Easy Christmas Tree Cherry Hand Pies
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Easy Holiday Cherry Hand Pies – golden brown, flaky, Pillsbury pie crust filled with sweet cherry pie filling and shaped into decorative Christmas trees. With just 3 ingredients and 60 minutes, you’ll have mini Christmas pies for everyone to enjoy!
If you’re looking for more semi-homemade dessert recipes, skip the bakery and try our Easy Chocolate Croissants, Cream Cheese Danish recipe, and Three-Ingredient Cherry Coffee Cake.
When it comes to the holidays, we all want to put our best foot forward and show off a little. But sometimes, the stress of figuring out what recipes you should make can be overwhelming. This year, why not take a break from your typical holiday baking routine and try these Easy Mini Christmas Tree Cherry Hand Pies?
These pies are made with canned cherry pie filling, premade refrigerated pie crusts, and just a few pantry staples – perfect for when you’re short on time!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Adorable Christmas Tree Hand Pies
- They’re perfect for the holidays!
- So easy to make – no fancy ingredients or tricky techniques required.
- You get two recipes in one – cherry hand pies and Christmas tree hand pies!
- Versatile; you can use any flavor pie filling you want! You can also change up the cookie cutter and make a star, stockings or even an ornament!
- They only take about 60 minutes from start to finish, with most of that time spent waiting for everything to bake.
Equipment You’ll Need To Make This Hand Pie Recipe
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- Wilton Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter
- Large baking sheet – I love my aluminum half-sheet pans! I own 5 of them and use them for everything from roasting veggies to baking cookies.
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Pastry brush
Ingredients For Your Easy Pillsbury Christmas Tree Hand Pie
(full printable recipe at the end of this post)
Cherries: Canned cherry pie filling makes this recipe quick and easy
Pie Crust: While you are free to make your own pie crust from scratch, Pillsbury’s ready-made crust is a great shortcut to use any time you’re short on time.
Eggs: These will give your pastry a golden brown exterior and enticing shine!
Sanding Sugar: While this is optional, it gives the hand pies a crunchy, caramelized sweetness to the top.
How To Make Mini Cherry Hand Pies
1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Allow pie crusts to come to room temperature. Make an egg wash and set aside.
2. Roll out pie crust, cut out tress, spoon on pie filling, and seal per the recipe below.
3. Brush crusts with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar.
4. Bake until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips For Making The Perfect Christmas Tree Hand Pies
- To prevent tears in your ready-made pie crust, you’ll want to make sure you allow your pie crusts to sit at room temp for 10-15 minutes. Working with too cold of dough will make the crust harder to roll out.
- Count out 3-4 cherries from your pie filling and place them in the center of the hand pie. This seems to be the perfect amount of filling to crust ratio!
- Use the entire egg, yolk, and all in your egg wash! The white will make your pie crust shiny, while the yolk promotes that golden-brown color we all love!
How To Store Left Over Hand Pies
For the tastiest results, it’s best to eat the hand pies the same day they are made. But, if you need to, you can store them for a day at room temp (you can crisp them back up in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes). You can also store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can I freeze these cherry hand pies?
You sure can! You’ll want to freeze them after baking, not before. Make sure that your hand pies are completely cool before lining them up on a baking sheet for a quick freeze. After about two hours, you’ll want to remove the baking sheet and transfer them into a freezer bag for long-term storage. They will last about two months in the freeze.
To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and crisp in the oven.
Easy Mini Christmas Tree Hand Pies FAQs
Can I cut this recipe in half?
If you don’t need 28 hand pies, you can just use one box (2 pie crusts) of Pillsbury pie crust for 7-9 pies – or 2 boxes (4 crusts) for 14-16 pies! Note, you will have leftover cherry pie filling.
Do I have to use Pillsbury brand pie crust?
Nope! If you have another favorite ready-made pie crust, that’s totally fine! I just prefer to use Pillsbury as it’s the best that is offered at my grocery store.
Can I use another pie filling?
You sure can. You could also try raspberry, apple or blueberry hand pies too! Rhubarb and strawberry, etc. The sky’s the limit with this recipe!
Do you need the coarse sanding sugar?
You don’t need it – but for presentation sake, you want it. If you want to get really festive, you can even use a red or green sanding sugar to go along with your cherry hand pies!
Do I have to use the egg wash?
No, BUT you will have a harder time getting your hand pies too brown if you don’t use the egg wash. The egg wash helps with that golden-brown color we all love so much! You may end up overcooking your hand pies trying to achieve that look without it.
Other Holiday Recipes You’re Sure To Love
- EASY CHRISTMAS DROP SUGAR COOKIES
- CHRISTMAS GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES
- EASY HOLIDAY RUM BALLS RECIPE
- MARBLE CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES
Like This Mini Christmas Tree Cherry Hand Pies Recipe? Pin It!
RECIPE CARD
Christmas Tree Cherry Hand Pies
These decorative cherry hand pies shaped like festive Christmas trees are easy to make, and with only 3 ingredients, perfect for a holiday dessert spread.
Ingredients
- 3 boxes of ready-made pie crust (2 crusts each)
- 1 (21 ounce) can of cherry pie filling
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons of water
- Coarse sanding sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Bring the ready-made pie crusts to room temperature, according to package directions.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk eggs and water together, set aside.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out one room-temp pie crust, ensuring there are no cracks or holes. The crust should be between ¼-inch and ⅛-inch thick.
- Using a holiday tree cookie cutter, cut out 7 trees. Save the excess crust.
- Place trees on the parchment-lined baking sheet and spoon about 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons of cherry pie filling into the center of each tree. Brush the border around the filling with egg wash.
- Roll out a second pie crust and cut out 7 more trees. Save the excess crust. Gently place the trees over the top of the filling. Starting at the trunk, lightly press the edges together, making sure not to press down on the filling.
- Using the tines of a fork, press the seams together, working around the outline of the tree. Using a sharp knife, make a few slits in the top crust for venting. Brush the top crusts with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar, if desired.
- Repeat the process with the remaining pie crusts. When all the ready-made pie crust has been used, and all that remains is the excess, combine it all and roll it out, the same thickness as the original crusts, to complete the remaining hand pies.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
You can use any pie filling you want! You can also change up the cookie cutter and make a star, stockings, or even an ornament!
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 28 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 37Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 31mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin, and freshness of ingredients used.
Hi there, I'm Cheryl!
As a wife, mom, and caffeine enthusiast, my journey has taken me from bustling mornings with my family to sharing delicious recipes, home care tips, and heartfelt decorating insights with wonderful readers like you. My love for baking, photography, and tidiness shines through every post I craft. Dive into my world and discover the art of homemaking, one tidy moment at a time. Read more...
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l love traditional cherry pie so gotta make these for Christmas. They look divine, and easy too!!