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Savory fillings in a crisp pasty dough, these Hand Pies are the perfect recipe for an appetizer or snack.
Argentinian Hand Pies: A Walking Meal
These Hand Pies were inspired by Vintage Kitchen Notes. I have always been intrigued by little pies like these, and really wanted to give them a try. Paula has a great description of the place hand pies, or empanadas, have in Argentinian culture. Stop on over to her original post to read more about them.
I was inspired by her talk of the variety of fillings to try my hand at some of my own, in addition to the corn and basil filing from her post. I filled some with a spicy combination of ham and cheddar cheese, others with a caramelized onion and thyme filling.
Paula’s corn and basil filling was such a fantastic combination with the sweet corn, bright basil, and creamy sauce. I highly recommend stopping over to Vintage Kitchen Notes and giving these a try.
With the speed at which we gobbled all these up, I will be keeping hand pies in the back of my mind for future experiments. They are incredibly versatile, and such a fun finger food.
Now that I think of it, they would be perfect for a Super Bowl party!
Below are my filling renditions. To make them you will need a recipe of pie crust dough. You can find my go-to recipe here and Paula’s crust recipe here.
Spicy ham and cheddar in a savory empanada.
Yields 8 (4 inch) hand pies
- 2 Tbsp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 c ham, diced small
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/8 tsp salt (use less if your ham is salty)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne (depending on your taste)
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Prepare pie dough.
- Mix all filling ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Separate pie dough into walnut-sized balls. Roll each ball into a 4" diameter circle. Once all the dough has been rolled, begin to fill the hand pies. Place 2 -3 Tbsp of filling slightly off-center of each circle. Moisten the edges of the dough. Fold dough over filling and press firmly around the edge to seal.
- Repeat with remaining and filling.
- Bake hand pies for 25-30 minutes on a cookie sheet, until golden brown.
Sweet caramelized onions and herby thyme combine in these savory hand pies.
Yield: 8 ( 4 inch) hand pies
- 1 Tbsp salted butter
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1/4 c cream cheese
- 1 tsp thyme
- Salt (to taste)
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Prepare pie dough.
- In a medium, non-stick frying pan, heat oil. Add onions, and saute over medium-low heat until golden brown and caramelized. (This could take up to 15-20 minutes.)
- Once onions are caramelized, add cream cheese, thyme, and salt. Stir over low heat until cream cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
- Separate pie dough into walnut-sized balls. Roll each ball into a 4" diameter circle. Once all the dough has been rolled, begin to fill the hand pies. Place 2 -3 Tbsp of filling slightly off-center of each circle. Moisten the edges of the dough. Fold dough over filling and press firmly around the edge to seal.
- Repeat with remaining and filling.
- Bake hand pies for 25-30 minutes on a cookie sheet, until golden brown.
I’ve never made savory hand pies, but these look worth a try! Yum!
Handpies are perfect! Nice bread and savory filling in one bite. Great post! ~ Bea @ galactosemia in PDX
I was looking for the hand pie dough recipe everywhere and I can’t find it. Is it in Paula’s original recipe? Very curious to know how to make such a flaky looking hand pie dough.
You can use any basic pie crust recipe. My go to pie crust can be found in this Apple Pie recipe and Paula uses her Pecan Pie crust recipe. Or, Paula has a recipe for Meat Turnovers, which also has a crust recipe. This was the crust recipe I used this time, and it worked very well.
I love both types of your hand pies, they look delicious!
This would be great for the kids’ lunches! Thanks for re-introducing this recipe!
Mmm…I’ve been wanting to make Paula’s hand pies since she posted the recipe so I’m glad you had the chance to do so. I love that you used so many different, flavourful fillings – I would’ve gladly eaten all of them! Seeing how fabulous yours turned out makes me even more determined to try these.
Your hand pies look amazing!! I remember when Paula posted these . . I wanted to try them ever since then. . you have inspired me! Maybe I will try them this week, thank you!
I love this! I did one of Paula’s dishes too. So awesome!
We love hand pies, or pasties as they are called here in the UK. My favourite one that you shared is the Caramelized Onion and Thyme Hand Pies. I will have to add that combination next time I make them.
The onion ones are my fave for sure 😀
Every time I hear hand pies I thing sweet. I grew up with peach and apple fried pies. Savory ones sound so nice and I like all your different fillings. Paula is very talented and I can see why you chose one of her recipes.
I remember these hand pies from Paula and I absolutely loved them then and I love them now :)Craving for a bite right now 🙂
I love these for having waiting in the freezer when you don’t feel like cooking. Great combinations here Sarah 🙂
These look delicious. I want to try hand pies soon!
I love hand pies. They are great for when you need to take a meal with you somewhere, but what something more substantial than a sandwich (like when you are ice fishing.) Delicious!
I am so glad you joined us! Your recipes and inspiration is perfect for our group! These hand pies look fabulous… I can’t wait to make some!
Wow this looks so good. Can’t wait to make it.
Ooooh, those ham and cheddar hand pies are amazing! Welcome to #SundaySupper!
Both the fillings sound wonderful! I have never made hand pies, but I love the idea of them.
I want the corn one!!!
These look so amazing, love them all!!
Yummy!
Endless possibilities with this recipe. I bet they freeze well to have on hand for lunches too!
Ham and cheese, they are one of the most popular by far. They look amazing, really wonderful! I´m so glad you liked them and those sweet comments made my day! Have a great sunday Sarah!