Pastry lovers have got to try these gluten free Cherry Hand Pies. They're flaky, buttery and easier to make than a whole pie. You can fill them with any store bought or homemade pie filling or meat filling and you can even freeze them.
When I teach a pastry class we make these cute little hand pies instead of one big pie for a two reasons. It's easier to master the technique with a smaller piece of dough and we can make them, bake some and taste them in under two hours.
🥧 Ingredients
This is a pastry recipe that you can wrap around a savoury meat filling or fill with any store bought or homemade pie filling.
- butter and sour cream - using all butter with sour cream creates a workable dough
- rice vinegar - makes tender pastry (better than baking soda or lemon juice)
- EGFG gluten free flour blend (sweet rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, millet flour)
- sugar
- xanthan gum - important for structure
- sweet rice flour for sprinkling - as little as possible please
- Filling: store bought or homemade sweet or savoury pie filling
See recipe card for exact amounts.
📹 Instructions
Gluten free bakers need to be open to new ideas. That includes forgetting some things your mom told you about what makes the very best pastry. Here are the noteworthy instructions to make great pastry shared by America's Test Kitchen. They do more testing than any home cook could ever do and in another life I want to work there.
- Let the dough rest for 30 minutes to allow gluten free flours to absorb the liquid.
- Dust pastry lightly with sweet rice flour at any step in the process. My students find it's easiest to minimize sprinkling flour if they use wax paper or clear plastic on both sides of the dough when rolling it out. (Oops, I didn't show that in the video.)
- Pastry is easiest to handle when cold so keep the dough you aren’t working with in the fridge. Anytime the dough is too soft to work with put it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- Flexible cutting mats, placemats, plastic wrap and wax paper can all be used to flip dough without breaking it.
🫙 Substitutions
Gluten Free Flour Substitutions
This recipe works great with my EGFG Flour Blend. I have learned many things about gluten free baking from America's Test Kitchen but I didn't like their flour blend. Over time I landed on my EGFG blend which has sweet rice flour rather than white rice flour plus it uses a smaller percentage of rice flour.
With some effort you can find a blend that works for all your dietary needs and preferences. For more on the topic subscribe to get my best resources sent straight to your inbox, take my cooking class that explains gluten free flour or start with this 12-part series, How To Use Rice Flour for gluten free baking.
👋🏻 Variations
In my cooking classes we all make half-moon shapes with a single 4-inch circle of dough as well as full circles (for double the pastry) using two rounds. I also make one demonstration Pop Tart for anyone with kids or to relive childhood memories eating them. If you've got a sweet tooth you can sprinkle a little icing sugar on top or even make the kind of glaze you remember.
Equipment
You don’t need a lot of tools to make pie but over time we collect them and there is always another one on the list to acquire. Here's some ideas:
- Stand mixer or Food Processor - I always make pie dough in my food processor but it can be done by hand using a simple pastry cutter and a spatula. My mom, an expert pie maker, always made hers in a basic Sunbeam mixmaster so just use what you have. The modern equivalent would be a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
- A drinking glass or wine bottle with straight sides works pretty good but rolling pins were made for pastry. I have a heavy marble rolling pin with stand, favoured by bakers for both it’s weight and its’ cool temperature. Of course there is the standard wooden rolling pin, a silicone rolling pin, an adjustable rolling pin, the classic tapered French rolling pin and even stainless steel ones. I think I need another rolling pin.
- Gluten free cooks should be equipped with great resources and I recommend any of these three books. The last one is a compilation of the first two. The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook, Volume 2 The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook and How Can It Be Gluten Free Collection; 350+ Groundbreaking Recipes For All Your Favourites.
🥶 Storage
Yes, you can freeze these hand pies. Pastry thaws fairly quickly so you don't need to microwave them unless you want them warm. In that case learn to use less than full power to warm your hand pie and not cook it into a tough, chewy leftover.
I myself don't freeze the whole recipe of dough but I sell freshly made pie dough and cookie dough in Calgary once a month. Many people tell me they do freeze the whole recipe, thaw it overnight and make all the pastry recipes they love.
Cherry Hand Pies
Ingredients
PASTRY
- 6 tablespoon cold water
- 3 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 390 grams EGFG gluten free flour blend* (2¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup butter, cut into small pieces and frozen for 15 minutes
EGG WASH
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
FILLING
- 1 can gluten free cherry pie filling (18 oz/540 ml)
SPRINKLING FLOUR - sweet rice flour
Instructions
- Measure and cut butter, place in freezer for 15 minutes.
- In 1-cup measuring cup combine water, sour cream and vinegar. Set aside.
- Combine flour, sugar, salt and xanthan gum in food processor with dough blade. Process for 5-10 seconds.
- Add butter on top and process until combined into uniform crumb-like mixture.
- Pour sour cream mixture onto flour, pulse until well combined and looks like pastry.
- Turn dough onto a large piece of wax paper and divide into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a round disk and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes until cold enough to work with. Can be prepared in advance, wrapped well in plastic and stored in the fridge for several days.
EGG WASH
- Mix egg and milk. Set aside.
ROLL OUT PASTRY
- Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, remove from fridge and let sit until pliable.
- Leaving the disk in the center of the wax paper, sprinkle both sides lightly with flour.
- Using a rolling pin start in the center and roll out toward the edge. Lift and repeat always starting in the center, turning the dough as you go. Roll out to ⅛-inch thickness.
SHAPING HAND PIES
- Cut dough into 3½-inch or 4-inch circles. (see notes)
- Drop a small amount of cherry pie filling in the center of a circle. Gently fold over pinching the edges together. Using a fork, dipped in flour, gently press the edges to seal. Make air vents in the top of each pie.
- Brush each hand pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake in 400°F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking racks.
Notes
I’d love to hear about your experience with pastry in the comments below. I especially want to hear from someone who made this recipe with regular vinegar instead of rice vinegar, I'm sure it will turn out just fine.
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