Glazed Cherry Hand Pies – Super flaky pie crust stuffed with sweet cherry filling and finished with a sweet glaze

I am a big fan of desserts that are in small portions. It’s almost like I feel better about indulging if I can fit it in my hand. Is that weird? So it’s no surprise that I am making another hand pie (see my first one here). This time, I let my husband chose the flavor. Side note: I think I bake too many things for my husband. He’s getting spoiled. Can someone else request something, please???

This time I am making cherry hand pies. And I am icing them! We found a cool recipe in this Nashville cookbook he bought me. When we visited a couple months ago, we had an amazing time eating at the great local spots. So when he went back for work, he got me a cookbook as a gift. Isn’t he so thoughtful? So I guess you can say he’s earned all the sweets I can make him, huh?

And, can I just say, I LOVE getting new cookbooks?! I can literally sit all day and just breeze through cookbooks, one after another. If there are no pictures, however, I will probably ignore it. Why on Earth would you publish a cook book without a picture for every recipe?! You can see I’ve got some hard feelings about this topic. I better stop this rant or it’s gonna get crazy.

This recipe turned out awesome, you guys! The dough was super flaky and slightly salty, the filling was sticky sweet, and the glaze capped the whole thing off like, well, a cherry. It’s perfect for serving at a party since you don’t have the hassle of cutting a pie into slices. Plus, you can eat it with one hand as you drink a mimosa orange juice in the other.

I had to adjust a few things abut the recipe because it wasn’t as detailed as I like my recipes to be. So you’ll see my version down below.

Like always, I have some helpful tips for you as you make the recipe:

1. The filling is just a jar of preserves so if you decide you rather make blackberry or strawberry, just buy those kind of preserves instead.
2. If the dough gets room temperature as you work with it, put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes. You want the pie dough to be slightly chilled when it goes into the oven. Otherwise, the crust won’t be flaky.
3. If you don’t have a 4 inch round cutter, don’t worry; you can use the top of a plastic cup. That’s what I did! And it worked perfectly. Check out my Instagram for a pic I took of the cup and how perfectly it worked.
4. When sealing the pockets, don’t be afraid to pull and stretch the dough so that they seal properly. You may also need to use the end of a fork to push the filling back inside.
5. Because you are using preserves instead of whole fruit chunks, it will leak out during the cooking process. But that’s okay! You will still have plenty of filling in the pockets. Just make sure to give enough space between the pies (1.5-2 inches) so the filling doesn’t drown the surrounding pockets.

Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in today’s recipe. For each item sold below, I make a small commission. I only recommend items that I own and love so you can trust that each recommendation is tried and true. Thank you for supporting CPA!

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Recipe (adapted from Nashville Eats: Hot Chicken, Buttermilk Biscuits, and 100 More Southern Recipes from Music City):

Print Recipe

Iced Cherry Hand Pies

Delicious cherry pie that fits in the palm of your hand!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: 20 pies

Ingredients

For the pies

• 3 cups flour plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 teaspons salt
• 2 1/4 stick butter unsalted, cubed
• 1/2 cup water iced
• 18 ounces cherry preserves
• 1 egg

For the glaze

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (or two knives), cut the butter into the flour so that the butter is the size of small peas. Then use your hands to further break up the butter until the consistency of the mixture becomes more mealy.
• Add 1/4 cup of the ice water and combine with the flour mixture. Keep adding water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball without crumbling, but is not sticky. You probably won't need all the water. If it is too sticky, add more flour. You won't be able to work with it if it's sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to gently knead until it comes together.
• Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 60 minutes and up to a day in advance.
• While the dough is chilling, prepare your sheet pans with parchment paper. You will need two pans for this recipe. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
• Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into two halves. Working with one piece at a time, roll out the dough into a 12 inch by 11 inch rectangle. Using a cookie cutter or the top of a cup, cut out 6 circles, 4 inches in diameter. Place the circles on the sheet pans. Repeat with the second half.
• Gather all the scraps of leftover dough into a ball. Roll out into another rectangle until it's about the same thickness as the cut circles. Cut out another 7 circles. Keep repeating this until all the scraps are pretty much used up. You should get about 20 circles total.
• Place a tablespoon of preserves into the center of each circle. Beat a large egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush the edge of half the circle with the egg mixture. Fold the dough in half over the preserves and seal together using the tines of a fork. Brush the tops with the same egg mixture.
• Using a small pairing knife, cut a small slit in the center of the pocket. This helps the steam escape during baking.
• Make sure the pies are spaced about 1.5 - 2 inches apart. Bake in preheat oven for 30 minutes. You may have to do in two separate batches.
• While the pies are baking, mix the powdered sugar and milk together in a medium bowl to make the icing.
• Once the pies are done baking, let them cool for 5 minutes. Then, when still warm, dip the pies top side down into the icing to coat the tops of the pies completely. Place back on pan to let them set for 10 more minutes.