Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies
Filled with fresh blueberries and a hint of lemon zest, these Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies are the perfect dessert for warm summer days!
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Back when Laura and I lived in Atlanta, we’d make the trip up to the north Georgia mountains every Fall to go apple picking. This trip usually involved renting a cabin with a group of friends for a long weekend, and it was absolutely one of our favorite times of the year! (In fact, the year we moved north, the last thing we did was spend a long weekend with friends in the north Georgia mountains. We embarked on our 16-hour drive not from our old house in Atlanta, but from a rental cabin in the mountains.)
One of our favorite things to do while in the mountains was go apple picking. Aside from the actual apples, the orchards were home to one of the best creations ever: apple hand pies. The orchards would have racks upon racks of fried hand pies stuffed with apples and cinnamon, and I dutifully did my job of trying one from every orchard. Hey, someone had to do it, right?
Apple season is still several months away, but fresh blueberries have been plentiful in our stores lately. Robbie loves blueberries, and we took him to a local blueberry farm a couple of times last summer. Standing in the farm shack at that blueberry farm reminded me of those apple hand pies from the north Georgia mountains. And then I realized that hand pies don’t have to involve apples. Those bad boys can get stuffed with whatever fruit happens to be in season…which just so happens to be blueberries since we are in the summer months. So blueberries it is! And these Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies are the result!
I thought about cooking down the blueberries into a traditional “pie filling,” but instead I opted for just tossing the berries in a bit of sugar and lemon zest. The fresh flavor of the berries really came through in this Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies. I also chose to fry these hand pies just because I wanted to reminisce about those fried pies from the apple orchards down south. (You could certainly bake these hand pies instead if you don’t want to go to the trouble of frying them. Either way, they’ll be delicious!)
Have you ever had a hand pie? If the answer is no, then stop everything and make a batch of these Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies today! A hand pie is just that…a pie that you can carry with you…in your hand. And don’t skimp on the glaze! There’s no sugar in the actual dough here, so the glaze provides a nice sweet balance to these Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies. So grab some fresh berries (or whatever fruit happens to be in season) and whip up a batch of hand pies. Enjoy, my friends!
P.S. Craving an apple pie instead? This Deep Dish Apple Pie is one of our favorites!
Glazed Blueberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Filling
- 1½ cups blueberries
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 3 Tbsp sugar
For the Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup milk
- Canola or vegetable oil for frying
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Blueberry Filling
- Toss all ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined. Set aside.
For the Dough
- Using a large bowl and a pastry cutter or two table knives, cut the butter into the flour until pea-sized; set aside.
- Using a small bowl, whisk together the egg and salt. Heat the milk until hot (but not boiling) and gradually pour milk into egg mixture, whisking constantly while you pour.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour. Using a fork, toss flour until it forms a soft dough. (If necessary, add 1-2 tsp of water to help the dough come together.) Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured countertop and knead several times.
- Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten each one into a 6” circle. Place 2-3 Tbsp of blueberry filling into center of each circle. Brush edges of circle lightly with water. Fold dough over, pressing edges to seal together.
- Pour oil into a deep fry pan or Dutch oven until it is ~2” deep. Using a deep-fry thermometer, heat oil over medium-high heat until temperature reaches 375°F. Meanwhile, prepare a tray with 2 layers of paper towels; set aside. (Tip: If you don’t have a deep fry thermometer, then you can drop a pinch of flour into the oil. If it browns and bubbles immediately, then the oil is ready to go!)
- Working with 2-3 pies at a time, place pies in hot oil. Fry for 4-5 minutes, flipping occasionally, or until pies are golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pies to the paper towel-lined tray. Repeat with remaining pies.
- While the pies are cooling, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl. While the pies are still warm (but not hot), brush the glaze onto top of pies. Let cool, flip and brush the glaze onto bottom of pies.
Notes
Yes, taste testing is a necessity and someone has to do it so might as well be you 😉 I just love the name ‘hand pie’. I don’t know why, but it sounds so welcoming and comforting to me. These look chocked with blueberries, which happen to be my fave and the glaze is the icing on the cake or, er, hand pie 🙂 These would be a lovely addition to tomorrow’s breakfast! Have a lovely weekend, David!
I agree with you about the ‘hand pie’ term, Dawn. It just reminds me of rustic comfort food. I must admit that apple hand pies hold a special place in my heart (err, belly), but these blueberry ones are a great way to celebrate fresh summer blueberries! Hope your weekend is going well so far, my friend!
Berry picking is one of my favorite summer activities–but I don’t think I’ve ever been apple picking. If eating pie is involved I clearly need to remedy that asap. I might have to go to Georgia though; I don’t know what produce could possibly grow around here and I refuse to spend a day picking cactus spines. I wonder how they’d be in a pie? Probably not as good as your blueberry ones! Have a great weekend, David!
Oh my gosh, you’ve never been apple picking!? That’s it. Book your ticket north now. We go apple picking almost every weekend in the Fall! The problem is we end up with more apples than we know what to do with…I think we made about 3 gallons of apple sauce last year. Haha! I’m thinking you should embrace the local food movement and make cactus hand pies. 🙂 Hope your weekend is going well, Kelsie!
Oh yes, forest berries are all over our street market too and this is perfect idea. Never made that kind of glaze so this is one of “must try” beauties. Thank you David and enjoy the week end !
Thank you so much! I love fresh summer berries, and I’m always looking for fun ways to incorporate them into recipes. These hand pies turned out quite well…and I’m excited to try them again with different fruit now! I hope your weekend is going well, my friend!
So happy to hear you took one for the team and tried all the pies. It’s a hard job but somebody has to do it. I love fruit picking of any kind. It’s been awhile since I’ve set foot on an orchard but that’s going to have to change because I’m craving these pies… BAD!
I mean someone has to do the hard work and try all the pies. It’s a small price to pie for the sake of science…or is it for the sake of my belly? Either way, it had to be done! I know you’re on the no-dessert diet now, but you should totally save this idea for a cheat day. It’s a fun way to use summer berries! Thanks so much, Christina…hope you guys are having fun in Denver!
wow. These are just stunning And good to know they’re not overall too sweet – something I don’t love. Really beautiful photos.
Yeah, these hand pies really aren’t overly sweet at all! I mean you obviously have to adjust based on the sweetness of the berries, but summer berries are at their peak in our area right now so they’re perfect! Thanks so much, Mimi! 🙂
I love everything about these bad guys. First, the combination of plain dough, refreshing filling, and sweet glaze. Then, that you opted for the whole berries instead of a pie filling. And I even don’t mind that you fried them – they don’t look too oily/soggy as some foods tend to be. There’s only one thing that upsets me – that I haven’t gotten a box of the pies to sample. Are you sure you did ship them?
You know, I agree with you, Ben. The plain dough at first might seem a little odd, but you gotta keep in mind that the dough gets paired with flavorful, sweet summer blueberries. So the combo works! Now as far as your shipment, I’m a little confused. I put them in the mail…did they not arrive??
So glad you broke away from just apple hand pies! These blueberry pies are looking might delicious! I love the glaze on top too!
Haha! You know, I have to admit that a good apple hand pie still holds a special place in my heart…err, belly. But seeing as how it’s blueberry season right now, it’s fun to find ways to use fresh berries. And a good hand pie is always an option! Thanks so much, Kathy! 🙂
David, these look absolutely fantastic. I love, love, love, blueberries. I could eat these day and night, night and day.
I’m pretty sure I did eat these day and night, night and day. And then I looked down and the container was empty. Haha! But, yes, fresh blueberries are one of the best things about summer! Cheers, Jeff!
You know I don’t think I have ever made hand pies. These sound and look wonderful. Your trips to the mountains in Georgia sound like a lot of fun – great memories.
Oh, you should totally make hand pies sometime, Dawn! I mean they’re handheld pies…sounds pretty awesome, right?? Add in some fresh summer berries, and you’ve got a pretty darned good dessert cookin’! 🙂
I’ve never had a hand pie before & these look so good! Now I need some dessert in my life ASAP 🙂
Oh my gosh…you’ve got to fix the whole hand pie thing, Nicole! I mean it’s pie that you can eat with one hand. Talk about dessert perfection right there! 🙂
These hand pies look amazing David! And that blueberry filling in your photographs is so tempting, so scrumptious looking! I’d never heard of hand pies before but I can see their logic and necessity too. 🙂
Hand pies are nothing short of dessert genius, Neil! I mean it’s pie that can be eaten with one hand. I’m thinking these would make a great snack while say hiking through the hills of Scotland? 🙂 Hope your week is going well, my friend!
David, your pastry on these hand held pies looks like pure perfection! Also, so love that you didn’t cook those blueberries down before stuffing them into these beauts! Fantastic job, my friend! Now I better get my drone ready to come by and raid your kitchen for any leftovers of these! 🙂
BTW, I am all too familiar with the N. GA Mtns and hand held pies – it’s become a seasonal ritual for Lil Shashi and I every October. We usually hit up those orchards to go apple picking but the smell of those pies when we are done running around those orchards is simply intoxicating! And – they even make sugar-free ones (something I discovered when my mom was going giddy over the aroma and couldn’t have a regular sugar-full one)!
You are too kind, Shashi! I did indeed have a lot of fun making these hand pies. As far as the blueberries, though, I’m more impressed that I was able to make the filling before Robbie ate all of them. Haha! And, yes, I was actually thinking about y’all when I was writing up this post. I get jealous whenever you mention your yearly trips up to the North Georgia mountains. That area holds some special memories for me! And that’s a fun tip about the sugar-free ones. I’ll keep that in mind for when I make it back down there…which will happen one day. I know that for sure. 🙂
I love hand pies! They are heaven in the palm of your hand, and you’re right about the glaze- Mmmmm. I’ve never made hand pies, but now you have me actually considering frying up a batch. My mouth is watering. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Yes! I agree with you about hand pies, Laura…I mean anytime I can eat a dessert with no silverware and only one hand is considered a win in my book! 🙂 You should totally go fry up a batch sometime soon. They’re fun!
Wowza! I couldn’t be near a pile of those badboys! I think opting for whole blueberries vs pie filling was a wise decision, I can just see those flavor bubbles bursting with goodness!!
P.s. I bet your tour de apple hand pie was one of legendary status. If I’m ever in the Georgia hills I know who to ask for a solid hand pie deliciousness breakdown!
Oh man, you’re telling me, Matt…sitting next to a plate piled high with this blueberry hand pies is just too tempting. I’m pretty sure I sent the better portion of these off with Laura to work. I’m not good with temptation! And, yes, you should plan a trip to the north Georgia mountains. It’s beautiful country, but more importantly they have apple hand pies! 🙂
We always called them fried pies. Whatever! I loved it when my Mom made them. I am prepping apples for them in just a few minutes.
Yup, I’ve heard ’em called fried pies, too, Susan! Probably just a matter of preference. No matter what they’re called, I love these pies! I hope the apple version turned out well for you. 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a comment!