Strawberry Hand Pies with Roasted Strawberry filling

Strawberry Hand Pies are the perfect early summer treat. Roasting the strawberries for the filling intensifies the flavor. Grab a pie and dig-in, no utensils required!

strawberry hand pies on a plate

When strawberries come into season I mostly prefer to eat them out of hand. Here in the northeastern U.S., we get to enjoy local strawberries for just a few short weeks. 

Once I get my fill of fresh berries, then it’s the time for shortcakes, tarts, tempura strawberries (yum, more on that in a later post) and pie.

The tips for making the best Strawberry Hand Pies

  • A seasonal strawberry is glorious to eat because it’s so juicy. But this is also what makes cooking strawberries in a pie a bit tricky. Put uncooked berries into a pie crust you’ll end up with a soggy crust and a mushy filling.
  • This is especially a problem when you’re making hand pies. Hand pies, as the name suggests, need to be sturdy enough to pick up and eat without falling apart in your hands.
  • For my Strawberry Hand Pies I wanted a filling that tastes as close to fresh strawberries as possible. My goal was to pre-cook the berries enough to avoid a soggy pie, but not so much that I made strawberry jam.

Hmmm, seems like a little experimentation is in order. You know I’m always looking for an excuse to do another kitchen experiment!

Two easy steps to great strawberry hand pie filling:

  • There was no question how I would start the filling – macerate the berries to draw out some of the juice. Macerating helps the berries keep their shape while cooking. I use the same technique for making Peach Pie
  • After macerating I planned to roast the berries because roasting intensifies flavor. But rather than just assume roasting was the way to go, I made the filling two ways to be sure.
  • After macerating and draining the juice from the berries, I cooked half the strawberries on the stove top and the other half I roasted in the oven.
  • I preferred the filling made with the roasted berries because the flavor was a little more intense and the fruit remained whole rather than breaking down.

Scroll through the process photos to see how to make a great Strawberry Hand Pie:

a bowl of strawberries with sugar
Macerate the berries to draw out the juice and help them keep their shape when they’re roasted.
two trays of roasted strawberries
The roasted berries have intense flavor and they keep their shape.

Cream Cheese Crust is perfect for sturdy hand pies:

The crust for the hand pies has both cream cheese and butter. By mixing in the cream cheese first you’ll coat the flour to help keep the dough tender and by leaving the butter in large flakes you’ll help create flaky layers.

It’s a very easy dough to work with. Of course you can use your favorite pie crust recipe for the hand pies, or you can use puff pastry.

cutting dough rounds
Cut the dough rounds then refrigerate to rest the dough.
dough rounds with egg wash
Line up the dough. Egg wash half the rounds for the pie bottoms, and make steam vents in the other rounds for the tops.
unbaked strawberry hand pies on a tray
Assemble the pies, pinch the edges together to keep the juices in.
freshly baked strawberry hand pies on a tray
a hand holding a strawberry hand pie
a plate of hand pies filled with roasted strawberries

If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider leaving a 5-star review.

roasted strawberry hand pies
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4.86 from 7 reviews

Strawberry Hand Pie Recipe

Roasting the strawberries for the filling intensifies the strawberry flavor. The roasted berries are wrapped in cream cheese pie dough.
Prep Time1 hour
Bake Time15 minutes
Chilling Time2 hours
Total Time3 hours 15 minutes
18 pies
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Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Cream Cheese Dough
  • 1 pound strawberries (clean and hulled)
  • 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch
  • 1 egg ( for egg wash)

Instructions

Prep

  • Make1 recipe Cream Cheese Dough at least 2-3 hours ahead of time so it has time to rest.
  • Cut 1 pound strawberries in halves or quarters if very large. Toss the berries with 2 oz granulated sugar and allow to macerate for 1 ½-2 hours.
  • Roll the dough to ⅛" thick. Use a 3½" biscuit cutter to cut circles. Place the circles onto a parchment lined sheet pan with a sheet of parchment between each layer of circles.
  • Piece together the scraps and form them into a disc, re-roll and cut until all the dough is used. Cover and refrigerate the dough rounds while you make the strawberry filling. The dough rounds can be held in the refrigerator for a day or frozen for up to a month. Defrost before using.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Drain the juice from the berries. Place the drained berries onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes until the berries are nicely browned and fragrant.
  • While the strawberries are roasting, pour the drained juice into a small sauce pan with 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juiceWhisk 2 teaspoons corn starch into the juice until there are no lumps (do not heat up the juice before adding the cornstarch!)
  • Cook the juice mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil, thickens and becomes translucent. Toss the thickened juices with the roasted berries. Allow the berries to cool completely (you can put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling). The berries can be prepared up to a day ahead.

Assemble and Bake

  • Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Whisk 1 egg with a pinch of salt to make an egg wash. Lay 1/2 the chilled dough rounds on your work surface. Brush the rounds with egg wash, making sure to go all the way to the edge of the round. Divide the strawberries among the egg-washed rounds, there should be about a tablespoon per pie.
  • Place a top onto each pie, being careful to keep the strawberries in the middle of the dough. Gently pinch together the edges of each pie, making sure they are well sealed. Place filled pies on the prepared baking sheet. Cut vent holes in the top of each pie. Brush each pie with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
  • Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes. The pies are best the day they are baked but will keep at room temperature for a day or two.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1each | Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 49mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 16IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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22 Comments

  1. Great recipe – I will be making these in a few days! I am wondering if I could put them together and freeze them before baking ?

    1. I didn’t try freezing them before baking, but I’m guessing that you could. Let me know how it works if you try it.

  2. 5 stars
    We just came back from a nice long walk and I KNEW I should not have clicked on your pinterest photo! Now I need to just have enough self control not to eat the strwberries before putting them in the little pies 🙂 YUM!

    1. I belong to a cooperative farm and the season always begins when the strawberries are ready. They taste even better when you have to wait for them.

  3. I love love love roasted strawberries. It’s been too long since I’ve made them. Love that you then made hand pies with them!

  4. These are too adorable and I imagine quite tasty. I have always wanted to make little hand-held pies. Thanks for sharing!

  5. I love fruity hand pies, but have never macerated strawberries before – that seems like it would break them down and make them perfect for a pie like this! I can’t wait to try.