Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies
Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies: The Tiny Pastries That Will Make You Feel Like a Holiday Baking Overachiever
If you’ve ever wanted to eat a whole pie without technically eating a whole pie, allow me to introduce you to Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies. Adorably portable pastries bursting with tart cranberries, warm ginger, and just enough orange zest to make your kitchen smell like a cozy winter rom-com montage. Yes, they are as irresistible as they sound. No, you do not have to share.
Why You Need These Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies in Your Life
These little handheld beauties are the perfect combination of flaky pie crust, zingy fresh ginger, and sweet-tart cranberry filling. They taste like the holidays took a vacation to a tropical spa. They’re easy to make, easy to eat, and dangerously easy to justify as breakfast.
Making Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies
Simmer the cranberry filling:
In a medium saucepan, add brown sugar, water, cornstarch, butter, orange juice, orange zest, and the grated fresh ginger over medium heat. Whisk together until combined, then add the cranberries. Stir until the berries burst dramatically—like tiny fruity fireworks—and the mixture thickens. This takes about eight minutes, then cool completely.
Roll out your pie crust:
If you took the short-cut and bought them, like I did, unroll them on a floured surface or parchment paper. If you made yours from scratch, you get extra brownie points. Next, cut our four-inch circles, re-rolling the dough as necessary.
Assemble your hand pies:
First, brush some of the beaten egg around the edges to help you seal them after they’re filled. (I used milk in the pictures so you could see it better.) Then, spoon that jammy gingered cranberry filling on one side–a rounded tablespoon or so. You’ll get the feel for it after you try to seal a few.
To seal them, fold the empty side over the filling, then crimp the edges with fork tines. Don’t be alarmed if a little squirts out while you’re trying to seal them. Like I said, “you’ll get the feel for it.” They’ll squirt a bit of the jammy filling out when baking, too. The only way to completely avoid that is to underfill them, but then what’s the point? Everyone grabs the fattest one on the plate, so don’t worry about a little leakage.
Ok, next, vent the tops. I added three little vents with a small paring knife, but you can also vent an “X” shape, or smiley face. Whatever floats your boat. In other words, the pies need to breath while they bake or they’ll explode out a seam. Caaa-blewy!
Making Them Beautiful
Optional, yet pretty, give each hand pie a quick egg wash. It adds to the golden brown color and gives it a shiny, bakery-like finish.
Bake until golden:
When they’re done, they should look like they belong in a rustic bakery that charges $7 per mini pie. Optional, you can set the timer for 20 – 24 minutes.
Tips for Next-Level Hand Pie Magic
- Add extra ginger if you want a little more zip—like the cranberry filling just spilled some tea.
- Brush with egg wash for that glossy, magazine-cover glow.
- Dust with coarse sugar because it sparkles and, frankly, you deserve nice things.
These Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies are tart, sweet, and unapologetically festive. Plus, they make your kitchen smell like you’ve been hired by Santa’s personal baking department. Whether you serve them at a holiday party or hoard them in the freezer like a pastry dragon, they’ll be a hit.
More Cranberry Inspired Recipes
- Candied Cranberries (A must-have for all dessert decorating during the holidays.)
- Cranberry Cookie Cake
- Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake
- Dried Cranberry Banana Bread
- Layered Cranberry Cheesecake Dessert
If you tried and love this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment below. Thank you so much.
Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. orange juice
- 1 tsp. orange zest
- 2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
- 2 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 pie crusts, unbaked and room temperature
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together brown sugar, water, cornstarch, butter, orange juice, orange zest, and ginger. Add cranberries. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly (approx. 8 min.). Cool completely.
- Unroll pie crusts and cut out 4-inch circles. Brush edges with beaten egg to help them stick together once filled. Re-roll unused crust as necessary until all the crust is used.
- Spoon a rounded tablespoon of cranberry filling onto half of each circle. Fold unfilled half over filling. Seal edges with tines of a fork and cut 2 – 3 small slits in tops.
- Brush pies with egg wash. Bake for 20 – 24 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Gingered Cranberry Hand Pies
Follow me on Pinterest and sign up for emails to receive the latest recipe leaving my kitchen.
I can also be found on Facebook.
Pin it so you don’t forget it, print it so you can spill things on it, and share it so your friends think you’ve suddenly become a whimsical holiday baking icon.
In the meantime, I hope you have yourself a blessed day.
