Strawberry Cream Cheese Hand Pies
Strawberry Cream Cheese Hand Pies are sweet, fruity hand-held desserts that are so easy to make and are perfect with a scoop of ice cream!
Why We Love Strawberry Cream Cheese Hand Pies
- For breakfast, snack, or dessert, these fruit-filled strawberry cream cheese hand pies are incredibly delicious and are the perfect treat!
- Sweet cream cheese and bright strawberries make an irresistible combination that the entire family will rave about.
- Simple ingredients are all you need, like strawberries, cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon, and making these heart-shaped strawberry hand pies is a snap, thanks to a refrigerated pie crust!
- When enjoying these strawberry hand pies for dessert, don’t be shy about adding a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream for a truly decadent treat!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Easy Strawberry Hand Pies
STRAWBERRY FILLING
FRUIT: To make the filling you will need hulled, sliced strawberries and a lemon. Be sure to zest the lemon before you juice it.
PANTRY ITEMS: You will also need corn starch and granulated sugar to make the filling for these hand pies.
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
REFRIGERATED ITEMS: Pick up cream cheese and eggs for this part of the filling.
PANTRY ITEMS: You will also need vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
CRUST: Purchase refrigerated pie crust for this recipe. You can use a homemade pie crust instead but avoid pre-made frozen pie crust, as it is not made to be rolled out. Making strawberry cream cheese hand pies with Pillsbury pie crust makes this recipe a breeze. You will also need an egg white and if you like, pick up coarse sugar to sprinkle over the hand pies.
How to Make Strawberry Hand Pies
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Combine the strawberries, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook the strawberry mixture for five minutes, stirring often. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher or spoon and continue to cook the mixture for another 5-10 minutes to let the mixture thicken. Once thick, remove the strawberry filling and allow it to cool completely.
STEP 2 Using a stand mixer or a bowl and beaters, beat the cream cheese, lemon zest, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and salt together until smooth.
STEP 3 Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Unroll the pie crusts onto a lightly floured surface and go over it with a roller to remove any creases. Cut out 10 hearts from each sheet of pie crust using a 3 1/2 cookie cutter. Using a sharp knife, cut an X into 10 of the heart-shaped crusts to create a vent- these will be the top of the hand pies. Line the uncut bottom crusts on the baking sheets.
STEP 4 In the middle of each crust add 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling and top it with 1 tablespoon of strawberry filling, leaving a small border.
STEP 5 Brush the border with the whisked egg white and then place the top crust on each hand pie. Press the edges together to seal the pies and then crimp the edge with a fork. Refrigerate the hand pies for 30 minutes.
STEP 5 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the hand pies from the fridge and apply a coating of egg whites and, if using, a sprinkle of sugar. Bake the hand pies for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Allow the hand pies to cool for 5-10 minutes before enjoying.
Tips & Tricks
- If you do not have a heart-shaped cookie cutter you can make a stencil and cut out the shape using a pairing knife.
- When using frozen strawberries in this recipe you may need to cook the strawberry filling a little longer to achieve the correct consistency. Frozen berries tend to have a little more liquid so they will require more cooking time.
- To prevent the filling from leaking be sure to not overfill the hand pies and also to chill them before baking. There may be some filling leftover, hopefully enough to tide you over while you wait for the hand pies to be ready!
- Store leftover hand pies in the fridge for up to two days. Freezing is not recommended due to the cream cheese filling. To reheat, bake the pies in the oven at 300 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Microwaving is not recommended because it could make the crust soggy.
Strawberry Hand Pie Recipe FAQ
What is strawberry pie filling made of?
Fresh sweet strawberries are the star of strawberry pie filling, but frozen berries can be used as well! To thicken and sweeten strawberry pie filling, cornstarch, and granulated sugar are added to a pot filled with sliced berries, as well as a little lemon juice, to balance all the sweetness. Cooking this mixture down and making it nice and thick is the perfect way to make an amazing strawberry pie filling.
What is another name for hand pie?
There are a few different names for hand pies, the most popular being pasty (pronounced “pass-tea”) or turnover. In Latin countries, hand pies are known as empanadas and in India some consider samosas to be a kind of hand pie. Hand pies can be sweet or savory and, as you can tell by the name, must be something you can hold and eat!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Air Fryer Apple Pie Bites
- Cherry Pie Bars
- Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
- Apple Pie Golden Oreo Truffles
- Strawberry Crisp
- Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Cream Cheese Hand Pies
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling
- 1 ½ cups strawberries hulled and quartered
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Crust
- 7.05 ounces refrigerated pie crust (2 count package)
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions
Strawberry Filling
- Add the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch to a medium saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 5 minutes until the strawberries and have softened. Mash with a potato masher.
- Cook for another 5-10 minutes until thickened. Transfer to a bowl to cool. (Pop the bowl in the fridge to help speed up the process.)**Be sure that the strawberry jam has cooled completely before assembling the pies. If the jam is still warm it will cause the butter in the crust to melt, resulting in a soggy rather than flakey crust.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg yolk, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt until smooth and combined. Set aside.
Pie Crust
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. Unroll the pie crust onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to gently roll the pie dough and remove any creases.
- Use a 3 1/2-inch heart cookie cutter to cut 10 hearts from each pie dough sheet. (You may need to re-roll the pie dough once to get all 10 cut-outs.)
- Cut a small X into the center of 10 of the hearts to create a steam vent. These are the top pieces for the pies. Set aside.
Assembly
- Place the remaining 10 dough hearts onto the baking sheets. Place a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese filling on the dough hearts and spread, leaving a small border around the edge. Top the cream cheese with a heaping tablespoon of strawberry filling.
- Brush the border of each pie with egg white (you can use a pastry burhs or your finger). Place the top vented pie dough heat on top. Press the edges together to seal the pie. Then use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges closed.
- Chill the pies on the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of the pies with egg white and sprinkle on some sugar (if using).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a 300 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes.
- You can use fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries. Frozen strawberries contain more liquid than fresh and will need longer to cook to reach to correct jam consistency.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.