Anyone that knows me knows how much I love a good home style pie. It's always been like tradition in my family to have a berry pie at the ready for visitors during the holiday and winter season. This year I decided to do a cherry pie with a twist! These hand pies are so delicious and oh so convenient to grab and go. During Christmas I had these pies in a glass cookie jar and everyone appreciated not having to stop and cut a slice, but to just pick 'em up, grab a napkin and keep moving.

Later on I decided to make blueberry lemon hand pies which were amazing! I'll be doing a video on those shortly. I hope you guys enjoy. Watch the video above for the tutorial.

You'll Need:

Ready to use crust dough

Circle cutter or Cup

Rolling Pin

Fork

1 Cup Frozen and thawed cherries (and juice)

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Tbsp. Corn Starch

Optional Glaze:

1/2 Cup Confectioners Sugar

1 tbsp. Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Step 1: Filling

In a small sauce pot: Add the cherries, sugar and corn starch then allow to simmer for five minutes or until the filling is bubbling and thick. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Step 2: Sweetness

I used a ready to use rolled dough that you can find in the refrigerator section of most markets. All you have to do for this is unroll the dough and apply a thin layer of water all over. The filling in this recipe will be enough for 2 pie shells, but I decided to use 1 which made 7 hand pies.

Step 3: Fill and Cut

If using a circle or square cutter you can apply dollops of filling to the dough leaving about an inch and a half of space between each. Or enough to make sure that you can cut out one pie without cutting into the other. Then place a second pie dough over the first, or do like I did and only fill one side to fold the other half on top. Seal the pies by pressing around the filling then cut them out.

For fun shapes like the Santa hat that I used, you'll want to cut the dough first to ensure that you don't place too much filling down. When placing the filling, leave about 1/2 inch of space around the circumference to keep the pies from over-flowing.

Step 4: Sealage

Use a fork to seal the edges of the pies, then poke a hole at the top to act as a vent. You can do an egg wash but I decided to bake them without. Place the pies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Step 5: Get Your Pie On!

The pies are ready when the edges turn golden brown and your house starts to smell like delicious pie heaven. You might even hear angels sing.

Optional: Drizzle your pies with a quick glaze. Combine the confectioner's sugar, vanilla and milk. Then stir until smooth and use a fork or spoon to drizzle across your pies. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then GET YOUR PIE ON!

I hope you all give this a try and experiment with other fun and festive flavors. Enjoy.