Name: Blueberry Air Fryer Hand Pies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 ¼ c flour; ½ c butter (very cold, cubed); 2 tsp sugar; ¾ tsp sea salt; 3-4 T ice water; 1 ½ c blueberries; ⅓ c sugar; 2 tsp corn starch; 1 T water; 1 egg; 1 T water; coarse sugar (optional)

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Enjoy buttery, flaky individual treats with these easy Air Fryer Hand Pies. Fresh blueberry filling, a simple butter crust and cooked up perfectly in the air fryer in about 10 minutes! Oven variation offered if no air fryer is available!

Stack of air fryer hand pies with blueberry filling in top cut pie.

What's better than a slice of pie? Only one thing--a pie you can eat on the go. Hand pies, so perfect, I could kiss whoever invented them.

And an air fryer hand pie? Well that is just magic. Cooked up crispy and flaky in just about 10 minutes!

These blueberry hand pies are a simple way to get a dose of made from scratch cooking that is easier than pie, seriously.

Why you will love this recipe:

Completely homemade, but without the headache. Pie and pie crusts can scare some people off--did for me for a long time. This simple pie crust is made in the food processor in a matter of about one or two minutes. The hardest part is waiting for the dough to chill!
Super quick cooking. Yes there is a little work to assemble all the parts, but to cook these hand pies in the air fryer is only a matter of minutes. You will be able to heat, cool and scarf a few down before you would be able to bake them. Not that there is anything wrong with baking, they are still tasty that way as well!
Can be made with frozen berries. If it's not berry season, don't worry, you can easily whip the filling up using frozen. I suggest thawing them first and then heating.
Shortcuts. There is nothing wrong with a shortcut (or ten) to make a tasty treat more simple to make. You can easily use a store bought pie crust or pre-made pie filling. Jam would work well too! I am all about these fully from scratch, but in a pinch, I pull out my pie crust straight from the grocery aisle as well!

What you will need:

You really won't need a lot of ingredients. Basic pie needs and that's about all!

For the crust:

flour: Measure your flour by stirring it up first to aerate it a bit. Then spoon into a measuring cup and level it off. NEVER scoop your measuring tool straight into the flour and scoop. This can cause you to have way too much flour in the end which can make for dry crust. No one wants that!
cold butter : cold ingredients, the fat especially make for a flakier crust. Start with it cold and cut into small cubes or pieces--you can even pop the butter in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before starting.
sugar: I always add just a touch of sugar when making a sweet pie.
salt: if you use salted butter, then cut the salt by about half in this pie crust.
ice water: super super cold water. The key is cold when it comes to pie crust!

For the filling:

blueberries: fresh or frozen. And in reality you could use another berry or a mixture.
sugar
cornstarch: you can substitute arrow root to help thicken the pie filling as well.
water: just a touch becasue you really want this blueberry filling to be thick so that it will not be too runny when assembling the air fryer hand pies.
optional: lemon zest

For assembly:

egg: Use this for an egg wash when assembling your blueberry hand pies. This helps give your pastry the shiny gold color and also is helpful to bind pieces together
water: just a touch for the egg wash
coarse sugar (optional): I love the look of coarse sugar on top of pie crust. If it's not your thing, that is fine!
cookie or biscuit cutter: I use a 3.3 inch biscuit cutter for mine--it's the largest one in my set. You can make larger circles and fold them in half for less seeping of the filling. You could also try other fun shapes--thinking hearts for Valentine's Day for sure!

How to make these:

For best results, make the pie crust first. This will give you plenty of time to allow it to chill prior to assembling the air fryer hand pies.

For a quick and easy pie crust, I opt for a food processor. It will have you up and running in no time.

Add the flour, salt, sugar and cold butter to the food processor.
Pulse about 10-15 times for about 1-2 seconds each time until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is broken down. It may take more or less pulses if your butter is cut into larger or smaller pieces.
Slowly add the water in about 1 tablespoon at a time allowing it to process briefly before adding more. Process the mixture until a ball of dough is formed. I typically end up at close to 3 ½ tablespoons of water. The dough should look smooth and without cracks and crumbles.

Take the dough onto a floured surface and form a disk that is about 1 inch thick. Cover with plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Flour and butter in food processor processed into dough.

While the dough chills, make the filling:

Add blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and water to small saucepan.
Simmer at medium low for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the stove and allow to cool.

Sauce pan with fresh blueberries and sugar and then cooked pie filling.

After the pie crust and the berry filling have had enough time to chill, it's time to put these blueberry hand pies together!

Remove the dough from the fridge and lay on a flour dusted surface. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness or just less than. Try your best not to go any thicker than that.

Cut out your pie shapes using biscuit cutters or cookie cutters. You can also make these into rectangular shapes. Roll the scraps out and cut shapes out of these as well.

Pie crust cut in circles on floured counter.

How to assemble these:

Lay one round crust on a flour dusted surface.
Spoon about 1- 1 ½ tablespoons of pie filling into the center of the pie crust.
Lay another crust circle on top and press around the edges with your fingers to seal. If a bit of blueberry filling seeps out, it's ok.
Use a fork to crimp the edges.
Brush the egg wash (one egg and 2 tsp water whisked well together) over top of the entire blueberry hand pie.
Cut several slits into the top and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Repeat with remaining pie crusts.

Time to air fry your hand pies.

Place each pie into your air fryer basket that has been sprayed with oil. You can work in batches if necessary.

Heat for about 10-12 minutes at 340°F or until golden brown.

Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving!

Uncooked pastry and cooked pastry side by side.

Notes and Tips:

The thicker the blueberry pie filling is, the better off you will be. Forming these blueberry hand pies can certainly get a tad messy if the filling is too runny. If you allow it to thicken and even cool a bit before forming the pies, you will have less messy berry goo seeping out every which way on you.
If the crust seems a bit dry or crumbly, you can add more water when rolling it out. Working a little into the cracks can help pull it back together.
Shortcuts are always available and there is no shame in using them. Feel free to use a pre-made pie crust and even pie filling. These Air Fryer Hand Pies take some time so if there is a way to shave off a bit of time, by all means, do it.
No air fryer? No problem! Bake these on a parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400°F and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp to your liking.
I tested these MANY times. 340°F was the best temperature for my air fryer. It cooked them through and they were golden brown but not burnt. My air fryer runs a bit hot I think even without preheating. Know your air fryer and if the 10-12 minutes doesn't cut it, just heat them a touch longer.