies.
If you’re like me, there’s always at least one package of frozen puff pastry in the freezer. Which makes a great wrapper for these mini cherry pies. Or use store-bought pie dough or homemade pie dough.
Craving a hand pie and no fresh cherries to be found? Use frozen cherries or even a can of pie filling. It’s so fun to pick up and eat pie with your hand – just do it. I promise it will put a smile on your face every time.
Ingredients you’ll need
Filling
- Cherries: Bings or any dark cherry you find. Not cherry season? Try frozen cherries or even a can of cherry pie filling. If you do use fresh, I really like this cherry pitter though an old fashioned straw will do the trick too!
- Cornstarch: I like the glistening finish of the filling with the use of cornstarch as the thickener. Mix the cornstarch with water first then add it to your cooking cherries as instructed.
- Citrus liqueur: I love the Spanish liqueur called 43. But cherry liqueur would also be a fun choice!
Pastry
- Pie dough: Store bought or homemade will work. Pie dough lasts for a few months in the freezer so grab some at the store or better yet, make some and stash it away for a mini-pie-kind-of-day!
- Puff pastry: Keep a package of puff pastry in your freezer too so you are always just a quick step away from a mini pie! I show how to form them with either pie dough or puff pastry below.
How to make this recipe
I’ll show you how to form the mini pies with both the pie dough and puff pastry. In either case, the filling is the same. Feel free to make the cherry filling ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to form and bake your hand pies. Other than pitting the cherries, it comes together very quickly! And even the pitting goes quickly once you get in a rhythm.
Prepare the filling
Mix the cornstarch and water and set aside.
In a small pot on medium heat, bring cherries, sugar, lemon juice and salt to a low boil.
As the juices release, mash the cherries.
As the texture becomes jammy, add the vanilla and liqueur then add the cornstarch slurry and let it thicken. Let the mixture cool before forming the hand pies.
Form the mini pies with puff pastry
To form the pies, cut both pieces of defrosted puff pastry into rectangles, fill 6 of them with 2 – 3 tablespoons of cherry mixture, egg wash edges and place second piece of pastry on top. Use tines of fork to seal the edges. Cut 2 – 3 slits, egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Refrigerate for 1/2 hour before baking. Bake for about 30 min at 375 degrees, until puffed and golden brown.
Form the mini pies with pie dough
To form the pies with pie dough, roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out 4 – 5-inch rounds using a large cookie cutter, biscuit cutter or any round item with a fairly distinct, sharp edge. I used the top of my sugar tin.
Place 2 – 3 tablespoons of cherry mixture on each round, egg wash edges and fold each round in half. Use tines of fork to seal the edges. Cut 2 – 3 slits and egg wash.
Refrigerate for 1/2 an hour and then bake.
See my mini cherry pie web story for a quick visual guide of how to make this recipe.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Whether you’re working with pie dough or puff pastry, if the dough gets too warm while you’re working with it, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes and proceed with forming your mini pies.
- Don’t overfill your hand pies but don’t be too stingy – you want to taste filling in every bite. If it oozes out a little, that’s ok!
- Prep these little beauties in stages if need be. Prepare the filling one day, form them the next. Leave them in the fridge uncooked for more than the half hour called for – they’ll be just fine. Just be sure to cover them. And egg wash them right before you bake, in that case.
Absolutely you can freeze these little hand pies. I’d recommend freezing them unbaked so you can pull them out as needed and bake them fresh when you want to eat them. But you can also freeze them baked and defrost and reheat in the oven.
Yes! Be creative – use jam, canned fillings, or try other fruits. I am working up a recipe for apricot pie filling. Experiment with other fruits! Follow this filling recipe but add the cornstarch last (as instructed), just a bit at a time, and see how the mixture thickens up.
Not long once you taste them :-). Store at room temperature for a day and then I like to refrigerate after that, especially in hot summer months. Reheat briefly in a toaster oven or regular oven to bring back the crispy exterior.
Other fruit jam and dessert recipes
Apricot Preserves – use as a filling
Strawberry Raspberry Jam – another filling idea
Apricot Raspberry Jam – filling option
Roasted Strawberry Shortcake – a quick-bread style shortcake with strawberries two ways – fantastic!
Fresh Fruit Crisp – our family’s favorite summer dessert!
No-churn Ice Cream – so easy and fun to make and a great accompaniment to the mini cherry pies!
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Mini Cherry Pies
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons water room temperature
- 2 cups pitted cherries (414 grams or about 15 oz)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons citrus liqueur or kirsch optional
- 1 package of frozen puffed pastry defrosted (or use pie dough)
- 1 egg and 1 tsp of water or milk for egg wash
- extra coarse or regular sugar for sprinkling optional
Instructions
Make the filling
- Mix the cornstarch and water and set aside.
- In a medium pot on medium heat, bring cherries, sugar, lemon juice and salt to a low boil. As the juices release, mash the cherries.
- As the texture becomes jammy, add the vanilla and liqueur then add the cornstarch slurry and let it thicken. Let the mixture cool before forming the hand pies.
Form the mini pies with puff pastry
- Roll out each piece of puff to about 12 inches in length. Cut each piece of defrosted puff pastry into 6 rectangles.
- Fill 6 of the rectangles with 2 – 3 tablespoons of cherry mixture.
- Egg wash edges and place second piece of pastry on top. Use tines of fork to seal the edges.
- Cut 2 – 3 slits in the top, egg wash and sprinkle with sugar (optional).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour before baking. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 375 degrees, until puffed and golden brown.
Form the mini pies with pie dough
- Roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out 4 – 5-inch rounds using a large cookie cutter, biscuit cutter or any round item with a fairly distinct, sharp edge. I used the top of my sugar tin.
- Place 2 – 3 tablespoons of cherry mixture on each round.
- Egg wash edges and fold each round in half. Use tines of fork to seal the edges. Cut 2 – 3 slits and egg wash.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and then bake for 25 – 30 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- Whether you’re working with pie dough or puff pastry, if the dough gets too warm while you’re working with it, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes and proceed with forming your mini pies.
- Don’t overfill your hand pies but don’t be too stingy – you want to taste filling in every bite. If it oozes out a little, that’s ok!
- Prep these little beauties in stages if need be. Prepare the filling one day, form them the next. Leave them in the fridge uncooked for more than the half hour called for – they’ll be just fine. Just be sure to cover them. And egg wash them right before you bake, in that case.
- Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or just eat them warm out of the oven just as they are!
Nutrition
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Rosemary
Fabulous post and details, so enticing!
Beth Lee
Thanks Rosemary! You know I always eagerly await your spin on my recipes so let me know if you make them!
Laura
Those hand pies look so beautiful, Beth! You make it look so easy. I always over stuff my mini pies because I love the filling so much lol! Can’t wait to try your cherry filling.
Beth Lee
Over stuffing is better than the opposite :-). Glad to know another mini pie lover!