Blueberry Hand Pie Recipe
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Featuring a homemade pastry crust, a blueberry-lemon jam, and sweet vanilla bean icing, this blueberry hand pie recipe welcomes the summer berry season while celebrating my love of hand pies. Much like their cousin, the apple turnover, these handheld blueberry pies work equally well for breakfast or brunch. They’re also great for dessert, with a big scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, of course!
Key Ingredients
Many hand pie recipes rely on a pre-made pie dough and store-bought jam. In this recipe you’ll prepare all of the components from scratch. While slightly more time-consuming, both the pastry and jam are easy and straightforward to make, and most of the components are things you already have. You’ll need basic baking supplies like flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and salt, plus a few special ingredients for the homemade jam and the lemon-vanilla glaze:
- Blueberries – While you can make the jam with fresh or frozen blueberries, I really recommend using fresh berries if they’re in season where you live. They’re more vibrantly colored and flavored than the frozen kind, and don’t take nearly as long to cook down into jam. If you do want to use frozen berries, there is no need to thaw. You can use them straight from the bag, but remember that it will take a few minutes longer to cook out the excess water of frozen fruit.
- Lemon – The homemade blueberry jam includes a small amount of lemon juice and zest, and you’ll need more zest and juice for the glaze. (If you have some lemons left over, save them for lemon curd or candied lemon peels.) Do not use bottled lemon juice; it contains unnecessary preservatives and can taste more bitter than fresh. For the glaze, zest the rind on a microplane rather than the box grater you’d use for carrots; the pieces created by a box grater are too large, and will make the glaze difficult to drizzle.
- Vanilla – In addition to fresh lemon, vanilla represents the key flavor in the glaze. Skip the cheap artificial flavorings from the supermarket and use a real vanilla pod, or choose a good-quality vanilla bean paste. In addition to a prominent vanilla flavor, you’ll have the added bonus of pretty vanilla bean speckles dotted throughout the glaze!
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t overfill the pastries. Too much jam will make the pies difficult to seal, and they’ll leak in the oven. But, don’t worry if your jam does leak a little; a “rustic” look is totally appropriate for this recipe!
- Skip the icing. I love drizzling my hand pies with lemon vanilla bean glaze, but feel free to skip it for less sweetness. Instead, egg wash then sprinkled with crunchy Demerara sugar, as I’ve done with my cherry hand pies.
- Glaze over a wire rack. To glaze the pies, line a tray with parchment, wax paper, or plastic wrap, sit a wire cooling rack over the lined tray, then arrange the blueberry hand pies on the rack before spooning the glaze. Although not strictly necessary, I prefer this method for easy cleanup. The parchment will collect the excess glaze as it drips down the sides of the pies. When you’re done, just crumple and dispose of the paper, no tray-washing required.
Blueberry Hand Pies
- Total TimeAbout 2 1/2 hours, including chilling time
- Yield6 4-inch hand pies 1x
A blueberry hand pie recipe featuring homemade blueberry lemon jam and homemade shortcrust pastry, baked until bubbly and golden brown and drizzled with lemon-vanilla glaze.
Ingredients
Pastry:
192 grams all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups; 6 3/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
105 grams unsalted butter, cold and cubed (7 tablespoons; 3 3/4 ounces)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon ice water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten, for egg wash
Blueberry Jam:
140 grams fresh or frozen blueberries (1 cup; 5 ounces)
100 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
Glaze:
90 grams confectioner’s sugar (2/3 cup)
15 milliliters whole milk (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
Pastry:
In a large bowl, whisk all purpose flour, granulated sugar, and kosher salt. Add the butter. With your hands, rub it into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles sand, or coarse breadcrumbs.
In a small bowl, whisk egg, water, and vanilla bean paste. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the well. With a bench scraper, mix until just combined, then use your hands to finish bringing the ingredients together until a soft dough forms.
Flatten into a disc. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Blueberry Jam:
In a small saucepan, simmer blueberries and granulated sugar over medium heat until berries break down and jam thickens, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Scoop into a bowl and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour. Jam will continue to thicken as it cools.
Assembly:
Line a half sheet rimmed baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
On a rolling mat or lightly floured countertop, roll pastry to approximately 1/8 inch thickness. With a 4-inch round cutter, cut pastry into discs. Re-roll scraps* and cut remaining discs. You should have 12 discs total.
Arrange 6 discs on prepared tray. Spoon blueberry jam in the middle of each disc, dividing it equally between the discs and allowing a 1/2-inch border around the edge.
With a pastry brush, apply a thin strip of beaten egg yolk to the pastry border. Top with a second disc. With your fingertips, gently press the edges to seal the jam inside the pastry.
Crimp sealed edges with a fork.
With a pastry brush, brush the tops of the pastries with more of the beaten egg yolk.
With a sharp paring knife, cut a small vent in the top of each pastry.
Freeze tray 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375° F (190° C).
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until flaky and golden brown with blueberry jam bubbling around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze:
Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl. If necessary, add more milk or confectioner’s sugar to adjust the consistency.**
Sit wire rack over a rimmed tray lined with wax paper or parchment. With a teaspoon, drizzle glaze over each pastry.
Serve immediately. Store leftover blueberry hand pies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
*If pastry feels warm or sticky, re-chill scraps until firm enough to roll.
**Less liquid will produce a thicker, more icing-like result; more liquid will create a semi-transparent glaze.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Chilling/Freezing Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Turnovers and Hand Pies
- Method: Oven + Stovetop
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
To make ahead: You can prepare the shortcrust pastry and blueberry jam up to 48 hours in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To store: Blueberry hand pies taste best on the day they are made. Layer leftover hand pies between sheets of parchment and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
To freeze: Layer between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
Other Hand Pie Recipes You Might Enjoy
Mixed Berry Hand Pies
Peach and Ginger Hand Pies
Lemon Curd Hand Pies
Cherry Hand Pies
Savory Hand Pies with Blue Cheese, Leeks, and Walnuts
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
