I have been wanting to make mini hand pies for ages, and finally decided to make these for breakfast! My idea turned out so well and I am obsessed with how adorable and delicious these are! These are so easy to make, and you could substitute any pie filling of your choice - I have made versions filled with berry chia jam, apple cinnamon, and pumpkin! I have recipes for all of these fillings in this post.
I used my simple pie crust recipe from my personal apple and cherry pies, which only uses a few ingredients and happens to be vegan! When you are mixing the dough for the pie crust, it will be quite lumpy (see picture later) and that is ok! When you roll it out, it will stay together. It is best to avoid overhandling pie crust because that will mess up the consistency. If you make a larger batch of the dough, you can freeze it for later. This recipe makes two small hand pies, so if you want to make more, simply multiply the amounts.
Pie Crust
Ingredients
Makes two 3.5 inch diameter hand pies
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
½ tsp cinnamon
Drizzle of honey or maple syrup
3 tbsp cold water
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 F, and start making the filling so it can cool as you make the pie crust.
2. Mix all ingredients except the cold water together in a mixing bowl. Add the water and and mix until combined - it will be lumpy (see photo above).
3. Sprinkle flour on a clean, flat surface. Gather the dough into a ball, place it on the floured surface, and roll out the dough (you can use a water bottle or something similar if you don’t have a rolling pin, but make sure it is clean and has smooth sides) until it is about ¼ cm thick.
4. Use a circle cookie cutter or a cup with a diameter about 3.5 inches to cut out four circles of dough. You can gather the dough into a ball and roll it out again after cutting the circles to use up all the dough. This makes exactly four circles with a 3.5 inch diameter, so you will use all the dough if you make your circles this size!
5. Place a spoonful of the filling in the center of two dough circles. Lightly brush the edges of each dough circle to seal the pie, then take the dough circles without filling and place them on top of the other circles, as if you were making a little sandwich.
6. Press down on the edges so they are sealed together. Crimp them with a fork to make the little ruffled edges that give it that “pie aesthetic.”
7. Brush the top of the dough lightly with milk (I used oat milk).
8. Carefully use a sharp knife to cut a little “X” shape in the top of the pie - this will vent the steam and pressure as the pies cook. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is fully cooked and golden brown on the edges.
10. Let cool and enjoy!
Filling Options
Ingredient amounts make enough for 2-3 mini pies
Berry Filling
Note: this is basically a healthy, quick version of jam that you can make yourself!
Ingredients
About ⅓ cup of fresh or frozen berries of choice (I used a frozen medley of blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
1-2 tbsp chia seeds
Drizzle of honey or maple syrup (optional)
Dash of cinnamon
Splash of vanilla extract
Steps
1. Add frozen berries to a small pot on low to medium heat and cover to let them thaw and warm. Once they are thawed, move to the next step. If using fresh berries, simply mash them and then move to the next step.
2. Add other ingredients and mix, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the mixture has a jam-like consistency.
3. Remove from heat - it will continue to thicken as it cools.
Apple Cinnamon Filling
Ingredients
½ apple, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
A good shake of cinnamon
Steps
1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Either sautée over medium heat while covered, or microwave 2-3 minutes, until the apple pieces are soft.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Ingredients
3-4 tbsp pumpkin purée
1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp almond butter (or tahini or sunflower seed butter to make this nut-free)
1 tsp vanilla
Good shake (approximately ½ tsp) pumpkin spice, or dash each of: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cardamon
Steps
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, adding honey or maple syrup to taste to sweeten.
