Blueberry Hand Pies with Orange Glaze

Enjoy the flavors of fresh blueberry pie on the go with these Blueberry Hand Pies with Orange Glaze. You’ll love the combination of flaky, buttery crust, tart blueberry filling, and bright citrus glaze!

The Best Blueberry Hand Pies

These Blueberry Hand Pies with Orange Glaze are so much fun!

The pastry dough is flecked with orange zest and crammed with butter, yielding flaky pockets of goodness. And the jammy blueberry filling – I love how the baked fruit finds its way outside the confines of its petite pastry shell. So pretty!

But the best part, according to our daughters?

The orange juice and zest infused glaze that’s drizzled over the tops of these little pies. It adds just the perfect touch of sweetness, a citrus crown atop all that blueberry glory!

My mom is a fabulous pie maker. Her peach pie is my absolute favorite!

I, unfortunately, did not follow in her footsteps when it comes to making beautiful pie crust. But hand pies are in a whole different category – I can totally do that! And you can, too!!

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What You’ll Need

All you need for these sweet little hand pies are fresh blueberries and oranges, plus a few baking staples!

For the Pastry:

• Flour – Your basic all-purpose flour works perfectly here.
• Sugar – The pastry crust is perfectly sweet and flaky.
• Salt – A little bit of salt in sweet baked goods is always a good thing!
• Orange zest – Adds a hint of citrus to the pastry layer.
• Unsalted butter – Your butter should be cold when starting.
• Ice water – Ice water helps to keep the butter in the dough from getting warm. As the dough bakes, this creates pockets of flaky texture.
• Egg white – Gets beaten with water for a simple egg wash, which gives extra texture and a pretty appearance.
• Cinnamon – A pinch of warm flavor.

For the Blueberry Filling:

• Fresh blueberries – There’s nothing quite like fresh summer blueberries! Frozen blueberries can be used in a pinch, but use fresh if you can.
• Orange juice – Freshly squeezed is a must!
• Brown sugar – Balances the tart flavor of the blueberries.
• Salt
• Cinnamon – Adds warmth to the fresh berries.
• Cornstarch – Helps thicken the filling.

For the Orange Glaze:

• Powdered sugar – The sweet base of the glaze.
• Orange – Both freshly squeeze orange juice and orange zest are used in the glaze. So good!!

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How to Make Blueberry Hand Pies with Orange Glaze

These fresh fruit hand pies are fun to make! The filling and glaze both come together in minutes, and the pastry dough is more forgiving to work with than standard pie crust.

• Make the dough. Whisk together the dry ingredients and then cut in butter until you get pea-sized crumbs. Drizzle in the ice water and mix until the dough comes together.
• Chill the dough. Divide the dough in half and pat each ball into a disc. Wrap each half separately and chill for an hour in the fridge.

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• Prepare egg wash & cinnamon sugar. Beat together the egg white and water; set aside. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl; set aside.
• Make the blueberry filling. Stir the blueberries and orange juice together, and then mix in the dry ingredients.
• Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
• Roll out the dough. Roll out one of the discs into a rectangle, and then cut into squares. Place them on the baking sheet and brush with the egg wash.
• Add the blueberry filling & assemble. Add blueberry filling to the center of each square. Then roll out the remaining dough and cut into squares again. Top the blueberry filling with dough squares, pressing the dough together at the edges with a fork. Cut an X on each pie and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake. Bake for 25 minutes. The pastries should be golden brown and the blueberry filling bubbly.
• Make the glaze. Once the hand pies have cooled, mix together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the hand pies. Allow the glaze to set before digging in.

Tips for Success

Here are a few tips for a perfect batch of hand pies!

• Add additional ice water. If necessary, add a bit more ice water to get the pastry dough to come together.
• Ensure the edges seal. While it’s normal for some blueberry to ooze out at the edges, you want to prevent this from happening too much by gently but firmly pressing down on the edges to seal them. I use a fork, which also leaves a nice pattern.
• Try this with other berries. This recipe is pretty adaptable to use with raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries. Sweet (pitted) cherries would also be great! Just chop larger fruits, about the size of a large blueberry.

Serving Suggestions

I always like to eat fresh fruit pies when they’re still just a bit warm from the oven, when the fruit is extra fragrant and tender. Same goes here with a freshly baked hand pie. Drizzle on that orange glaze and dig in!

The great thing about these is that they’re essentially a portable slice of pie, so you can grab one and go. They are great for picnics and other casual parties. (And I always say that fresh fruit pie makes the best breakfast!)

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

Hand pies are best eaten the day they are made – they never last long in our house anyway! However, they also prove mighty good the next day, when warmed up on a baking stone in the oven.

Just set the stone in the oven and preheat to 275° F. Set hand pies on the stone and warm for 5 to 8 minutes. You want them warm, not super hot as the glaze will melt. The stone does a great job of reheating, giving you that just-baked texture.

Can I Freeze These?

Yes, you can freeze these blueberry hand pies. Allow them to cool completely then place in freezer-safe containers, with layers separated by parchment paper. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To reheat, preheat a baking stone in the oven at 275° F and once preheated, set the pies on the stone. Heat until warmed through.

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More Blueberry Recipes:

• Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
• Fluffy Whipped Blueberry Butter
• Blueberry Oat Crumble Bars
• Blueberry Cobbler with Orange Biscuit Puffs

This post was originally published in 2013, and then updated in 2021.