Blueberry Hand Pie Recipe
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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.
What Inspired This Blueberry Hand Pie Recipe?
Celebrated each year on the 28th of April, Blueberry Pie Day ushers in blueberry season, and all of the galette-making and pastry-baking that goes along with it. After a long, cold winter of root vegetables and dark leafy greens, I love seeing fresh summer produce like strawberries, blueberries and rhubarb make their return to the farmers’ market, and finding ways to incorporate them into my seasonal baking.
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you already know that I’m a big fan of hand pies. These individually-sized pies quite literally fit in the palm of your hand, making them easy to eat without utensils. (The McDonald’s baked apple pie is a good example of a classic hand pie, although I’m partial to Hostess lemon fruit pies myself.) You’ll find sweet hand pies (like my mixed berry breakfast pastries) or savory ones, made from puff pastry or traditional shortcrust.
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!
Ingredients for Making This Blueberry Hand Pie Recipe
Many hand pie recipes rely on a pre-made pie dough and store-bought jam. In this blueberry hand pie recipe, you’ll prepare all of the components from scratch. While slightly more time-consuming, both the pastry and the jam are fairly simple and straightforward to make, and most of the ingredients are things you already have in your kitchen. You’ll need:
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- All Purpose Flour – Or plain flour. In the UK, I prefer McDougalls in the striped bag, which most closely matches the protein content in American all purpose flour.
- Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the pastry.
- Kosher Salt – I test my recipes with Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Unsalted Butter – Cold and cubed, and incorporated into the dry ingredients via the same “rubbing-in” method I use to make my classic British scones.
- Egg – You’ll need one egg to make the pastry, and another for egg-washing the hand pies before baking.
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- Vanilla Bean Paste – Choose a good-quality vanilla bean paste, or use the scrapings of one vanilla pod. Vanilla extract will also work in a pinch.
- Fresh or Frozen Blueberries – You can make the jam with fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen berries, no need to thaw—just use them straight from the bag.
- Lemon – The blueberry jam includes a small amount of fresh lemon juice, 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.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – A.k.a. icing sugar, to make the glaze.
- Whole Milk – Or half-and-half, or your favorite plant milk, to adjust the consistency of the glaze.
How to Make Blueberry Hand Pies
Preparing and Applying the Glaze
I’ve drizzled each of my hand pies with a simple glaze made from confectioner’s sugar, milk, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla bean paste. To make it, just whisk everything together in a small bowl.
Then, line a tray with parchment, wax paper, or clingfilm/plastic wrap. Sit a wire cooling rack over the lined tray, then arrange the blueberry hand pies on the rack before spooning the glaze over the pies:
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 Pie Recipe 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 if you prefer a slightly less sweet snack. Instead, egg wash then sprinkled with crunchy Demerara sugar, as I’ve done with my cherry hand pies.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
You can prepare the shortcrust pastry and blueberry jam up to 48 hours in advance. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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!
Print
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
