Cherry, Chocolate, and Chili Hand Pies
Sweet with a little bit of spice, these Cherry, Chocolate, and Chili Hand Pies are perfectly flaky and small enough to take on the go–no plate or utensils needed! Yields: 8-9 hand pies
Servings Prep Time
8-9hand pies 20minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
15-18minutes 1hour
Servings Prep Time
8-9hand pies 20minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
15-18minutes 1hour
Ingredients
All Butter Double Crust Pie Dough
Cherry Chili Filling
Assembly
Instructions
All Butter Double Pie Crust Dough
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub in the cubes of butter until you’re left with mostly pea-sized chunks of butter.
  2. In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the water, ice, apple cider vinegar, and vodka. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of this mix onto the flour/butter mixture. Using a butter knife or your fingers, gently stir to mix until fully incorporated. Continue to add the ice water mix 1-2 Tbsp at a time until fully incorporated. You should notice large chunks beginning to form. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball, there should be some dry bits of flour left still. Use your fingertips to gently pinch these bits together with the rest of the dough. You may need to give it one or two gentle kneads to incorporate these dry bits.
  3. Divide the dough in half. Lightly flour your countertop or work surface. Roll out each half of the dough into a rectangle, about 12″x4″. Fold the top 1/3 of the dough to the center. Fold up the bottom 1/3 of dough to overlap with the top half. Flip the dough 90 degrees and repeat the rolling and folding process. Flip 90 degrees and repeat one more time. Wrap in plastic. Using a rolling pin, gently press down to flatten the dough and bring any remaining dry bits at the edges together. Allow the dough to chill and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Cherry and Chili Pie Filling
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the frozen cherries, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, flour, and vanilla extract. Separately, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 Tbsp of water. Once dissolved, add to the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on medium heat, boiling until the cherries begin to break down, the flour cooks out, and the filling thickens. About 8-10 minutes.
  2. Transfer to a bowl or a shallow glass dish and set in the refrigerator to cool.
Assembly
  1. Make sure an oven rack is fitted in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the first half of your pie dough until it is about 2mm thick. Using a round cutter, 3.5″ across in diameter, cut out your pie dough rounds and set aside. Repeat with the other half of the dough. You should have 16-18 circles of dough.
  3. In a small measuring cup or a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg with 1 Tbsp of water to make an egg wash. Lightly outline one circle of dough with the egg wash. Place 1 Tbsp of cherry and chili pie filling in the center. Dot the pie filling with 1 tsp of dark or bittersweet chocolate chips, carefully distributing so that the chocolate isn’t all in one spot. Place another circle of dough on top, gently pressing down on the edges–be careful not to let the cherry filling ooze out. Use a fork to crimp around the pie. Brush egg wash over the top and sprinkle with a bit of raw sugar. Cut two to three slits into the top crust and transfer the mini pie onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remainder of your dough rounds.*
  4. Place the baking sheet in the freezer to chill for ten minutes. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15-18 minutes until the cherry and chili filling is bubbling and the pies are golden brown on the top and around the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Enjoy while still a bit warm or once completely cooled.
Recipe Notes

*To make the tops fit a bit easier without stretching, I like to give them another 1-2 rolls until they’re a bit larger than the bottom and can easily be draped over the filling without causing any of it to seep out when pressing down on the edges.

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