These heart-shaped Raspberry Hand Pies make the perfect treat for Valentine's Day. A flakey sweet shortcrust pastry is filled with sweet raspberry jam, fresh raspberries and white chocolate and baked to golden perfection. Topped with more white chocolate, you'll find it hard to stop at only one!
Any opportunity to make sweet shortcrust pastry and I'll take it! I made a super-comprehensive guide to eliminate any intimidation that you may have to make the pastry. This type of pastry forms the perfect foundation to make these delectable mini Raspberry Hand Pies. And it couldn't be easier!
Treat your loved ones with these cute as-anything heart-shaped hand pies. The pastry bakes up to buttery, flakey perfection, and inside you'll be surprised with a combination of fresh raspberries and beautiful raspberry jam.
The combination of sweet white chocolate and sticky raspberry jam is heavenly. Also, check out my Raspberry White Chocolate Loaf! The pairing of flavours is universally known to be perfect. So why not use it in these raspberry hand pies? They taste spectacular and look gorgeous, making this the perfect snack or dessert on any day of the year, not just for Valentine's Day.
This post is long- primarily due to the step-by-step images and instructions I put in the How To section. I'm a firm believer that images help- especially with a recipe that appears to be fiddly.
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Fabulous for Valentine's Day but also year-round! This makes a fun and delectable treat for 14th Feb, but stamp out with a round cookie cutter, and you'll be eating these all year long!
- Minimal ingredients, maximum flavour. With only ten ingredients for the pastry and filling, there's no excuse not to make these
- Customise the flavouring. Fill the hand pies with any filling you like, strawberry, blackberry, apricot, or just go all chocolate. It's a build-your-own adventure right here!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
As mentioned above, you only need ten ingredients to make these delicious hand pies. That's pretty good going considering you are making sweet shortcrust pastry from scratch!
Sweet Short Crust Pastry
- Flour: Plain or all-purpose flour is the way to go here.
- Icing Sugar: As this is Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, the dough requires sweetening in the form of sugar. You can use granulated or caster sugar, but I prefer powdered icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) as the lack of granules gives a much smoother dough.
- Salt: This is optional, really. Why add salt when it’s a sweet pastry? With any of my baking, I love the balance that comes with adding salt to a sweet dish. The seasoning balances the sweetness and enhances the flavour of the other ingredients. It's as simple as that!
- Butter: I use unsalted as I like to add the salt into the recipe but by all means, use salted butter if you like; just omit the salt later on.
- Egg: The egg yolk in particular gives the crust a lovely richness but also increases the crumbly texture of the dough. Different recipes ask for just egg yolks or a combination of egg yolks and egg whites. I’ve found that two whole eggs make a perfect consistency. An extra egg is needed for egg wash.
- Water: This needs to be ice cold. The reason is to then keep the butter as cold as possible. If the butter melts, the pastry will lose its flakiness which we definitely don't want!
Raspberry White Chocolate Filling
- Raspberry jam. Get the best quality raspberry jam or conserve that you can. My favourite brand to use is Bonne Maman Raspberry Conserve. With so few ingredients, the high-quality flavour is everything.
- Fresh raspberries. These aren't vital to the Raspberry filing and if you can't buy them, then just omit them. I add them as bitting down onto fresh juicy raspberries in the hand pies is gorgeous. Don't sub with frozen as they omit too much moisture whilst baking and make the pastry soggy.
- White chocolate. Again use the best quality possible. I use Lindt, Green & Blacks or Menier White Chocolate. They melt up beautifully when baked.
- Freeze-dried raspberries. A sprinkling of freeze-dried raspberries for extra raspberry flavour also looks uber pretty on the top. Not essential, so leave it out if you can't find it.
📖 Variations
There are many different variations that you can make for these hand pies. I love how versatile they are. Here are just a few combinations that I love:
- Apricot Hand Pies: Swap out the raspberry conserve for some apricot jam/conserve and add a couple of chopped apricots into the filling. Dust simply with powdered icing sugar or coat in a simple vanilla glaze.
- Blackberry and Apple Pies: Mix grated apple through blackberry or blackcurrant jam. Add in some Autumnal spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg for real fall vibes.
- Strawberry Dark Chocolate Hand Pies: Sub the fresh raspberries and raspberry conserve for fresh strawberries and strawberry conserve. Instead of white chocolate, add chopped dark chocolate 70% into the filling and then drizzle the baked hand pies with some more dark chocolate. These Strawberry Dark Chocolate Mini Pies would also make fab Valentine's Day treats.
- Blueberry Lemon Hand Pies: Add lemon zest to your pastry dough before rolling out and then fill with blueberry jam.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make
There are two main steps to making these Raspberry Hand Pies. The first is making the shortcrust dough from scratch, and the second is filling and baking it. Luckily the dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, making the process of filling and baking quick and easy.
You'll see process shots and images below, but if you really want to learn the ins and outs of making Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, then check out my comprehensive How-To guide with loads of tips.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Make Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
STEP 1. Rub the butter into the flour. Sift your flour and powdered icing sugar into a bowl and add salt. Give them a quick mix together .
Add in the butter. Toss the butter through the flour mixture until it's fully coated. Then use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse bread crumbs with some larger hazelnut-sized pieces (Images 1 & 2).
STEP 2. Add egg and water. Make a well in the mixture and add the two lightly beaten eggs. I use a fork to mix it in but use a spoon or your hands if you prefer. Mix it in until the dough is lumpy (Image 3). There will probably still be some dry bits at the bottom.
Then it's time to add the ice-cold water. Every dough needs a slightly different amount of water. This is due to the different flours used, different types of moisture in the butter, and how humid your surrounding air temperature is.
So my recommendation is to add in half of the water and mix in, then add 1 tablespoon more at a time as needed (Image 4). When adding the water, start to bring the dough together. Use your fingers with a little extra water to pull in any dry bits at the bottom of your bowl. The dough should start to clump when squeezed together.
STEP 3. Bring the dough together and refrigerate. Tip your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to gently push the dough together until it becomes smoother and more manageable (Images 5 & 6). Form it into a disc and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap before refrigerating it for 1 hour (Images 7 & 8).
TIP: Use cold ingredients, don't overwork the dough and make sure to rest the dough in the refrigerator.
Roll Out and Stamp Out Pastry
STEP 4. Roll out the dough. Take the dough out of the fridge, unwrap it and leave it out on a floured surface until it becomes easier to roll out. Trying to roll dough that is too cold will only result in it cracking. At the same stretch, don't leave it out so long that the butter softens and makes the dough sticky!
Roll the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin until it's the thickness of a coin. (Image 9) It will look like a lot of dough. If you struggle to roll out this amount of dough in one go, then just divide it into two and roll out the two pieces separately.
STEP 5. Stamp out the shapes. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter and stamp out the shapes in the dough. (Image 10). Pull together the scraps of dough and re-roll and stamp more hearts.
Place half of the hearts onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper (Image 11) - these form the base of the hand pies. The remaining hearts form the top of the hand pies. Cut out steam vents in the top pieces by using a mini cutter as I did (Image 12), or cut a small X shape (Scroll down to Image 19, and you'll see how I did this).
TIP: Flour the cookie cutter that you use to stamp out the shapes so that the dough doesn't stick to the inside of the cutter.
Fill and Bake Raspberry Hand Pies
STEP 6. Mix raspberry jam and fresh raspberries (Image 13). I prefer to do this so that the fresh raspberries get fully coated in the jam, which makes them even more juicy and delectable in the middle. You can also crush the fresh raspberries slightly so that they aren't so large. It distributes them more in the hand pie but also makes the hand pie less domed, which is easier to cover with the top half of the dough.
STEP 7. Make egg wash. The only way for the hand pies to stick together is to create a seal with egg wash. Whisk one egg in a bowl with one tablespoon of water or milk. Lightly brush around the edges of the heart bases on the baking tray (Image 14).
STEP 8. Fill with white chocolate and raspberries. Into the centre of each heart base, spoon a tablespoon of chopped white chocolate. The smaller the white chocolate is chopped, the easier it is to distribute within the heart (it also melts easier too!). Leave a space around the edges where the egg wash is.
Then spoon a tablespoon of the raspberry mix over the top of the white chocolate. (Image 16)
STEP 9. Cover, seal and refrigerate the hand pies. If you tried to place the tops over the filling, they would be too small as they have to fit over the mound of white chocolate and raspberries. Use your finger to gently stretch the heart and place it over the filled base.
Use your fingers to press down the dough (Images 17 & 18) and then use the lightly floured tines of a fork to crimp all around the edges of the heart creating a firm seal (Image 19). If you find the edges of the heart have become slightly miss-shapen, trim them with a sharp knife 9not necessary, but it will give you neat-looking hearts).
Now refrigerate the tray with the hand pies on it for 30 minutes. This allows the butter in the dough to resolidify, ensuring perfectly shaped hand pies once baked.
STEP 10. Egg wash and bake hand pies. Brush egg wash all over the hand pies (Image 19) and bake for 25 to 35 minutes. They'll be ready when the pastry is golden, and the filling is bubbling (Image 21 below).
Note: If you aren't decorating the baked hand pies with white chocolate, then once the tops are egg-washed, sprinkle them with turbinado (coarse) sugar before popping them into the oven.
STEP 11. Decorate the baked hand pies. Melt the white chocolate and spoon it over the hand pies. You can use the back of the spoon to smooth the chocolate to cover the hand pie in the shape of the heart. Then finish with a sprinkle of freeze-dried raspberries and set to one side for 20 minutes until the chocolate has set ..... or enjoy straight away!!!
TIP: Don't worry about the oozing raspberry jam when you pull the hand pies out of the oven. As the hand pies cool, the jam underneath goes all gooey and kind of like a fruit strap (ever had one of them?)
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Use cold ingredients for the dough. Ensure the butter is cubed and cold and the water is ice-cold. If your environment is hot and humid, then refrigerate the mixing bowl and flour too.
- Don't overwork the dough, and make sure to refrigerate it. When mixing the dough ingredients and bringing it together, try not to overwork the dough as this will activate the gluten too much and make it tough.
- Chop the white chocolate into small pieces. Smaller chocolate pieces make it easier to fill the hand pies. The smaller pieces also melt more easily, creating chocolate puddles in the hand pies if you eat them when warm.
- Refrigerate the hand pies. Don't skip this step. For the truly flakey, melt-in-your-mouth dough, it needs a second refrigeration for the dough to firm up before baking.
📋 Recipe FAQs
They are essentially the same thing. A baked dessert made of pastry and filling. The primary difference is that turnovers are made with puff pastry, whereas hand pies are made with a shortcrust style pastry.
This will most likely be because the dough itself was too warm before you put it into the oven to bake. The butter renders out, causing the dough to spread and become greasy. Don't miss out on the chill time before baking. If you live in a really hot climate, then go so far as putting the hand pies in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Unfortunately, not exactly. If you seal shut your hand pies without a little slit in the dough, as the hand pie bakes, the build-up of steam inside will cause the edges to pop open so that they can escape. We pre-empt this from happening by cutting a small slit or stamping out a small shape. But the jam and raspberries can get really juicy and occasionally seep out of these steam vents and onto the tray.
❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions
To store: Store in an airtight container for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. To warm, place in a preheated oven for 10 minutes until warmed through.
To freeze: Once baked and cooled, freeze Raspberry Hand Pies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator to defrost then, bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes until the pastry is warm and crunchy.
🍓 More Raspberry Recipes
If you tried this Heart-Shaped Raspberry Hand Pies Recipeor any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Raspberry Hand Pies Recipe
Equipment
- Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter
Ingredients
Sweet Shortcrust pastry
- 440 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 80 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 220 g unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
Raspberry White Chocolate Filling
- 170 g raspberry jam
- 125 g fresh raspberries, optional
- 100 g white chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 egg, beaten for egg wash
- 50 g white chocolate
- 1 tablespoon freeze-dried raspberries
Instructions
Make the sweet shortcrust pastry
- Rub the butter into the flour. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt. Add the butter and toss until the cubes are coated. Rub the mixture together between your fingers until it reaches a breadcrumb consistency with a few hazelnut-sized pieces of butter still visible.
- Add egg and water. Make a well in the centre and add the egg. Using a fork, mix the egg into the flour. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the ice-cold water, and use your fingertips to bring the dough together. If the dough isn’t clumping together, add more water sparingly.
- Bring the dough together and refrigerate. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured countertop, and use floured hands to shape the dough into a ball, taking care not to overwork it. Flatten slightly into a disc, and wrap well in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the dough rest.
Roll out and stamp pastry
- Roll out dough. Remove the chilled dough disc from the fridge and set it aside on your countertop for 15 minutes or so to allow the dough to warm up slightly so it’s easier to roll out. Trying to roll dough that is too cold will cause the edges to crack. To roll out, lightly flour your countertop and rolling pin, and using firm, even strokes, roll from the centre outward, turning the dough a quarter turn every few strokes. Roll the dough out to the thickness of a coin (⅛-inch (3-mm) thick).
- Stamp out the shapes. Use a floured heart-shaped cookie cutter and stamp out as many shapes in the dough as you can. Pull together the scraps of dough and re-roll and stamp more hearts. Only do this once as after this the dough starts to get tough from working the dough too much. You'll want to end up with an even number of hearts to match the top and bottoms togetherCarefully place half of the hearts onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper - these form the base of the hand pies. The remaining hearts form the top of the hand pies. Cut out steam vents in the top pieces by using a mini cutter as I did, or cut a small X shape.
Fill and bake raspberry hand pies
- Mix raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. In a small bowl, combine the raspberry jam and fresh raspberries and mix until the raspberries are fully coated. Gently crush the fresh raspberries until they are halved.
- Make egg wash. Whisk the remaining egg in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of water or milk. Brush the heart-shaped dough on the baking tray with egg wash
- Fill with white chocolate and raspberries.Place a tablespoon of chopped white chocolate into the centre of the egg-washed cutout dough on the baking tray. Then spoon a heaping tablespoon of raspberry mixture over the top of the white chocolate.
- Cover, seal and refrigerate the hand pies. Gently stretch each of the remaining hearts with your fingers to make them slightly larger, then set them on top of the filling-topped hearts. With your fingers, gently press the edges together. With the tines of a fork, press around the edges of the hearts to seal completely. Trim the edges with a sharp knife if they have become miss-shapen. Refrigerate the hand pies for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)
- Egg wash and bake hand pies. Brush egg-wash over the tops of all the sealed heart-shaped hand pies. Bake the hand pies for 25-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
- Decorate the baked hand pies. One baked remove the tray from the oven and carefully transfer hand pies to a wire rack to cool. In the meantime microwave the remaining white chocolate in 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted.Spoon white chocolate over the hand pies and sprinkle freeze-dried raspberries over the top. Set aside for 20 minutes or so until the white chocolate has fully set.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in April 2020 but has been updated with new photos, new content and a revised recipe.
Bettina
The most gorgeous raspberry hand pies I ever did see. I love making sweet shortcrust pastry since I found your recipe in 2020. It's my go-to and works each and every time. Using it for this cute recipe is a winner. The filling is so simple to put together!! I didn't seal mine quite as well as yours and the filling oozed out a touch, as you said in the post, it goes all sticky and delicious. The process shots made this super easy to follow. Thanks!
Emma
What a review Bettina! Thank you! Once you've mastered shortcrust pastry, as you have done, there are so many ways to use it. Glad that you found this recipe and enjoyed it. x