Happy Pi Day! Easy PB&J hand pies to serve you some pi on the holiday.
What better way to have pie then to make these mini flaky pies filled with peanut butter and concord grape jam. When baked in the oven, these caramelize on the inside and with each bite you will be transported back to your childhood. Serve with a glass of milk and you have the most refreshing, satisfying dessert.
I have to admit, I am a little proud of myself for thinking ahead on this one and being prepared for pi day for once. Typically when the day comes, it’s already too late to whip together a new recipe and put a post out there. But recently I saw a reminder on my calendar that I set last year and it allowed me enough time to put this together.
Background
I knew when I wanted to make a pie, it was going to be mini hand pies. They are so fun to eat but also just so dang cute at the same time. I love the way they photographed, especially the lattice topped ones as they have the perfect amount of jam peeking through each crack. This adds color to the photos that I was really hoping for. I will say though, I will most likely try this recipe again in the near future but with homemade jam so they can have chunks of fruit in them too. This will help them stay nice and tall instead of falling on the flatter side like these ones.
But I knew I wanted to make these an easy recipe that can be whipped up quickly. Which is why I went with store bought peanut butter and jelly. That way, all you have to do is whip up an extra flaky pie crust dough and assemble.
To Make the Pie Crust
To make the dough for the PB&J Hand Pies, there are only four ingredients. When you make the dough, all you will need is flour, salt, butter and ice cold water. You will want to start with the flour and salt. From there you can cut the butter in the flour mixture one of two ways. The first is using a pastry blender. This is my preferred method as you have more control over the mixing and don’t risk overmixing as much. It does take some arm strength, however, as you will be working the butter into the flour mixture. This takes a couple of minutes until you get a sand like texture. Once you get the sand texture, you then add the water and form the dough into a ball.
The second would be to use a large food processor. You can start with the flour salt mixture in the blender, then add the butter in and pulse in the blender to achieve the sand texture that were looking for. Then, slowly add the water in and pulse until the dough starts to form in the food processor and finish off on a floured surface.
With both methods, you will want to put the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to rest before using it for the PB&J hand pies. This will allow the gluten to develop and the dough will be easier to work with when assembling. Then once baked in the oven, you will be in awe with how beautifully crispy and flaky the dough becomes from all of the butter.
The Filling
This recipe is super simple. I love that you can just open your cupboard and pull out the peanut butter and jelly and turn it into these delicious desserts. You can play around with the serving size for each pie. While I recommend a teaspoon of peanut butter and a tablespoon of jam, you can add more or less depending on your preference.
In the future I plan to play around with this recipe more. It tastes so good fresh out of the oven and served with a scoop of ice cream. I really am already brainstorming some new flavors. As well as maybe trying these out with homemade jam instead of store bought. Think if the jam had chunks of fruit in it. These would’ve stayed taller in the oven and not have fallen as flat. But this is just me being super picky and type A!
Enough with the talk about these PB&J hand pies with flaky pie crust and warm melty nostalgia on the inside. Let just get to the recipe already.
Oh! and before I forget. If you want more dinner or dessert ideas, make sure you check out some of my other recipes on here!
Easy PB&J Hand Pies
Equipment
- Pastry Blender
- 8 in Biscuit Stamp
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
Extra Flaky Pie Dough
- 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 24 tbsp (3 sticks) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup ice cold water
PB&J Hand Pies
- 1 recipe pie crust
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup concord grape jam or jelly
- coarse sugar for sprinkling
- egg wash of 1 egg and 1 tbsp water
Instructions
To Make the Pie Dough
- Add flour and salt in a large bowl and mix until incorporated.
- Using a pastry blender, mix in the butter until you have a coarse sand like texture. Then pour in the water and form the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.
To Make the Hand Pies
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Roll out half of the dough until its about 1/4 in. thick. Then stamp out circles in the dough. You should get 20 or close to 20 circles.
- Fill each round with 1 tsp of peanut butter and 1 tbsp of jam.
- Roll out the rest of the dough and stamp 20 more round for topping. You can also cut strips to create a lattice print on top of the pie.
- Using egg wash, coat the edges of the peanut butter and jelly topped pie crust dough. Top with another piece of dough and seal the edges. Using a fork press around the edges to seal.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
- Brush the tops of the hand pies with egg wash, then sprinkle generously with turbinado or sanding sugar. Cut a small slash or x on the tops of each for air to escape when it bakes.
- Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
Nutrition
