There is something undeniably charming about a heart shaped hand pie. It is a proper, flaky, fruit-filled pastry that fits in the palm of your hand, looks like it took hours, and is secretly one of the easiest baking projects you will ever take on. Whether you are making them for Valentine's Day, a birthday, an anniversary, or simply because you fancy a gorgeous little treat on a Saturday afternoon, they never fail to make people smile.
What makes these heart shaped hand pies so lovely is the contrast. The outside is golden, buttery, and shatteringly crisp, while the inside is soft, warm, and bursting with fruit. They feel special without being fussy, which is exactly the kind of baking this house is all about. You do not need any fancy equipment, any advanced pastry skills, or even a homemade pie crust (though you absolutely can use one). A shop-bought puff pastry sheet, a heart cookie cutter, and a jar of good jam are genuinely all it takes.
The original version of this post was written years ago and was really just a quick note with a few pictures. It deserved better, because these little pies are far too good to be buried in a thin post. So here it is, properly written up with all the detail, tips, and variations you need to make them beautifully every time.
They look absolutely gorgeous but are genuinely simple to make. If you can roll pastry and use a cookie cutter, you can make these.
The whole recipe comes together in about 40 minutes, including baking time. They are a realistic weeknight bake, not a weekend project.
You can fill them with whatever you like. Strawberry jam, raspberry preserves, cherry pie filling, lemon curd, Nutella, or even a spoonful of mincemeat at Christmas.
They are the perfect portion size. One hand pie per person feels generous without being overwhelming, and they look beautiful on a plate.
Children love making them. The cutting, filling, and crimping is brilliant fun and the results are always impressive, even if the edges are a bit wonky.
They make a thoughtful homemade gift. Pop a couple into a pretty box or cellophane bag and you have something far more personal than a box of shop-bought chocolates.
What You'll Need – Ingredients
This is a refreshingly short ingredients list. You likely have most of it already.
For the Hand Pies:
1 sheet (320g / 11oz) ready-rolled puff pastry, or 1 pack of shortcrust pastry if you prefer a more traditional pie texture
4 to 6 tablespoons of fruit filling: strawberry jam, raspberry preserves, cherry pie filling, or any thick fruit preserve you love
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
1 to 2 tablespoons caster sugar or demerara sugar for sprinkling
Optional Extras:
A squeeze of lemon juice stirred into your jam for a brighter flavour
A pinch of ground cinnamon mixed into apple filling
A small crumble of soft goat's cheese on top of the jam before sealing (trust me on this one, it is gorgeous with raspberry)
Icing sugar for dusting the finished pies
UK readers note: Jus-Rol ready-rolled puff pastry is available in every major supermarket and works perfectly here. For the filling, Bonne Maman or Tiptree preserves are ideal because they have proper chunks of fruit and a lovely thick consistency. Avoid anything too runny, as it will leak during baking.
A sharp knife or small heart cutter for making a vent hole in the top
Nothing specialist, nothing expensive. A good set of metal cookie cutters in various sizes is worth having in the drawer for projects like this, and they last forever.
How to Make Heart Shaped Hand Pies
Step 1: Prepare Your Pastry
If your puff pastry is frozen, let it thaw according to the packet instructions. Unroll it onto a lightly floured surface. If it feels a little thick, give it a gentle roll to thin it out slightly, which will help the pies puff up more evenly. You want it to be about 3mm thick. Keep the pastry cool. If it gets too warm, it becomes sticky and difficult to handle. Pop it back in the fridge for five minutes if that happens.
Step 2: Cut Your Hearts
Using your heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as you can. You will need two hearts for each pie, one for the base and one for the lid. Gather the scraps, press them gently together, re-roll, and cut more hearts. From one standard sheet of puff pastry, you should get about 8 to 12 hearts, enough for 4 to 6 hand pies depending on the size of your cutter.
Step 3: Fill the Bases
Line your baking tray with baking parchment and lay out half of your hearts. Place a heaped teaspoon of your chosen filling in the centre of each one. The most important thing here is not to overfill. Leave at least 1cm of bare pastry around the edge, otherwise the filling will ooze out during baking and you will end up with a sticky mess on the tray. A little restraint goes a long way.
Step 4: Seal and Crimp
Brush a little beaten egg around the edge of each filled heart. Place a second heart on top and press down gently around the edges with your fingertips to seal. Then take a fork and press the tines around the entire edge to crimp it closed. This does two jobs: it seals the pie properly and it gives you that gorgeous rustic pattern. If you have a small heart cutter, about 2cm across, you can stamp a little heart out of the centre of each lid before placing it on top. It looks beautiful and acts as a steam vent.
Step 5: Egg Wash and Sugar
Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F). Brush the top of each hand pie with beaten egg, then sprinkle generously with caster sugar or demerara sugar. The egg wash gives the pastry that gorgeous golden colour, and the sugar adds a lovely sweet crunch. If you have not already cut a vent hole, use the tip of a sharp knife to make a small slit or X in the top of each pie. This lets the steam escape and stops the filling from bursting through the seams.
Step 6: Bake Until Golden
Place the tray in the oven and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed, golden, and crisp. The filling may bubble a little at the edges, which is perfectly normal and looks rather lovely. Let the pies cool on the tray for at least five minutes before eating, because the filling will be extremely hot straight from the oven. Resist the urge to eat one immediately. The fruit filling holds heat like lava and will absolutely burn the roof of your mouth. Five minutes of patience is all you need.
RECIPES
Tips for the Best Heart Shaped Hand Pies
Keep everything cold. Cold pastry equals flaky pastry. If your kitchen is warm, chill the assembled pies on the tray in the fridge for ten minutes before baking. This helps the pastry puff up properly and gives you lovely defined layers.
Do not overfill. This is the number one mistake people make with hand pies. A heaped teaspoon is plenty. The filling expands as it heats, and too much will burst through the seams. Less is genuinely more here.
Use a thick filling. Runny jam will leak everywhere. Look for preserves with visible chunks of fruit, or reduce a runny jam in a small saucepan for a few minutes until it thickens. Bonne Maman and Tiptree are both wonderful for this.
Crimp thoroughly. Press firmly with the fork all the way around the edge. Any gaps or weak spots will let the filling escape. If in doubt, go around twice.
Sprinkle with sugar before baking, not after. Sugar sprinkled before baking bakes into the surface and gives you that gorgeous, slightly caramelised crunch. Icing sugar dusted after baking gives a softer, more delicate finish. Both are lovely, but the pre-bake sugar is the one that really elevates these.
Use a good quality pastry. If you are using shop-bought, all-butter puff pastry makes a noticeable difference. Jus-Rol do an all-butter version that is widely available and genuinely excellent. For shortcrust, the Waitrose own-brand is lovely.
Make It Your Own
The beauty of heart shaped hand pies is that the base recipe is the same every time; only the filling changes.
For a classic strawberry version, use good strawberry preserves with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice stirred through. The lemon lifts the sweetness beautifully and stops the filling from tasting one-note.
A raspberry and goat's cheese combination sounds unusual but is genuinely wonderful. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the base, add a small crumble of soft goat's cheese, then seal and bake as normal. The tangy cheese against the sweet fruit is the kind of flavour pairing you find in proper restaurants.
For a chocolate version, swap the fruit filling for a teaspoon of Nutella or a good quality chocolate spread. These are an absolute winner with children and taste like a warm pain au chocolat in pie form.
An apple and cinnamon version works beautifully in autumn. Cook diced apple with a little butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until soft, let it cool, then use as your filling. It tastes like an apple pie you can hold in your hand.
For Christmas hand pies, fill with a spoonful of good mincemeat. They are a gorgeous, more elegant alternative to traditional mince pies and look stunning on a festive table.
A lemon curd version is lovely in spring and summer. Use a thick, good quality lemon curd (Waitrose and M&S both do excellent ones) and dust the finished pies with icing sugar. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a simple but gorgeous pudding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make heart shaped hand pies ahead of time?
You can assemble them up to a day in advance and keep them on a parchment-lined tray in the fridge, covered with cling film. Add the egg wash and sugar just before baking. They actually benefit from a spell in the fridge, as the cold pastry bakes more crisply.
Can I freeze hand pies?
Yes, and they freeze brilliantly. Freeze them assembled but unbaked on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. Bake from frozen, adding an extra three to four minutes to the baking time. They keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Why did my filling leak out?
Almost certainly overfilling. A heaped teaspoon is the maximum. Also check that the edges are properly sealed with no gaps. Using egg wash around the edge before pressing helps create a stronger seal.
Can I use shortcrust pastry instead of puff?
Absolutely. Shortcrust gives you a more traditional pie texture, denser and more biscuity, while puff pastry is lighter and flakier. Both are lovely, just different. If using shortcrust, roll it a touch thicker, about 4mm, as it does not puff up.
What size cookie cutter should I use?
An 8 to 10cm (3 to 4 inch) heart cutter is ideal. Any smaller and you will struggle to get enough filling in without it being too close to the edge. Any larger and they stop being “hand” pies and become something closer to a full-sized pasty.
Can I make these without a heart cookie cutter?
Of course. Cut squares or circles if you prefer, or simply cut rectangles and fold them in half like a turnover. The heart shape is gorgeous for Valentine's Day, but the recipe works with any shape.
How many does one sheet of pastry make?
A standard 320g sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry makes about 4 to 6 hand pies with an 8 to 10cm cutter, depending on how efficiently you cut and re-roll. Buy two sheets if you are making them for a crowd.
How to Store and Reheat
Room temperature: Hand pies are best eaten the day they are made, when the pastry is at its crispiest. If you do have leftovers, they will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
Fridge: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. The pastry will soften slightly but the flavour stays good.
Freezer: Unbaked hand pies freeze beautifully for up to three months. Bake from frozen at 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F) for 22 to 25 minutes. Already-baked pies can also be frozen; reheat from frozen in the oven at 180°C for 10 to 12 minutes.
Reheating tip: Always reheat in the oven, never the microwave. Five to eight minutes at 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F) will crisp the pastry back up beautifully. The microwave will make them soggy and sad, which is not what we are after.
Heart Shaped Hand Pies
Golden, flaky, fruit-filled pastry hearts that look gorgeous, taste even better, and take less than 40 minutes from start to finish. Perfect for Valentine's Day, gifting, or any time you want a beautiful homemade treat.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F). Line a baking tray with parchment.
Unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll gently to about 3mm thick if needed.
Cut out hearts using the cookie cutter. Gather scraps, re-roll, and cut more. You need two hearts per pie.
Place half the hearts on the prepared tray. Add a heaped teaspoon of filling to the centre of each, leaving 1cm clear at the edges.
Brush beaten egg around the edges. Place a second heart on top and press to seal.
Crimp the edges firmly with a fork. Cut a small slit or X in the top of each pie.
Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 18–22 minutes until puffed and golden. Cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Do not overfill, a heaped teaspoon is the maximum. Use thick preserves rather than runny jam. Assembled pies can be frozen unbaked for up to three months; bake from frozen, adding 3–4 minutes. For shortcrust pastry, roll to 4mm thick and expect a denser, more biscuity texture.
If you give these a go, I would love to see your version. Tag me on Instagram at @gillianfromhome or leave a comment below with your favourite filling combination. And if you are looking for more baking inspiration, have a browse through my recipe index.
