The Best Sour Cherry Hand Pies
Growing up in Romania, I used to love those unhealthy sour cherry pies from McDonald's.😆 It's been years ever since I had them so I was craving it recently and since now I am not a kid anymore and I can bake a much healthier version myself, I did so.
Using some leftover sour cherries and cherry, I made a quick filling with sugar and starch and I used buttery puff pastry. I sprinkled some sugar, gave it an egg wash and that was basically everything. Super yum and quick! Let's start!
- 300 g sour cherries
- 2 tbsp zahăr (add more if you like it sweeter)
- 1 tbsp amidon din porumb
- 1 tbsp apă
- 280 g buttery puff pastry (one sheet, mine was 280g)
- 1 tsp zahăr (for sprinkling)
- Making the filling
Start by adding the pitted sour cherries to a pot (you can use frozen ones, just let them defrost in this case) and add the sugar to it. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Start boiling them until the sugar is dissolved and the jam is a bit thickened, but the cherries are still whole (5 minutes). Separately, mix the cornstarch and the water and add the slurry to the jam. Boil for 1 more minute until it thickens, then set aside.
- Preparing the pies
Cut the puff pastry sheet into 6 equal squares. Add 1 tbsp or 2 of filling onto each puff pastry square, brush the edges with water for a better seal, then seal the pies (see video for instructions) using a fork. I made 3 cuts onto each pie so that the air can escape and also for a nicer design. At the end, I gave them an egg wash (I beat the egg with a bit of water and brushed the pies with it and I sprinkled some sugar on top. Bake until golden. Enjoy!