Pear Hand Pies

Pear Hand Pies are delicious single serving treat. Flaky pie crust is filled with pear pie filling, folded over and baked for a fruity handheld dessert. 

I've made so many recipes including pears recently and it makes me so happy. Pears are a delicious fruit, juicy and soft with a mild and light flavor. Pears can be treated just like apples in most recipes; peeled, cored and sliced or diced and then mixed with sugar and spices. Pears ca be baked into pies or cakes, tarts and galettes. Or you can go the savory route and add them to poultry for a sweet and savory choice.

The worst part is waiting for the pears to ripen. I've tried three different grocery stores to buy fully ripe pears and not one has them! So they've sat on the counter, in a brown paper bag, with me checking them every single day. Finally, they were ripe enough and I could use them!

I should make more hand pies. They're a great alternative to making an entire pie, when you don't have the time or patience. Hand pies are single servings and so easy to make!

WHAT ARE HAND PIES?

A hand pie is a portable pie, either savory or sweet. Savory versions are filled with meats, vegetables and spices and can also be referred to as pasties. A sweet version includes fresh fruits or jams, sugar and spices. Dough for a hand pie can be a pie crust, a puff pastry style crust or even a thicker biscuit crust.

For sweet hand pies, I treat them just like a regular pie, but use less of the filling because they're smaller.

ALTERNATE FILLINGS FOR HAND PIES

If pears aren't your thing, there are a variety of other sweet hand pies you can make.

• Classic Apple - apples, cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg
• Jam - whatever flavor of jam you have currently in the fridge
• Berry - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or blackberries (or a combination), lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch

** For berry fillings, you'll want to combine the ingredients into a saucepan and let it all cook down for a few minutes to a syrupy like consistency before placing in the center of the hand pie

PEAR HAND PIE INGREDIENTS

• refrigerated pie crust
• ripe pears
• all purpose flour
• granulated sugar
• cinnamon
• ginger
• cardamom
• egg
• butter
• turbinado or sanding sugar, optional

PEAR HAND PIE DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 375. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Peel, Core and Thinly Slice 1-2 medium pears.
• Whisk flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom together in a bowl. Add in the pears and toss to coat.
• Cut out circles of pie crust. You can use a cookie cutter, a bowl or anything in the 4-6 inch range in diameter.
• Place a dollop the pear mixture directly in the center of the pie crust circle.
• Cut the butter into tiny pieces. Place a tiny pat of butter on top of the pear mixture.
• Beat the egg in a small bowl.
• Brush the egg wash around the edges of the dough circle and fold over on itself, forming a pocket. Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the top of the hand pie with more egg wash.
• Sprinkle the sugar on top. Use a sharp knife to cut tiny slits in the top of the hand pie to allow the steam to escape.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool slightly before serving.

I had plans to take these pear hand pies into work to share with my coworkers, but then I ate one. And I decided that I wasn't going to make the breakfast I had planned for the week. Instead I was going to hoard these pear hand pies all to myself and enjoy them for breakfast. Sorry coworkers, but this one of the best decisions I made!

REFRIGERATING AND FREEZING HAND PIES

Baked hand pies can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for about 3 months.

IMPROV COOKING CHALLENGE -

The ingredients for November's Improv Cooking Challenge were pears and dairy. I've been looking forward to this combination since last year. (Not even joking!) The #ImprovCookingChallenge is a monthly blogging event where two ingredients are assigned to a month. Bloggers can make any recipe they like as long as it features the two ingredients.

If you are a blogger and would like to join us, please visit our Facebook page. You can also read more about the event on our our home page
If you’d like to see previous creations, check out our Pinterest board.

November Improv Cooking Challenge

Pears and Dairy

• • • • • Sour Cream Pear Pie by Pandemonium Noshery
        • Maple Walnut Pear Crisp by Veggies First, Then Dessert
        • Pear Hand Pies by Cookaholic Wife
        • Pear and Port Cheese Spread by Palatable Pastime
        • Burrata and Bartlett-Vanilla Bean Jam Crostini by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
        • Poached Pears In Cinnamon & Red Wine With Ice Cream by Sneha's Recipe
        • Caramelized Pear and Brie Rolls by A Day in the Life on the Farm

      

      WANT TO TRY THIS RECIPE? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD FOR LATER.

      FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST, AT COOKAHOLIC WIFE, FOR MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES!

      

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      Pear Hand Pies

      Pear Hand Pies are delicious single serving treat. Flaky pie crust is filled with pear pie filling, folded over and baked for a fruity handheld dessert. 

      Prep Time20 minutes mins

      Cook Time30 minutes mins

      Total Time50 minutes mins

      Course: Pie

      Cuisine: American

      Keyword: hand pie, improv cooking challenge, Pear Hand Pie, Pie Pastry

      Servings: 12 pies

      Calories: 282kcal

      Author: NicholeL

      Ingredients

      • 1 package 2 rolls refrigerated pie crust
      • 1-2 medium pears peeled, cored and thinly sliced
      • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
      • ½ cup granulated sugar
      • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
      • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
      • ½ teaspoon cardamom
      • 1 egg
      • 2 tablespoon butter
      • ¼ cup turbinado sugar or sanding sugar for sprinkling on top optional

      Instructions

      • Preheat the oven to 375. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
      • Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom together in a medium bowl.
      • Add in the sliced pears and toss to coat. Set aside for 10 minutes.
      • Roll out the refrigerated pie crust and use a cookie cutter or small bowl as a template to cut out 4-5 inch round circles. If you reroll the pie dough, you should get 6 rounds per sheet. Place on the prepared baking sheets.
      • Drain any excess liquid from the pears. Place ⅛-1/4 cup of the pear mixture in the center of each dough round.
      • Cut the butter into 12 tiny pieces and place a piece on top of each pear mixture
      • Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl and carefully brush just around the edges of the dough. Fold over and press to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork.
      • Use a sharp knife to cut 1-3 tiny slits in the top of the dough to allow for the steam to escape while it is baking.
      • Brush the remaining egg wash over the tops of the hand pies.
      • Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top.
      • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.

      Nutrition

      Serving: 1pie | Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.1g | Protein: 3.6g | Fat: 12.8g | Saturated Fat: 3.9g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 183mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14.8g