Peach Hand Pies

These juicy homemade Peach Hand Pies with flaky crust and vanilla-cinnamon-coated peaches are perfect for picnics and summer gatherings.

Fantastic sweet treats for summer and peach season, these little pies oozing with juicy peaches coated in sugar and cinnamon come together in less than an hour and do not require any complex baking skills or tools.

Hand pies are technically portion-sized pies that you can make to go and much in the car, in the park, or pack them for kids’ school lunches. They are perfect to share with friends and family!

The pies aren’t overly sweet, so if you want, you can add a simple icing (I’ll share how) for added sweetness.

Try these hand pies with my Easy AWARD WINNING Pie Crust

Ingredients Notes

This recipe only uses 7 simple ingredients and it is best to make during peach season.

Pie Dough

• 2 sheets of refrigerated pie crust – (1 box). I use a boxed pie crust, but your favorite homemade pie crust recipe, shortcrust (hand pie dough) will be amazing. Using a pre-made dough saves us time as we don’t need to chill it before dividing and baking. Pillsbury pie crust works great.

Pie crust is flaky and buttery and denser than pastry crust. Turnovers are usually made with puff pastry, but peach hand pies recipes use pie crust.

Filling ingredients

• Peaches, peeled and diced. Please, only use fresh peaches, frozen peaches will not work. If you have canned peaches, drain them before adding to the mixing bowl. Make sure to dice peaches (about 1/2-inch) and not cut them in slices, – hand pies are small and the filling needs to fit inside well.
• Granulated sugar alone or 50/50 with brown sugar as an option. Brown sugar contains molasses that give a rich caramel flavor, while white sugar just adds sweetness. Maple syrup is another sugar substitute that will add both sweetness and fall warm flavors.
• Cornstarch to thicken the filling and bind it together well. Just a bit of cornstarch will make sure our pies stay firm and the bottom doesn’t get mushy and soggy. Flour can substitute cornstarch, however it is not gluten-free (and the cornstarch is).
• Lemon juice in fruit pies is a must! It will blend in and make the peaches really pop and be the star of the show.
• Vanilla extract or almond extract – both have amazing flavors and pair incredibly well with juicy peach flavor. Vanilla beans or paste will work too.
• Ground cinnamon

Topping

• Granulated sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• 1 beaten egg (for egg wash). You can either use a beaten egg or egg yolk beaten with milk to make the egg wash. This egg wash makes the top crust golden brown and also allows the sugar-cinnamon crumbles to stick.

Another option for a simple topping is simply to sprinkle some coarse sugar or turbinado sugar ver baked peach hand pies.

Kitchen Equipment

• Parchment-lined baking sheet
• Rolling pin to shape the dough circle.
• Optional, pastry cutter or 4-inch round cutter to divide the dough for each peach hand pie. You can use just a sharp knife instead. A 4-inch round cutter makes approximately 16 hand pies, you can go bigger in size, and then you’ll get fewer pies, for ex., with a 5-inch cutter you will maybe have 12. If you have neither, use a mason jar lid or a round glass.
• Pastry brush to coat the pies with egg wash.

How To Make Peach Hand Pies

1 – Make The Pie crust

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Roll out one dough disk until about 1/8 inch thick. Work on a lightly floured surface. 
3. Cut out circles of the flaky dough using a 4-inch round cutter.

2 – Make The Peach Pie Filling

1. Toss the diced peaches, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, until well combined.
2. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the peach mixture in the center of each circle. Do not add too much filling, as the pies can burst.
3. Fold the pie dough over to create a half-moon shape and press the edges with a fork to seal.
4. Move the hand pies on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

3 – Brush Egg Wash

1. Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. 
2. Brush the tops of the hand pies with the beaten egg and sprinkle the top of each pie with cinnamon sugar.

4 – Bake And Serve

1. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pies are golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
2. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.

Serving Suggestions

Baked peach hand pies are best eaten fresh on the same day. Be careful serving them warm, the pie filling inside can still be very hot and you can burn your lips or tongue.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, a cup of tea or coffee, with some extra slices of fresh peaches or whipped cream.

Storage

Store hand pies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 3-4 days.

You can freeze hand pies for up to 3 months. First, let them cool completely, then harden in the freezer on a baking sheet, then transfer and store them in a freezer bag.

To serve again, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake in the oven or toaster oven.

Make Ahead

This peach hand pie recipe is great for making ahead. The freshly baked peach hand pies taste best the same day, but you can also make them and freeze them for 3 months.

Unbaked but assembled hand pies can be frozen for up to 6 months.

You can prepare the filling a few days ahead and then fold the pies and bake them once you’re ready.

Variations

• My recipe is pretty vegan-friendly, but I used regular pie crust, so you can swap it with homemade or store-bought vegan pie dough, and skip the egg wash.
• Dough options. I used store-bought pie crust, yet pastry dough
• Other fruits. If you want you can use apples, pears, or plums instead of peaches.
• Booze the filling up by adding some bourbon or orange-based liqueur (French Triple Sec or Italian Orangecello). Saute the peaches in it with all the filling ingredients until bubbling.
• Pumpkin or Apple pie spice are aromatic substitutes for just cinnamon in this recipe. Both usually contain cinnamon too, but also ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and sometimes black pepper and cardamom. Ginger and nutmeg go extremely well with peaches.
• Icing made of powdered sugar and milk whisked together is another level of sweet goodness for these pies. Once the hand pies are baked dip each into the icing and lay them out on some parchment paper or silpat.

Popular Questions

How To Tell Is The Peaches Are Ripe?

Peaches are ripe and good to use in a pie recipe if when you gently press the fruit near the stem it gives in slightly. It should feel soft but hold the shape.

Unlike unripe peaches, ripe ones have uniform color without green spots and smell strong!

Do I Need To Peel Peaches For The Peach Pies?

Yes, making pie is better with peeled fresh peaches. You can use a Y-shaped vegetable peeler or blanche the peaches in boiling water to remove the skin.

Why Is My Peach Pie Soggy?

If you skip cornstarch in the peach filling ingredients, the filling won’t thicken enough and will soak the pie crust or puff pastry until it becomes soggy. Using undrained canned peaches can also lead to a soggy bottom crust and the pies falling apart.

Are Hand Pies The Same As Empanadas?

Both hand pies and empanadas are hand-held baked pies. However, Spanish and Latin American empanadas are usually savory, while we may have fruit hand pies. You may say that hand pies is a general term and empanadas are a regional name for savory hand pies.

Why Do Hand Peach Pies Burst Open While Baking?

If you didn’t properly close the dough, skipped the cornstarch, used canned peaches without draining them, or simply loaded too much filling in each pie, your hand pies can explode or open up oozing all the good juices.

To make sure the hand pies don’t open during baking, pinch them till tightly closed and brush egg wash over the edges. You can make a little cut on the top to help the extra liquids evaporate without breaking the pies. 

If you love this treat recipe, you’re going to love these similar dessert ideas, too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Peach Recipes

Peach Pie

Peach Crisp

Grilled Peaches

Slow Cooker Peach Cobbler with Bisquick

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