I wanted to come up with some fun ideas for 4th of July specifically as well as putting little twists on normal desserts that I make for my little girls.
As you guys know, I much prefer quick and easy things. Here is an idea that you can put together literally in minutes and I think it looks fantastic.
Since it is strawberry season right now, the prices are great and we seem to have an abundance of these in our fridge all the time.
So I decided to whip up these little handpies and I used a star shaped cookie cutter from Michael’s to make things a little more festive. If you want to make these for a treat for little ones, any shape cookie cutter would be fun- dinosaurs, hearts etc…
You can either use puff pastry if these will be eaten fairly quickly or if you need them to last a bit longer, I also tried it with pie crust.
- 1½ cups chopped strawberries
- 2 tbl sugar
- 1 tbl cornstarch
- Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
- Egg white
- Puff Pastry
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Chop those strawberries up and mix with white sugar and cornstarch.
- Set aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry and use the cookie cutter to cut shapes. You can use the rim of a glass to just cut circles if you don't have a cookie cutter.
- Add the strawberry mixture to the center of each shape.
- Lightly wisk one egg white and brush the edges of the shape.
- Add a second cutout of pastry on top and use a fork to seal all around the edges.
- Brush more egg white onto the top of the sealed pie and sprinkle Turbinado sugar (or plain white sugar or decorator's/sanding sugar) to the top of the pie.
- Bake at 400° for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully as the time will depend on the size of the pies you make.
A few notes: you can use any fruit that you like. Apple pie is a classic or blueberries or cherries would be great. For the top, I like to use Turbinado Sugar which is not as processed as white sugar and also gives you those nice big granules on top. Sugar in the Raw little boxes are only $.99 at Target. You could also use the Betty Crocker or Wilton cupcake/cookie decorating sugars- blue would be fun for 4th of July.
I had a little strawberry filling left over so here is what the pies look like with a normal pie crust.
I actually prefer the pie crust because it holds up a little better and it is easier for my children to pick up and eat. Just follow the recipe above and substitute the pie crust for puff pastry.
Bake on 400° for about 15 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream, fresh fruit or ice cream!
sara R says
I love it when you post recipes. Thanks for the fun idea, can’t wait to try this one!
Charlene says
Thanks Sara 🙂 I am actually working on 2 other recipes for this week as we speak 🙂 I think little dinosaurs or trains or something would be really adorable for the kids. Sur La Table has bins of cookie cutters in zillions of shapes for just $1.
Stephanie says
Mmmm… That looks delicious! I’m going to have to try this with cherries. I have a ton of them at home and I already pitted some. Thanks!
Nicole says
Oh, blueberries would be yummy too!
sandra says
I made these today with my girls after we went strawberry picking! A huge hit! Thank you!
Charlene says
Yeah! So glad Sandra!
Jen says
I am getting ready to make these today. yum. Happy 4th of July thank you for the great ideas.