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Make Homemade Cherry Hand Pies in a jiffy with my easy recipe. Only four ingredients and these tasty treats are made in the Air Fryer.

These Air Fryer Christmas Tree Cherry Hand Pies come together very quickly. Christmas is the perfect time to make a special treat like fruit-filled hand pies and turn them into festive food.

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Looking for more Air Fryer recipes? I have a few more listed at the end of this recipe. Scroll down.

There are a plethora of different hand pie recipes, mostly with fruit fillings. Some hand pies are made with pie dough from scratch. Puff pastry can be used as the dough. Homemade pie crust is always good when making hand pies. but my recipe cheat is to use store-bought pie dough.

What are Hand Pies?

Basically, it’s a handheld dessert, generally made with pastry dough. Could it be any better? You don’t need a fork or a spoon and you get to simply pick it up and chow down.

Hand pies are the perfect dessert for all sorts of get-togethers like Christmas parties, summer Barbeques, or even just because you crave a fruity pastry.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Hand Pies

Only four simple ingredients you can find at your grocery store. I make my cherry hand pies with Pillsbury pie crusts. You could use fresh cherries if you like but I make mine with canned cherry pie filling.

• 1 pkg. Premade pie crust
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 can Cherry Pie Filling

Optional Icing

• Powdered Sugar
• Milk

Tools Needed

• Large Christmas tree cookie cutter, like this one
• Rolling pin
• Spoon
• Pastry brush
• Air Fryer

Directions

Take your pie crusts out of the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before you begin. It will be much easier to work with.

If your Air Fryer requires pre-heating, do that as your first step. Heat the Air Fryer to 375°

Step 1

Prepare your work surface. I like to use these disposable counter covers for recipes like this. You could line a baking sheet with parchment paper for your work surface or you can spread wax paper on the counter.

Roll out the pie crust and use the Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out two pieces for each hand pie.

Step 2

Place a spoonful of cherry pie filling in the center of each piece of Christmas tree pie dough. Then top it with another Christmas tree dough cutout. Be sure you have a little bit of the cherry juice to make a nice juicy filling for each hand pie. We don’t want to bite into a hand pie with only one cherry inside.

Circular Instructions

Cut your dough circles using a 4-inch circle cutter like this. A biscuit cutter will work but it would need to be very large unless you prefer small pies. Place the cherry filling into the center of each circle and fold over in a half-moon shape. Then proceed with the remainder of the instructions steps below.

Step 3

Use the tines of a fork to press the edges together all the way around each hand pie.

Step 4

Whisk the egg in a small bowl with one tablespoon of water to create an egg wash. Now use your pastry brush to brush a little bit of egg wash on top of each pie before cooking them. This will give your hand pies a nice golden brown color.

Optional

If you would like a sugary coated crust on top of your pies, now is the time to sprinkle lightly with granulated or coarse sugar prior to cooking. The egg wash helps the sugar adhere to the surface of the pie crust.

Step 5

Place the hand pies in your Air Fryer basket in a single layer and cook for 5 to 8 minutes at 375°.

Do not overcrowd your air fryer basket. Only cook as many as will fit in your fryer basket at one time with space for air circulation between them. They fry really fast, so keep an eye on them to know the cook time in your particular Air Fryer. It should be within that 5-8 minutes range.

Step 6 Optional Icing

Serve and enjoy your delicious Cherry Hand pies just as they are or make an easy icing to glaze them with before serving for a nice finishing touch.

In a small bowl, mix about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar with about a teaspoon of milk until it is smooth and creamy. You may need more milk or more sugar to get the desired consistency you prefer.

Pour the icing over each pie and allow to completely set before serving.

Filling Substitutions for Hand Pies

The possibilities are great, beginning with Air Fryer Apple Hand pies using apple pie filling. Follow the above recipe but substitute apple pie filling instead of cherry pie filling.

Air fryer peach hand pies and even blueberry hand pies are delicious too.

The truth is you can use your favorite fruit filling to satisfy your pie cravings. Premade crusts make perfect hand pies with a nice flaky crust and save a bunch of time. I do love a good recipe cheat, don’t you?

Can Hand Pies Be Frozen?

The best thing about this easy dessert is that these hand pies can actually be frozen! Freeze them uncooked in an airtight container. Thaw and cook on the day you want to serve them.

Be sure to place waxed paper between each layer of pies so they won’t stick together. Save the egg wash step for when you are about to cook them.

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Air Fryer Southern Fried Catfish Nuggets
• Buffalo Chicken Stromboli Air Fryer and Oven Instructions included
• Air Fryer Cheesy Chicken Tenders
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
• Air Fryer Christmas Tree Cherry Hand Pies