I’m very happy to let you all know that Jovial Foods has once again partnered with My Humble Kitchen! Check out their new website and don’t forget to checkout their online store while you’re there! They’re once again offering My Humble Kitchen readers a coupon code for 10% off PLUS FREE shipping! Use the coupon code HumbleK today!
It’s usually right around this time when the seasons first cherries begin to weigh down their branches from delicate stems, ripe and ready for the picking, that I start to warm up my oven in anticipation of pie. To me, pie is comfort, family, and friends so when I have an opportunity to make a pie, I do.
I’ve made pies for a wedding, in mason jars, and even gluten free. When there’s fresh ripe fruit to be picked, there’s pie to be made – I say, anyways. Really, since pie crust only takes 5 minutes to make, there’s no excuse not to make pie, right? Right.
Usually, when I start taking down my ceramic and glass pie dishes down for the season, my children light up with excitement as they know there will be flour-y hands, dough to be rolled, cookie cutters to cut out shapes, and thick and gooey pie filling to be licked up by the spoonful. My children love to make pie with me, especially after they’ve worked so hard to pick their own fruit at the u-pick farms.
With bowls of fresh sweet cherries, my kids and I decided to make some sweet and simple cherry hand pies – a perfect summer treat for little hands.
Since the hand pies I made are quite small, I didn’t need to make a lot of filling. A pound of cherries was enough to boil down into a thickened, sweet filling which would easily fill about 36+ pies. One thing to remember, the best tasting pies are made with the seasons freshest and sweetest fruit. If you have natures candy, a lot of sweetener isn’t needed. I sweetened my cherry pie filling with 1/4 cup of honey which complimented the fruit and allowed the cherries natural sweetness to shine on its own.
Since my family has switched over to einkorn flour because of these reasons, I was quite pleased that I was able to make a pie crust using this same recipe. I added about 1/2 cup more flour since I made it with freshly milled einkorn wheat berries and in my experience, when I substitute whole wheat einkorn in a recipe, it usually needs a bit more flour.
The results were spectacular. Einkorn has such a sweet and distinct flavor to it that it really made these pies stand out and when mixed with the naturally sweetened cherry pie filling, these were definitely something to swoon over.
These would make great summer treats to take to summer potlucks, fourth of july celebrations, or just to be enjoyed in the backyard by little hands.
Sweet and simple cherry hand pies for summer. Naturally sweetened and made with einkorn flour.
Ingredients:
- 1 recipe pie crust
- 1 lb cherries, pitted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbls flour
- juice of 1 lemon
Method:
- In a small, heavy bottomed sauce pan, over medium low heat, add the cherries and allow them to warm up and start releasing their juice. Once they start spittering, mash about half of them down releasing even more of their juices.
- Add the honey and lemon; mix through.
- Whisk in the flour and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Once thickened, remove from the heat and allow to cool. The filling will thicken further as it cools.
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough until it's about 1/8" thick.
- Using large cookie cutters, cut out the shapes that you desire to use as hand pies. Make sure to cutout 2 pieces for each pie. Alternatively, you can cut out small rectangles about 2" x 3" also making sure to have 2 pieces for each pie.
- Fill 1 side of the cutout with about 1 tsp (or less) of filling. Top with the second piece and pinch closed with a fork. Make sure to have a hole or slit cutout on the top to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Transfer each hand pie onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is filled with pies, bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.
Thanks to Jovial Foods, they have once again partnered with My Humble Kitchen. Stop on by their online store to pick up all of your einkorn needs as they have once again offered My Humble Kitchen readers 10% off PLUS FREE shipping by using the online coupon code, HumbleK.
Kristin says
I’m drooling…literally! These look delicious. Cherries have been plentiful at our local health food store and a traditional pie takes a bit too long, so these are perfect!
Diana Bauman says
Thanks, Kristin!
Heather says
Would this recipe work with sprouted einkorn flour? Would I need to make any changes? I just started using sprouted einkorn flour…and we are struggling, none of the recipes are working, and when they do the end result is a super heavy dense product….is that true of regular einkorn flour?
Diana Bauman says
Heather, yes, I’m sure sprouted einkorn works just like regular, whole wheat einkorn. In other words, none of the bran or germ has been extracted. There is definitely a learning curve to using einkorn since it doesn’t have the gluten that most wheats have. It takes much less working with it in order for it work. I’ll have to write up a post on it!!
Dena Norton says
I love these little cuties…and the great snapshots of your little cutie holding them – pinned for our next family baking day!
Diana Bauman says
Let us know how they turn out, Dena!
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says
These look SO good! Your pics are beautiful as usual. My favorite summer pie to make is huckleberry pie. Thanks so much for this recipe – pinning it now!
Diana Bauman says
Huckleberry, I’ll have to try that!!