These sweet and tart Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies are adorable and delicious, making them the most amazing sweet snacks or a great dessert alternative!
While I’ve been cooking with rhubarb for ages, it’s interesting to learn that this fruit-like vegetable only started to grow in popularity around the 18th and 19th century once affordable sugar was more available to the general public. This makes sense since rhubarb is naturally tart and requires sugar to balance out our favorite sweet dishes.
While I love rhubarb as a hero ingredient, another favorite that compliments rhubarb beautifully is strawberry. Strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my favorite favorites, which is why making a strawberry rhubarb pie filling was an obvious choice for these hand pies.
These Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies are hand-sized treats without being over-decadent and can be made in under 30 minutes which is just another reason to give this recipe a try!
Table of contents
What Are Hand Pies?
These hand pies are small pie dough rounds that contain a sweet fruit filling, crimped together to hold the filling. Hand pies are then cooked and glazed for a perfect, self-contained treat.
These hand pies are small pie dough rounds that contain a sweet fruit filling, crimped together to hold the filling. Hand pies are then cooked and glazed for a perfect, self-contained treat.
Remember the hand pies in the grocery store that were popular when we were kids? These are so reminiscent of those indulgent goodies.
Hand pies can be cooked in a number of ways – I’ve baked them, air-fried them, and now….deep fried them. Is deep frying delicious? You bet it is. The MOST delicious.
We love this combo of strawberry rhubarb pie filling right in a single serving package, but hand pies can be made with so many different fillings – both sweet and savory!
Other Strawberry Treats
Hand Pie Ingredients
- 4-6 cups shortening or vegetable oil (for frying) – you need enough oil to create depth in the pot and also to maintain a consistent temperature once it’s heated
- 2 cups chopped strawberries – use sweet, ripe strawberries
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb – you can use any variety of rhubarb, see notes about preparing rhubarb
- 1 cup granulated sugar – you can adjust the amount of sugar to your liking and depending on the ripeness/sweetness of your fruit
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch – this will help thicken the pie filling without pectin or other thickening agents
Glaze Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar – the easily dissolvable base of many glazes and icings
- ¼ cup whole milk – you can also use heavy cream, the lighter the milk, the more translucent the glaze will be
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup – this gives a gorgeous sheen to the glaze and also helps it set dry to the touch
How to Make Fried Hand Pies
It is really pretty easy to make these darling treats! First, we’ll cook down a fruit filling on the stovetop – basically just fruit, sugar, and a thickening agent. You could also substitute canned pie filling or even a thick jam!
We use refrigerated pie crust for ease, but make your own pie crust if you’d like! We cut out the pie crusts into rounds using an inverted bowl.
Fill up the rounds with just a bit of the prepared filling – you don’t want it to squish out everywhere when you fold the pies in half. Fold them over and seal the edges!
Then, we throw these gorgeous half-moon pies into the deep fryer! You can make your own deep fryer by filling a Dutch oven with several inches of vegetable oil or shortening. Heat it up to 375°F and drop those pies in the hot oil. They’ll fry up to a gorgeous golden brown in no time. And once you have the home deep fryer going, definitely try frying up some homemade funnel cakes next!
We make a very simple glaze to coat the warm hand pies – oh, the nostalgia!
How To Store Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies
These hand pies are best eaten fresh from deep frying, although leftover hand pies can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or on the countertop in an area that is cool and dry.
For the very best in indulgence, though, don’t wait. Cook and eat right away!
To reheat, place your stored hand pies in the oven or a toaster oven for about 10-15 minutes. You may want to add extra glaze in case the stored hand pies have lost some of their glaze through the reheating process.
Freezing Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies or Excess Rhubarb
Rhubarb stalks freeze extremely well, which is great if you have an abundance from your garden, or you have leftover stalks from other recipes that you don’t intend to use up immediately.
Simply wash the rhubarb stalks, slice them and store them in an airtight freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to use your excess rhubarb for these hand pies, I suggest that you first allow your frozen rhubarb to thaw and then add them with the other hand pie ingredients to your pan to make the hand pie filling.
The assembled hand pies can also be prepared and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, heat up your cooking oil and drop the frozen pies straight in. They will take a bit longer to cook, but you really don’t need to thaw them first.
How To Prepare Your Rhubarb
If cooking with rhubarb is new to you, then you may be wondering how to go about preparing it for recipes such as these strawberry rhubarb hand pies. Here are a few easy steps to follow:
- If you’re using homegrown rhubarb then you’ll need to cut the plant close to the roots as well as remove and discard the leaves (which are poisonous to both humans and animals). Pulling the stalks from the ground rather than cutting them is even better if you want to encourage new growth.
- Wash your rhubarb well. You can then opt to peel thicker stalks with tougher exteriors, otherwise peeling is optional and not necessary for using rhubarb in recipes.
- Slice or chop your rhubarb stalks as directed by the recipe used or you can freeze prepared rhubarb for future recipes.
Can I Air Fry These Hand Pies?
Yes, you can! These hand pies can be cooked in the air fryer for 6-8 minutes when set at 400℉. It’s as simple as assembling your pies as you would to fry in the Dutch oven, lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil and place your hand pies in the air fryer.
Make sure that the hand pies are not layered on top of each other. Depending on how many you intend to make, and the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to make your hand pies in batches when using the air fryer, leaving the addition of your glaze just prior to serving.
Tips For Making Perfect Hand Pies
- You’ll only need ⅛ cup of pie filling otherwise you run the risk of the pie not sealing properly and the filling escaping the hand pies while cooking.
- If the pie crusts are too thin, the pie will split apart during frying. The crust should be thick enough that the folded pie can be lifted and handled before adding to the hot oil.
- If you are using pre-made refrigerated pie crust, it may be too cold straight from the refrigerator. Set it out a bit in advance to warm to room temperature. This makes it more pliable and easier to work with. You do not want the pie crusts too warm either so simply take them from the refrigerator as you are beginning to set up and they should be ready to unroll after about 15 minutes.
- I’ve used corn syrup for the glaze which gives it a lovely shine and dries well.
- You can seal the edges of your hand pie dough by pinching the edges with your fingers or crimping with a fork. If you use a fork, make sure that you get a good press to properly seal the crust edges without puncturing the pie dough.
- This recipe is ideal for an array of different canned pie fillings too.
- If you prefer eating with seasonal produce then it’s good to keep in mind that rhubarb is in season from late winter to early summer. Don’t forget to make a rhubarb crisp while you’re at it!
Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies
Ingredients
Pie Ingredients
- 4-6 cups shortening or vegetable oil for frying
- 2 cups chopped strawberries
- 2 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 prepared pie crusts unbaked
Glaze Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Instructions
- Begin heating shortening or vegetable oil for frying. Use a heavy saucepan (Dutch oven is preferred) and fill at least 4” deep with oil. Heat the oil until the temperature reaches and maintains 375°F.
- Place chopped strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture breaks down and begins to simmer. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking for approximately 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until mixture is a jam-like consistency with small pieces of fruit. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Prepare pie crusts. If using pre-made crust, remove from packaging. Unroll crust just before you are ready to cut so that it doesn’t dry out. The crust should be thick enough that it doesn’t fall apart during cooking. For pre-made crusts, do not roll any thinner than they came in the package. If you are using homemade pie crust – roll crust to about ⅛” thickness. Use a bowl or biscuit cutter (3.5-inch diameter used here) to cut circles from the dough. Gently gather together any scraps and re-roll to cut out additional circles.
- Lay out crust circles on a lightly floured surface.
- Spoon about ⅛ cup of strawberry rhubarb filling into the center of the circle.
- Brush a bit of water around the edge of the circle to help the sides seal. Fold the pie crust in half to form a crescent shape. Press down (work from the outer edge in) the edges and crimp with your fingers (or a fork).
- Gently drop one or two pies at a time into the hot oil. Do not move the pie around very much while it is frying. After 2-3 minutes, gently turn the pie over in the oil. The hand pies are heavier than most things we deep fry and they will spend most of the cook time floating toward the bottom of the pot. When the crust is golden brown on both sides, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon.
- Place cooked hand pies on several paper towels or brown paper bags to soak up the excess oil.
- Continue cooking the remaining hand pies.
- While hand pies are still warm, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and corn syrup until completely combined.
- Brush glaze over both sides of the pies and place on a cooling rack to dry.
- Serve warm (a little messy!) or once the glaze has dried.
[…] cream. Still my favorite after making it year after year. And now…I’m in love with Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies, too! You must try them in hand pie form if you love this […]