Flaky pastry packed with the fresh, sweet tang of blueberries, all fried to crispy perfection.
Table of contents
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- Utterly Delicious: It’s like biting into a pocket of joy, where the tartness of blueberries blends seamlessly with a crispy pastry shell. The result? A symphony of taste!
- Easy to Make: It’s a simple journey from dough to fryer, with no fancy techniques. Frying is the quickest way to cook just about anything, so they’re ready fast. I recommend using canned pie filling too!
- Portable and Great for Sharing: These make for a wonderful treat for a family gathering or a picnic with friends.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
You’ll need the following for this old-fashioned treat:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Ice water
- Blueberry pie filling or fresh blueberries
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Vegetable or peanut oil
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
🍴Instructions
Step One: make dough
Making the Dough: Start by mixing your flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add cold butter pieces and, with the aid of a pastry cutter or just your fingertips, mix until it looks like coarse crumbs. Gradually add the ice water while gently stirring. You want the dough to come together into a ball.
Chill Time: Take that dough ball, shape it into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and send it to relax in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Step Two: roll out and cut
Once chilled, let the dough sit at room temperature for a bit, then roll it out into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter or a glass to make 4-inch circles.
Step three: assemble
Place some blueberry filling in the center of each dough circle, leaving a small border. Fold the dough over the filling, and crimp the edges closed with a fork.
Step Four: fry
Heat your choice of oil in a deep pot to 350°F. Carefully add a few hand pies to the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
Step Five: glaze and let set
While the pies are still warm, mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to make the glaze. Dunk each pie in the glaze and let it set before serving.
🥫 Storage instructions
Place any leftovers in an airtight container and they’ll keep them at room temperature for 2-3 days. If you want to freeze them, wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag, and they’ll be good for up to 3 months.
🔍 FAQs
Bake them at 375°F for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. They’ll be cooked through and hot, but they won’t be the same. I highly recommend frying!
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- When making the dough, ensure your butter is cold – this will make your pastry flaky.
- Don’t overfill the pies; it could make them burst while frying.
- Always let the pies cool a little before glazing.
📘 more summer berry desserts:
- Blackberry Raspberry Pie
- Triple Berry Cobbler
- Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
- Cast Iron Skillet Blackberry Cobbler
- Blackberry Bundt Cake
🍽 Serve it with
A cup of coffee and a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream!
📖 Here’s the recipe
Fried Blueberry Hand Pies
Equipment
- Deep skillet
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup ice water
For The Filling
- 1 cup canned blueberry pie fillling OR
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For Frying
- 4-5 cups vegetable oil or peanut oil for frying
For Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add the cold butter pieces to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, while gently stirring the mixture. Continue adding water until the dough comes together and can be formed into a ball.
- Chill Dough. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times to ensure it is well combined. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Make Filling, if desired: (Note: I almost always use canned pie filling.) In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Gently toss the ingredients together until the blueberries are coated evenly. Set aside.
- Roll out the Dough. After the dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften slightly. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle. Using a round cookie cutter or a glass, cut out 4-inch circles from the dough. Gather and reroll any excess dough to make more circles.
- Assemble the Hand Pies: Place a tablespoon of the blueberry filling in the center of each dough circle, leaving a small border around the edges. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the hand pies closed.
- Fry: In a deep, heavy-bottomed pot, heat vegetable oil to 350°F (175°C). The oil should be at least 2 inches deep. Carefully add a few hand pies to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the fried hand pies to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Repeat the frying process with the remaining hand pies.
- Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and glossy. It should be thick, not runny. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk or powdered sugar as needed. While the hand pies are still warm, dunk each pie in the glaze. Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes before serving.
- Serve warm, if possible.
