Cherry Almond Hand Pies
Cherry Almond Hand Pies
Recipe Notes: Makes 8 pies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake/Cook Time: 22 minutes
Inactive Time: 60 minutes
tsp. = teaspoon Tbsp. = tablespoon g = gramsRecipe Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Cherry Almond Hand Pies w/Lemon Glaze
Cherry Pie Filling:
2 cups (420g) frozen black cherries
½ cup (6oz/110g) water
2 Tbsp. (6g) freshly lemon juice
1/3 cup (73g) granulated sugar
2 tbsp. (15g) cornstarch
½ tsp. almond or vanilla extract
⅛ tsp. Salt
Almond Paste
1 ¼ cup (155g) blanched slivered almonds
¾ cups (155g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tbsp. (12g) Brandy (optional)
1 tsp. (4g) vanilla extract
½ tsp. (2g) almond extract
½ tsp. Salt
2 tbsp. (26g) unsalted butter, room temperature
Egg Wash:
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tbsp. water
Lemon Glaze:
1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
2-3 tsp. fresh lemon juice
⅛ tsp. salt
½ tsp. Vanilla
*All Butter Pie Crust
1 ¾ cups (234g) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp. (3g) salt
8 tbsp. (116g) cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
⅓ – ½ cup ice water or more depends on humidity
Click link for video tutorial
Step 1: Make the Cherry Filling
Cut the cherries in half. In a medium saucepan, combine the cherries, sugar, lemon, cornstarch, water, and salt. Mix to combine and cook over a medium high heat until the cherries thicken and reduce. Remove from heat, stir in the almond and vanilla extracts and set aside to cool completely.
Step 2: Make the Almond Paste
In a food processor, combine almonds, sugar, eggs, brandy, extracts and salt. Blend until a paste forms, add 2 tbsp. of butter, blend another 8-10 seconds, Remove the paste from the processor and set aside.
Step 3: Make the Pies
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove the pie dough out of the refrigerator. Lightly flour your work surface. Roll out the pie dough into a large round shape. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out your pie rounds. You will need a bottom and a top for these hand pies. The cookie cutter I use is a 3 inch round. Once you cut out the rounds, you can bring the dough back together into a ball, roll out and continue cutting out the round shapes.
Place the bottom pie dough cutout on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place about 2 teaspoons of the almond paste in the center of the dough, then add a heaping spoonful of cherry filling in the center, then cover with the other pie dough cut out, using a fork, gently press along the edge of the entire pie, sealing the seam to keep the filling inside. You will also want to cut 2-3 small slits in the center of the pie to allow the steam to vent. Continue making the rest of the hand pies, then you want to egg wash each pie using a pastry brush.
Bake for 18-22 min, until the pies are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the pies to cool on the baking sheet for 20-30 minutes.
Step 4: Make the Glaze
While the pies cool, move on to the glaze. In a medium sized bowl combine the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and almond extract. Add the lemon juice a little at a time until you achieve a thick drizzle consistency. Drizzle on the tops of each pie. Allow the icing to set for 30 minutes and then enjoy. Store baked pies in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days. You can also freeze baked pies for up to 2 months.