Skip the forks in favor of your fingers with a quick and easy recipe for Strawberry Nutella Hand Pies starring sour cream pie dough pockets stuffed with berries and chocolate.
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Hand pies, you have my heart. But this is no new love affair. Long before there were Strawberry Nutella Hand Pies, there were Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies. Gone now are the tender chunks of cinnamon-dusted apples topped with chewy caramel and a pinch of sea salt. And in their place? Juicy strawberries scattered over a schmear of creamy Nutella. It’s an easy strawberry dessert that you’ll want to make on repeat.
There’s just something extra-enticing about desserts enjoyed sans forks, from boozy fruit popsicles and chocolate peanut butter bars to cheesecake brownie bites and chocolate cookie pops. Add the on-the-go versatility of hand pies to the equation, and your summer picnic prayers have just been answered.
And if you love the idea of homemade Nutella and strawberry desserts, you’ll also want to try an easy recipe for Chocolate Strawberry Bruschetta.
Why You’ll Love These Hand Pies
- Portable and handheld. These homemade hand pies are easy to eat on the go — no utensils needed!
- Easy-to-work-with dough. The sour cream makes this dough pliant and forgiving.
- Perfect kid baking project. Set them to work filling and sealing these mini pies.
- Chocolate and strawberry perfection. Flaky pie crust with chocolate-hazelnut spread and strawberries is the perfect combination!
For the pie crust you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour: For the most accurate measurement without a scale, watch my video on properly measuring flour using the scoop and sweep method.
- Salt: The addition of salt adds flavor and dimension to the pastry. Use table salt or fine sea salt so it integrates well into the rest of the ingredients.
- Baking powder: This ingredient gives the crust a little bit of rise as it bakes, getting a similar result to puff pastry.
- Butter: Keep your butter chilled until you’re ready to add it to the dough. If it gets soft it will make the pastry heavy and dense.
- Sour cream: In pie dough, the addition of sour cream makes the pastry tender and adds a bit of tangy flavor. It also makes it pliable and easier to work with than an all-butter pie dough.
For the simple strawberry Nutella pie filling you’ll need:
- Nutella: This Italian spread is made of cocoa, sugar and ground hazelnuts. Look for it near the peanut butter and jelly in your supermarket. Use the leftover Nutella to make banana and Nutella stuffed French toast.
- Strawberries: To choose the best strawberries, look for firm, unbruised flesh, a uniform bright-red color, and green, fresh-looking caps.
- Flour: Tossing the strawberries in a little flour will thicken the juice from the strawberries into a syrupy filling.
- Egg: Whisked with a little water and brushed onto the pies before baking, the egg encourages browning and makes a shiny finish. It also helps the sugar stick.
- Sanding sugar: Look for this sparkly decorative sugar in the baking aisle or at a specialty store. It adds a nice crunch and sparkle to baked goods like quick breads (I’m looking at you, apple cinnamon banana bread!) and breakfast pastries.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Using a whisk will not only combine the salt and baking powder with the flour, but will also aerate the mixture and break up lumps.
- Add the butter and sour cream. The butter should be very cold. Work quickly while working the butter into the flour mixture so it doesn’t soften or melt. After adding the sour cream, the mixture should be soft but not too sticky to handle.
- Roll the dough. Folding the rolled-out dough and then rolling it out again creates flaky layers, similar to my recipe for cheddar biscuits.
Pro tip: Sprinkle your work surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to it as you roll.
- Make the filling. Tossing the diced strawberries with a little flour will thicken the juice into a syrup as it bakes.
- Cut out the crusts. Cut out an even number of circles using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Make the cutouts as close to each other as possible to make as many as you can.
- Assemble the pies. To ensure the filling doesn’t leak out, don’t use too much filling and be sure to crimp the edges very tightly so they remain sealed during baking.
- Brush with egg wash. Beaten egg with a little sugar gives a glossy, browned finish to the baked pies and also helps the sanding sugar stick.
- Bake the pies. The pies will be golden brown when finished. Let them rest before serving to allow the filling to thicken.
- Dice the fruit small. The strawberries should be diced to the size of corn kernels or smaller. This will ensure that they become tender during the quick 15-minute bake time.
- Avoid sticky dough. If the dough becomes too sticky to work with, sprinkle a pinch of flour over the wet areas and continue rolling.
- If the dough is too firm to work with after refrigerating, allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling it out and cutting the circles.
- A la mode – serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Whipped cream – sprinkle with chocolate shavings or crushed nuts for added indulgence
- Powdered sugar – dust the hand pies with a light coating of powdered sugar
- Drizzle of chocolate: use a piping bag or a spoon to drizzle it over the top
Pies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Frozen hand pies will keep in the freezer, wrapped individually in plastic wrap, for up to 3 months. Thaw, wrapped, at room temperature. You can rewarm hand pies in the oven or toaster oven at 300˚F for 5 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use store-bought pie crust instead of making your own. Follow the packaging instructions to unroll the pie crust and roll it out before cutting out the rounds. You probably will not get as many pies as you would by making the sour cream pie dough in this recipe.
Crimp the edge of the crust firmly with a fork, working all the way around each pie and ensuring that you press hard enough to seal the two pieces of dough together. This, combined with cutting a slit in the tops to allow steam escape, will minimize leaking, though it’s normal for a little of the juice to ooze out!
Fresh strawberries work better than frozen strawberries in this recipe, as frozen fruit will release more moisture when baking, which could affect the consistency of the filling. If you do use frozen berries, thaw them and drain them as much as possible before dicing.
More Strawberry Desserts You’ll Love
- Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Brownies
- Strawberry Rhubarb Turnovers
- Strawberry Pretzel Dessert Cups
- Strawberry Margarita Pops
- Strawberry Cheesecake Chimichangas
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Crêpes
- No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup cold sour cream
For the filling:
- 3/4 cup Nutella
- 2 cups diced strawberries (See Kelly’s Notes)
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, whisked with 1 Tablespoon water
- Crystal sanding sugar
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add the cubed butter to the bowl and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
- Stir in the sour cream (the dough will be very wet), and then turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface.
- Knead the dough a few times until it comes together, adding more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough is too sticky to handle. Roll the dough into an 8×10-inch rectangle and dust both sides with flour before folding it into thirds as if you were folding a letter.
- Rotate the dough 90º and roll it out again into an 8×10-inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into thirds then wrap it securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.
Make the filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the diced strawberries with the flour, tossing to combine. Set aside.
Assemble the pies:
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unfold it onto a well-floured surface, rolling it out to a 14×14-inch square. (See Kelly’s Notes.)
- Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter or cup, cut out as many circles as possible. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting out circles until you run out of dough, ensuring you end up with an even number of circles. (You should have approximately 20 3-inch circles.)
- Place six of the dough circles on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Spread a portion of the Nutella in the centers of half of the dough circles leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Spoon a small portion of the strawberries atop the Nutella. Place a second dough circle atop each filled circle then use a fork to crimp the edges together, sealing each pie.
- Whisk together the egg with the water to make an egg wash. Brush each pie with the egg wash, and using a sharp knife, cut two or three vents on the top of each pie. Sprinkle the pies with crystal sanding sugar (optional).
- Bake the pies for about 15 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.
- Remove the pies from the oven and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Repeat the filling and baking process with the remaining dough circles.
Kelly’s Notes
- The diced strawberries should be no larger than the size of corn kernels to ensure they become tender during the quick 15-minute bake time.
- If the dough is too firm to work with after refrigerating, allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting out the circular shapes.
- If the sour cream in the dough makes it too sticky at any point in the rolling out process, just sprinkle a pinch of flour atop the wet areas and continue rolling.
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Dough recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Can these be made a day in advance? If so, how to reheat?
Absolutely, Shelly! They’ll still be good the next day if you store them in an airtight container at room temp. I’ve never tried rewarming them so I’m not certain what the time/temp would be. If I had to guess, I’d say start really low (250F) and go from there.
Can you use purchased pie crusts for this recipe?
Absolutely, Christy!
This recipe is a keeper! The pies are absolutely delicious.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Rachel!
What is the yield on this recipe?
Hi Josh! This recipe yields 10 (3-inch) hand pies. Updating the recipe now!
When making the filling how much flour do you mix the strawberries with? Sorry, that part has me confused. I can’t imagine mixing and coating the strawberries with flour.
Hi Skylar! The diced strawberries get combined with 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour. Hope that helps to clarify!
Can the strawberries be frozen or they should be fresh?
Hi there! Frozen fruit might release a lot of moisture when baked so I’m not sure if that would work. And you’d likely need to increase the bake time.
I tried to make these and they didn’t turn out right I followed the instructions but it went wrong when I added the sour cream any tips to help the issue I’m having
Hi Angelica – Did you use cold sour cream and butter?
I would love to make these hand pies, wondering if I can use puff pastry instead of your dough recipe…. :->
Hi there! I’ve never tried this recipe using puff pastry, however you’ll want to adjust the bake time to ensure the pastry is evenly browned.
They look so delicious! I don’t know what I did wrong, but my dough was… sour… Maybe too much sour cream. :(
Lovely recipe! I’m definitely going to try it. But, can I leave the sour cream or is there any substitute for it? Thank you.
The sour cream is what really binds the dough together and makes it very moist and flaky!
can i use blueberries instead and no nutella I just want to make little blueberry pies
I did that and they turned out wonderfully! :D
I just made these and they are fantastic! I’m wondering if they need to be refrigerated overnight or if they’re better left at room temperature. Please let me know if anyone has tried it! :)
Awesome! Nope – no need to refrigerate. Just make sure you keep them in an airtight container :)