My Mom used to say, “I only like two kinds of pie: hot and cold.” And he was right! There’s nothing wrong with any kind of pie, except one… mushy pie. The best thing about a hand pie is that you can eat it cold or warm it up, but the crust on your leftovers doesn’t get soggy! Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. My husband loves pie, but he loves hand pies even more. There’s something fun about being able to hold a slice of pie in each hand like a cartoon character. More than that, he loves this pie crust. It’s so yummy that the higher crust to filling ratio doesn’t even matter. With hand pies, it really is all about the crust. < Back Pie Crust Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Serves: 10 Level: Beginner Ingredients Pie Crust 1 stick unsalted butter frozen, grated on the large side 1½ cup all purpose flour 1 tsp salt ¼ cup sugar ½ cup ice water Hand Pies 1 1/4 cup pie filling of choice 2 Tbsp egg whites 2 Tbsp turbinado sugar Preparation A Great Pie Crust is Key I use an all-butter crust recipe because I prefer using simple ingredients, and I get a pretty good result without shortening. Here are some of my favorite crust making tips. Freeze and Grate Your Butter My trick for getting the butter to produce a flaky crust is keeping it ice cold. I freeze the stick completely, and use the larger side of a box grater to shred my frozen butter. Simply tossing the butter in the dry ingredients produces the “pea-sized” texture that you look for when cutting-in. With less time to warm up, the butter retains its frosty temperature. Water Works Best, but Bourbon is Good, Too Then, I used water for this recipe. In the past, I have used ice cold bourbon, vodka, vinegar, and water. Vodka and vinegar didn’t do anything for me. Bourbon is AMAZING. It helps with the flakiness and it adds a fun extra flavor. But for our hand pies, we want something basic that will fit any filling. So, this time, we’ll use water. Do Not Over Mix Your Pie Crust Dough The last thing that ensures you’ll get a great crust is how you mix it. You want to drizzle in the water a little at a time, using your fork to distribute moisture. Once you start to see the dough forming, dump it onto the counter. It will likely still look very dry. Keep the ice water nearby. Working with a bench scraper you’ll dig under the dough and fold it. Turn the mass 90-degrees, and fold it again. You’ll continue doing this until your dough smooths out and you can tell layers are forming. Usually, this is because you’ll fold, and the side will crack, exposing flaky layers. At this point, you should still have a cold dough that is fully incorporated and kind of smooth looking. Wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge to rest for 1 hour. Why Do You Rest Pie Dough in the Fridge? The reason you need to rest the pie dough in the fridge is two-fold. First, you want to make sure your dough is super cold before it goes into the oven. Cold pie dough makes for flaky pie crust. The second reason is that your dry ingredients are not fully hydrated just after mixing. They need a little time to get to know your water and butter. Once they soak up some liquid, they’ll form a better gluten layer. This makes the pastry layers between the butter layers more structured. Structure sounds odd, but within the layers, it keeps your dough from being soggy and hard. More Reasons to Love Hand Pies Now, let’s be honest: just because it’s homemade, that doesn’t make it healthy. But it does mean I have more control over the sugar, and I know it’s not filled with artificial colors or other weird things that aren’t real fruit. The other great thing is that you can do whatever flavor you want! Now, honestly, cherry, peach, and apple pies are our favorites, we could totally do this with any flavor imaginable. How Do You Pick a Flavor? The original version of that post involved turning that pie filling into hand pies, a cheesecake, and a really good ice cream sundae. At the time, it seemed like too much fun for one post. But you know what? It created an opportunity to branch out. And if you don’t feel like making your own pie filling, you can pick up a can from the store. It will work just fine! You could even use fruit preserves. Do You Need to Do Anything Special to the Pie Filling? With the Amaretto-Cherry Pie Filling, or with canned filling or jarred preserves, you can use them right out of the can/jar. With a homemade pie filling that usually cooks down in the oven, you need to do a tiny bit more work. With apples and peaches, in particular, you need to cut your fruit into much smaller pieces. Think about the size diced peaches are in fruit cups. The second thing you need to do is cook down the liquid with a bit of thickener. For my Southern Peach Pie filling, I made up my filling in a sauce pan and brought it to a simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Then, I collected about 2 Tbsp of liquid and stirred in 1 tsp cornstarch. I mixed that slurry back into the filling. Once the filling was very thick, I poured it into a Pyrex bowl with a lid and refrigerated it until it was cold. Remember, you want your pie dough to stay cold, so you also want to keep your filling cold, too. This way, your crust maintains its integrity. Are There Any Cool Tools to Use for Hand Pies? You’ll notice that on my cherry pies, they’re a little more rustic. I simply crimp the edges with a fork. This method is easy and accessible. On my peach pies, though, I used an old Pampered Chef ravioli press that my mother-in-law gave us. I looked for a good alternative, and the next best thing is this 3-inch ravioli stamp. You may still want to use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to get your pie crust cut out. Then, you’ll place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of the bottom crust, brush the edges with egg, and lay the top crust on top. Line up your ravioli stamp and press down for a pretty crimped edge! I’ve already mentioned that a good bench scraper is super important and I definitely recommend that you use one in your crust making to avoid heating up the dough with your hands. This is the one I like best . How Do You Serve Hand Pies? There’s one last very important question to answer. How do you serve these happy, little hand pies up? Well, I recommend letting them cool first. This is just to avoid burning the roof of your mouth on the molten filling. But, they are wonderfully warm! Scoop up a bit of vanilla ice cream, too, and enjoy! I also like them at room temperature with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. The best thing about hand pies is that you don’t need a plate or a fork. So, you can enjoy them snuggled up on the couch during a good movie. or huddled under your mom’s desk because there’s thunder. So, whether you’re making these for a picnic or a rainy night in, you can enjoy your hand pies however you want. INSTRUCTIONS Pie Crust Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar with a fork. Shred in the frozen butter and lightly toss in your dry mix to coat. Add in the water (not the ice) starting with 1/4 cup. Still using your fork, stir to distribute moisture. Once you can convince a somewhat dry clump to stick together, dump the bowl out onto the counter. Using a bench scraper, fold the crumbly mixture over onto itself until it is smooth and hydrated. Work quickly so it stays ice cold. If your dough gets warm, put it in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing to fold it to shape. Once you've achieved a mostly smooth surface (but the sides where you've folded may have cracked and show flaky layers), wrap in plastic wrap or beeswax food cloth. Rest in the fridge for 1 hour. Hand Pies Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out the pie dough to ⅛ inch thick. Use a 4-biscuit cutter to cut out 20 circles. You may need to collect the scraps and reroll them. To do this, stack the scrapes and roll. Do NOT squish them like PlayDoh or you'll lose the layers. Place the circles on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Spoon 1½ Tbsp of the pie filling into the center of 10 of your circles. Brush the edges with egg whites, and then cover with the other 10 circles of pie crust. Use your fingers to press the top crust down onto the bottom crust. Crimp the edges with the fork. Brush more egg white all over the tops of the pies. Sprinkle on turbinado sugar. Use a paring knife to poke a small vent hole in the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving. Previous Next

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Copy Cat Recipes Beginner Little Caesars Crazy Bread Go crazy at home when you make your own crazy breadsticks like the ones at Little Caesars. Beginner Little Caesars Crazy Sauce Just as good as the original recipe. Beginner Little Caesars Italian Cheese Bread This Little Caesars Italian Cheese Bread is amazing!!! The crispy edge, the garlic butter and all that cheese! This Italian Cheese Bread will not disappoint – your family will be looking everywhere for the Little Caesars pizza box!

Champion BBQ pitmaster and restaurateur Mike Mills developed this spice mix and he calls it “Magic Dust.” < Back Magic Dust Spice Mix Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: Serves: Multiple Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients ½ cup paprika ¼ cup kosher salt, finely ground ¼ cup white granulated sugar 2 tablespoons yellow mustard powder ¼ cup chili powder ¼ cup ground cumin 2 tablespoons ground black pepper ¼ cup granulated garlic 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper Preparation Mix ingredients together. Yields 2 ½ cups Store in an airtight container, but also keep a shaker full next to the grill or stovetop. *Note: To make it a bit hotter and spicier, increase the mustard powder and black pepper to ¼ cup each. Previous Next

For the people who like a little more “Umph” to their mustard. < Back Course Mustard Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: Serves: Multiple Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients ¼ cup basic yellow mustard (either store bought or homemade) 1 tablespoon crushed brown mustard seeds ½ teaspoon granulated garlic ½ teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon horseradish powder 1 teaspoon sugar 4 teaspoons white distilled vinegar ½ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons lemon juice Preparation Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. Let stand for at least one hour before using. Previous Next

< Back Homemade Maple Syrup You'll never want to buy syrup syrup ever again! Previous Next

This Rigatoni Pasta Bake is an easy weeknight dinner that’ll make everyone at the table happy! Tender rigatoni is tossed in a flavorful meat sauce and gets baked to perfection beneath a blanket of both parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Make ahead and freezer friendly! < Back Rigatoni Pasta Bake Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Serves: 8 Level: Beginner About the Recipe This Rigatoni Pasta Bake is an easy weeknight dinner that’ll make everyone at the table happy! Tender rigatoni is tossed in a flavorful meat sauce and gets baked to perfection beneath a blanket of both parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Make ahead and freezer friendly! Ingredients 1 lb lean ground beef 1 medium onion diced 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon salt ¼-½ teaspoon red chili flakes (according to your tastes) ¼ teaspoon black pepper 5 cups tomato pasta sauce roughly 2 jars 500 grams Rigatoni pasta about 1 lb 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese fresh parsley to garnish Preparation In a large saucepan, stir and cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until browned and onions have softened. Drain any juices released. Add the Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, red chili flakes and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the pasta sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, for 5 minutes. Set aside. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add rigatoni, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook just until al dente (it will continue to cook slightly in the oven). Reserve ½ cup pasta water and drain pasta. Stir reserved pasta water into meat sauce. Combine pasta and pasta sauce in a saucepan. Pour into a lightly greased 9×13″ or similar baking dish. Cover with a lightly greased piece of foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until heated through. **Optionally, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Bake at 350 degrees F until heated through, about 30-40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake an additional 10 minutes (or broil 2-3 minutes), until the cheese has started to brown. Ingredients and Substitutions: Ground Beef: feel free to swap the ground beef for ground Italian sausage (mild or spicy according to your tastes), or ground pork, chicken or turkey. Vegetables: onion provides a great flavor base for our sauce, but this is also a great time to add in other vegetables. Finely chopped or shredded carrots, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, celery and more are great additions. You can also stir some spinach into the sauce after simmering. Rigatoni: this recipe works just as well with any cut of pasta! Feel free to use what you have on hand. I often use a whole grain variety. Previous Next

Generational family favorite for when you just need some chocolate < Back Poor Man’s Chocolate Cake Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 25-35 minutes Serves: 12 Level: Beginner Ingredients 1 ½ cup sugar 2 ¼ cup flour ½ cup cocoa powder 1 ½ teaspoon salt 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 ½ cup water ½ cup vegetable oil (or oil of your choice) 1 ½ tablespoons vinegar 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla Preparation In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Mix together with a wire whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the water, vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla. Mix well with a wire whisk or hand mixer until ingredients are well combined and smooth. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 baking dish and bake at 350°F, for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. High altitude instructions: Add ¼ cup flour to the recipe when mixing. Previous Next

I have no control when it comes to 4-Bean Salad. I could sit down and eat the whole bowl. The flavor explodes in your mouth, and you will never forget it. Don’t save this for just family gatherings, spoil yourself and make it just for you! < Back 4-Bean Salad Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: Serves: 8 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients ½ cup white sugar ½ teaspoon salt 2/3 cup olive oil 2/3 cup white wine vinegar (or white, or apple cider vinegar) 1 can garbanzo beans (16 oz.) 1 can green beans (16 oz.) 1 can yellow wax or baby butter bean (16 oz.) 1 can kidney bean (16 oz.) 1 small purple onion, thinly sliced (or other mild onion) 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced (optional) Preparation Mix together sugar, salt, oil, and vinegar. Drain and rinse beans and place in a large bowl, add onion. Pour mixture over beans and lightly toss. Best if made a day ahead to absorb flavors. Previous Next

These really are the best ever homemade flour tortillas, no one can believe how easy and delicious they are! They're perfect for enchiladas, soft tacos, burritos, quesadillas, wraps... < Back Tortilla (wheat or white) Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Serves: 12 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients 3 cups flour – your preference 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ cup oil (olive oil is the healthiest to use, but any vegetable oil is acceptable) 1 cup warm water Preparation Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and knead until you have a smooth ball. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. Divide up into 12 equal balls and roll out, thin (they will thicken up a bit when they cook.) Do not use flour to roll them out because when you cook them the flour will burn. If they happen to be a little too moist, just lightly dust the ball before rolling out. Fry the tortillas on medium high heat, with NO oil (that will make it crispy), on a cast iron skillet. When they start to bubble up, turn over. When it starts to bubble up again, they are done. Cover with a cloth to keep warm and serve. These are very soft, very tasty tortillas! Previous Next

Cream Cheese Frosting makes the perfect frosting recipe that can be used on either cupcakes or layer cakes. It is super simple to make, and is the best one you can get! < Back Cream Cheese Icing Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: -0- Serves: -0- Level: Beginner Ingredients ¼ cup butter or margarine 3 oz. package of cream cheese A pinch of salt 2 ½ cups powdered sugar Preparation Place all ingredients in a bowl Beat together until light and fluffy Adding a few drops Spread over Desserts made with cream cheese frosting do require refrigeration. If the frosting is already used on a cupcake or layer-cake, make sure to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you simply want to refrigerate the unused frosting, simply store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Before using it, remove from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before use. This way, it will soften up a bit. Another trick you could use is to add one tablespoon of heavy cream to the frosting and mix on low for about 1 minute with an electric mixer. This will ensure a fluffy and spreadable consistency. Previous Next

Delicious Homemade Vanilla Bean Paste < Back Homemade Vanilla Bean Paste Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: N/A Serves: 84 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Delicious Homemade Vanilla Bean Paste Ingredients 1 cup granulated sugar 6 ounces vodka about ⅔ cup 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup 2 Tablespoons water 2 ounces whole vanilla bean Grade A preferred Preparation Combine the sugar, vodka, corn syrup, and water in the cup of a high speed blender. If you only have a pitcher for your blender, you will want to double all of the ingredients. 1 cup granulated sugar, 6 ounces vodka, 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup, 2 Tablespoons water . Cut the vanilla beans into pieces that are about 2-3" in length and add to the blender cup. 2 ounces whole vanilla bean Blend on the highest speed for about 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth. I use the extract function on the Ninja Foodi Blender. Pour into storage containers with a lid and store at room temperature for up to 1 year. Previous Next