Hand-to-Heart Pocket Pies
Print recipe
Ingredients
- 1 double crust pie dough (store-bought or homemade)
- 2 cups Pie Cherries
- 1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 pinch kosher salt (1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Directions
| Dough Prep | |
| Step 1 | |
| Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Divide chilled dough in half (easier to work with). Roll out each half doughs to 1/8" thickness, shape doesn't matter too much. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Use a medium to large heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut out as many hearts as dough will allow. Combine leftover dough, reshape dough into round and roll out again. Cut out remaining hearts. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Divide the number of hearts in two; half will be the bottom crust and half will be the top crust. | |
| Cherry Filling | |
| Step 4 | |
| Add cornstarch to cherries and mix, next add sugar, salt, extract and mix. Pour melted butter over mixture and stir to coat cherries. (You can also simply use canned cherry pie filling.) | |
| Assembly | |
| Step 5 | |
| Bottom crusts: place a dollop of cherry mixture in middle of heart. Leave edges bare as the area to seam and seal the top crust to the bottom crust. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Top crust: gently roll the top crust hearts to enlarge their surface area, allowing more coverage when placed over the cherries. The top crusts will be a little thinner than the bottom crusts but that's okay. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Cover the bottom dough heart and cherry mixture with a top heart cover. Gently press the edges together, crimp with a fork to seal. | |
| Baking | |
| Step 8 | |
| Placed filled hearts on a parchment-lined baking sheet as they will leak during baking. | |
| Step 9 | |
| Brush heart pies with milk and scatter a generous amount of white sugar on the top. | |
| Step 10 | |
| Bake pocket pies at 350 F until crusts brown, and cherries and syrup bubble. Remove and cool. Hand pies are best if not sealed or wrapped in plastic, which softens the dough. You'll lose the crunch. | |