Today’s hand pies are unlike any hand pies recipe you’ve had! They’re cute little savory hand pies with balsamic strawberries and brie made with a lollipop stick so they’re festive and perfect for entertaining!
These delicious lollipop handpies are sponsored by my friends at California Strawberries – Growers of sweet, delicious and good for you strawberries available now at your grocery stores!
Who can resist a sweet strawberry? Even the pickiest eaters I’ve met, LOVE their strawberries! Not many people know how good California Strawberries are for you, so I’m here to bring you the good news!
Did you know that a serving of 8 California Strawberries has more Vitamin C than a whole orange with only 50 calories? I love snacking on 8 California Strawberries during the day when I start to crash and around bedtime when binging starts to hit! California Strawberries are a great source of fibre too, and luckily for us they’re available now in every grocery store!
WHAT ARE HAND PIES
Hand pies are basically a small pastry that can be filled sweet or savory and folded over to seal the filling. Likewise, you can use another pastry to place on top and cover the filling.
Hand pies are super versatile when it comes to shapes and fillings. They’re probably mostly known for sweeter filings, but savory hand pies are seriously just as good!
If you’re wondering what hand pies taste like? Basically they taste like a bite of your favorite pie. So an apple hand pie tastes just like your favorite apple pie, only smaller and cuter!
Another thing to note, because of their small size, expect hand pies to have less filling. And in most cases, hand pies are made using puff pastry. However you may still make them using pie dough.
SAVORY HAND PIES
Today’s recipe is not just delicious, it’s also perfect for entertaining. Even more, it’s perfect for the Holidays or potlucks.
While many savory hand pies are classically made using meat, I prefer the cheese based pies much more. The delicate puff pastry crunch pairs so well with the smooth melted cheese.
Now for the California Strawberries – the highlight of our hand pies. Strawberries are great on their own, in sweets and savory too! Savory strawberry recipes like salads or appetizers are always show stoppers.
Adding the California Strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and a dash of sugar takes these savory hand pies to another level!
It’s the perfect pair to the creamy dreamy melted brie cheese over crispy pastry. And probably what makes this recipe a real show stopper today are the lollipop sticks. More on how to make these below!
HOW TO MAKE HAND PIE RECIPE
First of all the pie crust. You can opt for your favorite pie crust, but I prefer puff pastry. It’s more convenient, especially now for entertaining! Make sure it’s defrosted and rolled out to 1/8th aof an inch thick.
Now the California Strawberries. Dice them into small fine dices and add to them balsamic vinegar, sugar and minced fresh basil. Set aside for 15 minutes while you work on your pie dough.
Cut out rounds (or squares or any shape you prefer your pie to be) and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Put a lollipop stick over each round of crust starting at the center of the pie. The remaining part of the stick will be on the parchment paper.
Place a chunk of brie cheese (an inch cube) over the middle of the pie crust. Dollop a spoonful of the strawberries. Use an egg wash to brush the sides of the bottom crust so the top crust will stick to it.
Finally top that with another round of pie crust. Make sure the top crust has a slit to allow air to escape during baking. Alternatively, as you can see from the images, I’ve cut our tiny heart shapes from the center of the top pie crust.
Bake the hand pies for 15-18 minutes until golden and crispy. Don’t be tempted to bite into them right away, remember the brie cheese will be bubbling hot! Wait for at least 5 minutes before serving.
LOLLIPOP HAND PIE TIPS
- Use Pie dough or puff pastry for convenience, always work with cold dough either way.
- Prepare the California Strawberries and have the cheese cut up before you start working with the dough.
- Make a slit or cut out a small part of the top crust otherwise the hand pie will open up and lose its shape.
- Use egg wash as a glue for both the bottom and top crusts to stick together.
- Make sure your oven is preheated before the pies go in.
- Don’t be tempted to over fill your pies, the filling may leak out!
- Store leftover hand pies in the fridge well wrapped for up to 5 days, and heat them in the oven as you need to.
- The hand pies may be assembled and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bake them the day you plan to serve right from the fridge.
- You can freeze the baked and cooled hand pies, defrost them at room temperature and reheat them in the oven for 8 minutes before serving.
Enjoy this recipe and the many ways you can make the most of California Strawberries, including just snacking on them!
MORE STRAWBERRY RECIPES
- Strawberry Caprese Salad
- Best Strawberry Corn Salsa
- Goat Cheese Pistachio Coated Strawberries
- Strawberry Spinach Salad & Artichoke Soup Brunch
Lollipop Savory Hand Pies With Strawberries
Ingredients
Strawberries:
- 1 ½ cups diced California Strawberries
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh basil
Pastry and Filling
- 1 sheet Puff Pastry rolled into 1/8th inch thickness and kept cold.
- ½ Roll of Brie cheese cut into 1 inch cubes
Egg wash:
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
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Start my adding the strawberry ingredients in a bowl and set aside for at least 15 minutes while you prepare the dough.
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
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Roll the puff pastry and cut it out into 2-3 inch rounds using a cookie cutter.
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Take another small cookie cutter and cut out the centers of half of the rounds. These will be the top crust. If you don’t have a small cookie cutter, take a small knife and cut out a tiny slit in the middle of the dough. Do so for only half of the cut out rounds.
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Place the bottom crusts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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Take a lollipop stick and place the top of the lollipop stick over the crust. The tip of the lollipop stick should be in the middle of the bottom crust, and the remaining part of the stick will be out of the crust.
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Repeat with the remaining crusts.
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Place a chunk of brie cheese at the center of the bottom crust and top with a tablespoon of the strawberry mixture.
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Brush the edges of the bottom crust with egg wash and place the top crust over it. Press firmly.
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Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle some fresh thyme.
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Bake the hand pies for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy.
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Serve and Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Use Pie dough or puff pastry for convenience, always work with cold dough either way.
Prepare the California Strawberriesstrawberries and have the cheese cut up before you start working with the dough.
Make a slit or cut out a small part of the top crust otherwise the hand pie will open up and lose its shape.
Use egg wash as a glue for both the bottom and top crusts to stick together.
Make sure your oven is preheated before the pies go in.
Don’t be tempted to over fill your pies, the filling may leak out!
Store leftover hand pies in the fridge well wrapped for up to 5 days, and heat them in the oven as you need to.
The hand pies may be assembled and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bake them the day you plan to serve right from the fridge.
You can freeze the baked and cooled hand pies, defrost them at room temperature and reheat them in the oven for 8 minutes before serving.
Julia
These hand pies look just delicious! Can’t wait to try them myself!
Mahy
Hope you do Julia!
Tayler Ross
Hand pies are my favorite, and I love that you turned them into lollipops! Such a fun idea!
Mahy
Thanks Tayler!
Demeter
These are downright gorgeous! I know they’ll be a hit at my next brunch.
Mahy
Hope you make them Demeter!
Sue
These are the CUTEST ever! I am putting them on my list for Easter and Mother’s Day, but of course I’ll have to make a few trial runs before then 😉
Mahy
Oh YES they would be perfect for that too!
Mary
The lollipop concept is sooo cute! I love it!
Mahy
Thank you!