Crispy and flaky puff pastry is filled with sweet homemade blueberry filling and dotted with honeyed goat cheese in this wonderful (and easy) recipe.
When it comes to easy desserts that are hand-held, this one is at the top!
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What you will love about blueberry hand pies with goat cheese
Hand pies are just what their name is… easily held in your hand and easily eaten (although sometimes a little messy)!
Since we use store bought puff pastry for the crust, this recipe is even simpler!
You will love the flavor of the creamy whipped goat cheese in these hand pies also.
Tips
Make your life easier by buying pre-made puff pastry sheets that are in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.
Not only does it make this recipe super quick and easy, but puff pastry is mouth-wateringly delicious (even store-bought).
Also, use a muffin tin to fill the hand pies! Since the filling is a little bit runny, it is hard to fill and seal them on a flat surface.
Ingredients
Some people prefer to make hand pies with pie crust, and that is totally fine and good. In fact, another recipe I have for Peach Hand Pies calls for using pie crust instead of puff pastry.
For this particular recipe though, I used puff pastry.
Puff pastry is a delicious buttery bread dough the puffs up while baking and gets flaky and crispy, almost like a croissant.
It’s a rather addicting thing and can be used for so many other recipes, like these salted caramel apple dumplings and you can even use them to make filled toaster pastries.
It comes rolled up in a package in the refrigerated section of your grocery store and all you have to do is unroll it, cut it, fill it and seal it. It’s that easy!
When you unroll it, you will notice that it is really easy to shape and stretch, and the best way to seal it is by brushing a little egg wash around the edges before crimping it shut.
Let’s talk about goat cheese. We will not be using feta or any pungent, dry or crumbly cheese for this recipe. I highly recommend using chevre cheese that has not aged long.
Young chevre cheese is creamy and mild with a buttery flavor to it. However, older aged chevre will take on a more tangy flavor as well as be a little more dry and crumbly.
For this recipe you will want to get 4 oz. of young chevre goat cheese.
These are the ingredients for blueberry hand pies with goat cheese:
- 1 package (14.1 oz.) refrigerated puff pastry
- Fresh or frozen blueberries
- Chevre goat cheese (plain and young)
- Granulated sugar
- Honey
- Vanilla extract
- Corn starch
- Lemon
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Egg
How to make blueberry hand pies with goat cheese
We are going to begin by taking our blueberries and adding them into a medium saucepan along with the granulated sugar and lemon zest (optional). You can use either frozen or fresh blueberries for this recipe.
Squeeze the lemon into a small mixing bowl and whisk the cornstarch into it, then add it to the pan with the blueberries and sugar.
Over medium heat, stir the blueberry mixture together and bring it to a simmer for about 5 minutes giving the blueberries a little mash to break them up (not much). The blueberries should get soft and let off juice and the mixture should thicken a bit.
If you want a little more lemon flavor in your blueberries, feel free to add the zest of the lemon also. Remove the blueberries from the heat and add the vanilla and give it a quick stir.
Strain out about 3 tablespoons of the blueberry filling liquid and set it aside in a mixing bowl and cover it. We will use it for our blueberry drizzle at the end.
Let the blueberry filling cool down in the fridge for about 30 minutes. The filling will thicken as it cools.
If you want, you can make the filling a day ahead of time and place it in the fridge. The filling is easier to work with when it is cold.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Take the goat cheese (room temperature) and put it in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle a few tablespoons of honey over the top. With an electric mixer or a fork, whip it together for a minute until creamy.
Unroll the puff pastry onto a clean working surface. Using kitchen shears or a pizza cutter, cut the pastry sheet into 8 equal pieces. Don’t worry if they are rectangular or square, they are easily shapeable when we go to seal them.
USE A MUFFIN TIN FOR FILLING! Learn from me. I tried to fill a few hand pies on a flat surface and it ran all over the place and it was hard to seal the hand pies.
After you cut the puff pastry, place them into the cups of a muffin tin so you can easily fill them and seal them without the mess I made.
Place a dollop of the goat cheese right in the middle of each puff pastry and spread it slightly with the back of your spoon.
Evenly spoon the blueberry filling on top of the goat cheese in the center of each puff pastry. Since you are using a muffin tin, you shouldn’t have a problem with spillage over the edges.
Take the egg and whisk it in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water. With a pastry brush, brush the edges of the puff pastry, then seal them together.
With your fingers, seal the edges and make sure the seal is complete. After they are sealed well, you can gently shape them into a half-moon, or a circle, or whatever you want.
Transfer the hand pies to a baking sheet with parchment paper on it. With the remaining egg wash, brush the top of each pastry.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the puff pastry is a deep golden brown on top.
In a medium size mixing bowl with a spoon, mix the powdered sugar and the blueberry liquid we had reserved from earlier together.
If it seems too thick and dry add ½ a teaspoon of milk at a time until it reaches a good drizzling texture. If it is too thin, add ¼ cup more of the powdered sugar.
That blueberry drizzle though! It’s beautiful and super tasty!
Remove them from the oven and let them cool for about ten minutes before icing them with our drizzle. With a spoon, drizzle the icing over the top of the hand pies. Serve while still warm or at room temperature and enjoy!
Variations
If you can’t find chevre goat cheese, you can use mascarpone, ricotta or cream cheese instead.
FAQ’s
What does chevre taste like?
Chevre is a goat cheese that can vary in flavor and texture depending on how long it is aged. Young chevre cheese is buttery and milder in flavor and is creamier in texture.
Aged chevre cheese tends to be tangier, stronger and a little more dry and crumbly.
Why are they called hand pies?
Hand pies are appropriately named since they can easily be held in your hand and eaten. They are perfect for being transported or taken on picnics.
📖 Recipe
Blueberry Hand Pies w/ Goat Cheese
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 package refrigerated puff pastry 13.2 oz
- 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 4 teaspoons corn starch
- 3 oz chevre goat cheese* room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon milk
Instructions
- Place the blueberries, sugar and lemon zest in a medium size saucepan.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the lemon juice and corn starch together then pour it into the saucepan with the berries.
- Heat the blueberry mixture up over medium heat until it is simmering. Slightly mash the blueberries with a potato masher and let it simmer for 5 minutes until it begins to thicken.
- Remove it from the heat and add the vanilla. Strain out about 3 tablespoons of the blueberry liquid and set it aside in a covered bowl for the blueberry drizzle.
- Place the blueberry filling in the fridge for about 30 minutes. It will set up and not be as runny once it cools down.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Take the chevre goat cheese and put it in a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of honey. Either mix it with a fork or an electric mixer until combined and creamy.
- Prepare the egg wash by whisking the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
- Unroll the puff pastry sheet and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Place each piece in a muffin tin, this will help you fill them without the blueberry filling running all over the place.
- Place a dollop of the whipped goat cheese and honey at the bottom of each pastry piece.
- Evenly distribute the pie filling into each one and make sure not to over fill.
- Carefully brush a little bit of egg wash around the edges and seal the edges together. Fold the edge over on top of itself and crimp it with a fork or with your fingers. You can shape it into a half-moon, or into a circle or however you want to shape it.
- Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush more egg wash on the top of each hand pie.
- Place them in the preheated oven and bake them for 25-30 minutes, until the puff pastry is a deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for 10-15 minutes before drizzling them with the blueberry drizzle.
- Measure out the powdered sugar into a medium mixing bowl and take several tablespoons of the reserved blueberry liquid from earlier and mix it into the powdered sugar vigorously with a spoon. You want it to be thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to hold its shape on the hand pies. You may have to add ½ teaspoon of milk to loosen the icing. Add ½ teaspoon at a time until you reach the right texture.
- Drizzle the hand pies with the blueberry drizzle. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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