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Bourbon Pecan Cherry Hand Pies. Fresh summer cherries made into a sweet cherry-blueberry jam and wrapped up in flakey, buttery pecan pie dough. These cherry pies are not average cherry pie…they are so much better. Perfect summer dessert to go along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Believe me, your summer needs these!
How about something fun and sweet to make your Tuesday a little more exciting? I don’t know about guys, but I’m all about making Tuesday a little sweeter. Especially today, since it’s a travel day for me and I hate days spent at the airport and the car.
Finally heading back home today, and while I am happy to be going home, I’m sad to be leaving NYC behind. I had an amazing event with Anthropologie on Sunday, it was so fun talking summer tablescapes with you guys. I really hope to do more workshops like this in the future. Let me know if this is something you too would be interested in seeing more of from me.
I’ll do a full recap of my time in the city on Sunday in my Favorites Post. I have some fun photos to share!
For now, let me tell you about these cherry pies that I am in LOVE with.
As if you could not tell from the photos, I made these cherry pies with the 4th of July in mind. I honestly cannot believe that the 4th is only a week from tomorrow. I have zero plans as of right now, but that’s OK because I am looking forward to a laid back 4th after a crazy fun family vacation…
The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays to create food for. I mean, I don’t love it more than Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I love gathering with family and friends for a fun carefree day. It’s hands down the best summer holiday.
In previous years, I’ve made cakes, tarts, and plenty of ice cream, but I’ve never made hand pies, so clearly I needed to change that.
Enter these fun cherry and blueberry hand pies.
Aren’t they so cute? I’m very excited about them, and not just because they are cute, but also because they taste amazing. What’s not to love about buttery pie dough wrapped around cherries and blueberries?
Absolutely nothing.
The Details:
Start with the jam. I was really going for the red, white and blue feel, so I combined sweet red bing cherries with vibrant blue blueberries. To assure that the hand pies didn’t leak out too much of the filling while baking, I cooked down the fruit into a jam infused with just a smidge of bourbon for flavor. So delicious!
You’ll most likely have a little leftover jam, which is beyond good on some morning toast or biscuits.
If you’re not a fan of bourbon, or just prefer not to use it, swap out the bourbon for vanilla extract. That will be great too!
The filling for the pies is the really star of this recipes, but the crust is not to be overlooked. Instead of doing an all white flour crust, I incorporated in some finely ground toasted pecans for a nutty flavor. For whatever reason, the sound of pecans and cherries really appealed to me, so I went for it, and you guys?
One word, YUM!
Since I was making these for the 4th, I of course I had to make them extra cute.
I’m really not a pastry chef, so I didn’t want to do anything too difficult. I simply cut stars out of my dough and then placed them over the filling, brushed on an egg wash, and finished with a sprinkle of coarse sugar.
So super simple and easy. Trust me, if I can do this star design, so can you.
The combo of cherry, blueberries, and the buttery pecan pie crust is too good for words.
The crust melts in your mouth, while the sweet filling is bursting with flavor. I’d say more, but actually, that’s really all you need to know.
Oh and one tip? If you can, serve this a little warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream…SO GOOD!
If you make these cherry pies, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make these summery cherry pies, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Bourbon Pecan Cherry Hand Pies
Servings: 16 pies
Calories Per Serving: 137 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Bourbon Cherry-Blueberry Jam
- 3-4 cups fresh cherries, pitted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1-2 tablespoons bourbon
Pecan Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 3/4 cup finely ground toasted pecans
- 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled salted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup ice water, plus more if needed
- 1 whole egg, beaten
- coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- 1. In a medium saucepan, bring the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling use a potato masher or fork to break down and mash the cherries. Continue to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the jam has reduced and thickened by 1/3. Stir in the blueberries and cook another 5 minutes.2. Remove from the heat and stir in the bourbon. Let cool completely before filling. 3. To make the crust. Add the flour pecans and butter to a food processor and pulse until the mixture is combined and resembles peas. Add the ice water and mix with a wooden spoon, drizzling in more water as needed (no more than 1 tablespoon at a time), until dough just comes together (a few dry spots are ok).4. Divide the dough in half. Shape each piece into a circular disk. At this point you can cover the dough and place it in the fridge for up to one week OR continue on with the recipe...yes, no chilling needed!5. Roll the dough out into a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into rectangles, about 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches. If desired, use a small star cookie cutter to cut stars out of half of the rectangles (see above photo). 6. Place a tablespoon of jam on one half of the rectangle. Lay the other half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges by crimping with the back of a fork. Repeat until you have used all the dough, you may have leftover jam. Place the pies on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover the baking sheets and place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to chill.7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the pies with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden in color. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tuesday cherry pies for the win!
Could I use ground up walnuts instead of pecans?
HI! I am sure that will be just fine! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked since you posted it, I’m hoping to finally get around to trying it out later this week. We have some local blackberries that are almost ripe, do you think adding some to the cherries and blueberries would be a good idea? Or should I stick to some combination of two fruits? Thanks!
HI! I think adding blackberries sounds like a delicious idea! You an use blackberries in place of the blueberries if you prefer too! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
Could I make the filling ahead of time and freeze it?
Yes, I am sure that will be fine! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
We have nut allergies in our house. Do you think you could sub the pecans for toasted pumpkin seeds?
Hi Megan! I think pumpkin seeds would be amazing! You can also just omit the nuts all together, either is a great option. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
The dough turned out crumbly and dry, but I added more water to it to make it stick. This may be common pie knowledge, but I found the extra water (more than the recipe) added in 1 tablespoon increments really helped keep the dough together! Otherwise, these turned out great and made for a fun spin on traditional pie flavors. I liked that the crust wasn’t sweet for a nice change too!
Thank you Emma! I am so glad you loved this!
Is it possible to make the jam and freeze or store it? These look so amazing, that I am considering make a few batches and storing it for the winter to make these around the holidays!
Yes! I am sure the jam will freeze so well! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Great little treat. Cherries just started showing up here, so this will be a great use for some. Like the crust idea, too. It’s easy to change up the fruit and nut combo as well.
Thank you so much Joyce! I hope you love this!
My husband loves cherries and pies so these are perfect! I sometimes find plain pie crust boring, but I am so excited to try the pecan pie crust 🙂
I hope you try this Brittany! Thank you!
Almond extract would also be good in the cherry jam. Looks good! Yum!!
Thank you Tracy!
Can I freeze these after baking?
Yes, these freeze great after baking. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
These are so cute. The pecans in the crust sound delicious. I have made heart shape pies before. Strawberry and peach are our favorites.
These are so cute. I have made heart shape pies before for Valentines. I love strawberry and peach pies so much. The pecans in the crust sound delicious.
Thank you Charlotte!
How far in advance can you make these and can you freeze them and rebake? If using vanilla in place of bourbon, what is the measurement?
You can make these up to 2 days in advance and yes, they freeze great! Use 2 teaspoons vanilla. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
So creative, simple, festive, so Halfbakedharvesting beautiful 🙂
Thank you!!
Have you tried these using just blueberries or blueberries and strawberries? Where I live it’s difficult to get cherries.
Either of these berries would be amazing in place of the cherries! Use your favorite! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂