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Strawberry Hand Pies are the two ingredient wonder of the pastry world, refrigerated pie crust cut into hearts, filled with strawberry pie filling, and crimped shut, and with two little slits on top they bleed into vampire kissed Halloween hearts in the oven. Lizzie named them spooky pop tarts on the spot and honestly the branding stuck. If my homemade pop tarts proved handheld pastry is worth it, these are the even faster follow up.
Store bought crust, canned filling, one fork for crimping, that is the whole project.
Strawberry Hand Pies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 18 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 38 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 10 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 220kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Flaky buttery crust around jammy sweet strawberry
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, a cut, fill, and crimp bake
Quick Answer
Unroll two refrigerated pie crusts and cut an even number of heart shapes with a large cookie cutter, rerolling scraps once. Spoon about a tablespoon of strawberry pie filling onto the center of half the hearts, leaving a border. Top each with a second heart, crimp the edges firmly with a fork, cut two small slits on top, and brush with egg wash. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 16 to 18 minutes until golden, letting a little filling bubble through the slits for the vampire bite look.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Refrigerated crust is built for this. It rolls even, seals tight, and bakes flaky, all the pastry payoff with none of the pastry anxiety.
- Canned filling is thickened already. Pie filling is cooked with starch so it stays jammy inside instead of boiling out and flooding the pan like fresh fruit would.
- The fork crimp is structural. Pressing firm tine marks all the way around fuses the two crusts so the pies hold their seal through the oven spring.
- The vent slits are the special effect. Two small cuts let steam out, and the filling that bubbles through dries into the two red drips that sell the vampire bite.
- Egg wash does the bakery finish. One beaten egg with a splash of water turns the tops deep golden and glossy, the difference between homemade and bakery is one brushstroke.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Two ingredients plus an egg, there is no shorter path to homemade pie.
- The heart shape plus the bite drips make them the most requested Halloween bake in our house.
- Two refrigerated crusts and a can of filling, the same low effort high reward math as my crescent roll cinnamon rolls.
Key Ingredients
The shortest ingredient list on the blog, and every item pulls weight.
- Refrigerated pie crusts: One box of two rolled crusts makes about 10 hand pies, let them sit at room temperature 10 minutes so they unroll without cracking.
- Strawberry pie filling: Thick, jammy, and ready to spoon, one 21 ounce can fills the whole batch with plenty left for drizzling.
- Egg: Beaten with a splash of water for the golden glossy tops.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Change the filling or the shape and it is a different pie.
- Use cherry pie filling for a deeper red bite, the original vampire look.
- Cut circles or pumpkins instead of hearts, any 3 to 4 inch cutter works the same.
- Sprinkle the egg washed tops with coarse sugar for crunch and sparkle.
- Go full fall with apple pie filling and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, a shortcut cousin of my berry tarts.
- Drizzle cooled pies with a powdered sugar and milk glaze for the full toaster pastry homage.
How to Make Strawberry Hand Pies
- Unroll the pie crusts on a lightly floured surface and cut an even number of hearts with a large cookie cutter, rerolling the scraps once to get about 20 hearts total.
- Spoon about a tablespoon of strawberry pie filling onto the center of half the hearts, leaving a half inch border all the way around so the seal has clean dough to grab.
- Top each with a plain heart, press the edges together, and crimp firmly all the way around with a fork. Cut two small slits side by side on top, brush with egg wash, and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 16 to 18 minutes until golden with little red drips at the vents.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Keep the filling a tablespoon, no more. Overfilled pies blow their seams no matter how hard you crimp.
- Leave a clean border for the seal. Filling on the edge is a guaranteed leak, keep the outer half inch dry dough.
- Crimp harder than feels right. Firm fork presses fuse the layers, gentle ones open in the oven.
- Chill assembled pies 10 minutes before baking. Cold dough holds the heart shape and bakes flakier.
- Make the slits small and close together. Two short cuts weep just enough filling for the bite marks without draining the pie.
- Bake on parchment. Any escaped filling caramelizes to glue, parchment saves both the pies and the pan.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve the strawberry hand pies warm with vanilla ice cream for dessert, or stack them on a Halloween party platter with my Halloween bark and let the vampire bite theme do the talking.
For a bake sale or class party, they travel better than any slice of pie, box a batch alongside my strawberry angel food cake squares for a pink themed table.
Brunch works too, a warm hand pie next to coffee beats a toaster pastry every day of the week, and my strawberry icebox cake covers the make ahead end of the same craving.
And in October, plate them with a drizzle of extra warmed strawberry filling for maximum vampire drama, the kids lose their minds.
Store cooled strawberry hand pies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated for 5, and rewarm them for 5 minutes in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven to bring the flake back. They also freeze baked for 2 months, reheat straight from frozen for about 10 minutes.
Strawberry Hand Pies FAQs
Absolutely, any all butter pie dough rolled to about an eighth inch works beautifully and tastes even better. The refrigerated crust version exists because it turns these into a 38 minute anytime bake, but a homemade crust upgrade is never wrong.
Three rules, a level tablespoon of filling only, a clean half inch border of dry dough, and a firm fork crimp all the way around. The vent slits then give steam a planned exit, so pressure never builds up enough to split the seams. A 10 minute chill before baking helps too.
Fresh berries release too much juice as they bake and flood the crust. If you want fresh flavor, simmer 2 cups of chopped strawberries with a quarter cup of sugar and a tablespoon of cornstarch until thick, cool it completely, and use it exactly like the canned filling.
Cut two small slits side by side on the top crust before baking, like fang marks. As the pies bake, steam pushes a little strawberry filling up through each slit, and it sets into two glossy red drips. For extra drama, dab a little warmed filling on the drips after baking.
Yes, two ways. Assemble the pies, freeze them raw on a tray, and bake from frozen with 3 to 4 extra minutes whenever you want them fresh. Or bake the full batch ahead, store airtight for 2 days, and rewarm at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes before serving.
Yes, air fry them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 10 minutes in a single layer on parchment. They brown a little faster than the oven, so check at 8 minutes. It is a great option for reheating too, 3 minutes brings back the crisp.
Made these Strawberry Hand Pies? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me if yours got the full vampire treatment!
Strawberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 2 refrigerator pie crusts
- 1 cup strawberry pie filling
- 1 large egg
- Splash of water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line sheet tray with foil and spray with cooking spray or parchment paper, and set aside.
- On a clean work surface, unroll the pie crusts. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 20 hearts.
- Evenly divide the cherry pie filling to the center of half of the hearts, leaving a 1/4th inch border.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Dip your fingertip into the egg wash and moisten the outside of the pie crust. Place another heart on top and press it down along the edges. Seal the edge with a fork, and repeat with the remaining pies.
- Place the pies on the prepared sheet tray. Take a sharp knife and cut two small triangles into the top pie crust. Brush the outside of the pies with egg wash. Try to avoid dipping the brush into the filling.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- These are served best warm or at room temperature.
- Other fillings can be added, see above on some ideas.
- You can use a 3-inch round cookie cutter if you do not have a heart shaped one.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Use your own homemade pie crust if you’d like.
- For a nice crunch, sprinkle some coarse or decorators sugar on top before baking.
- These are really good served with ice cream, whipped cream or even dipped in a powdered sugar glaze.
- Easily double this recipe if you’d like.
Nutrition
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