These Easy Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies are the flakiest, most tender, and crispy pastries you will ever eat! With a homemade flaky dough and a well-seasoned, hearty broccoli-cheddar filling, these hand pies are the epitome of comfort food and nostalgia. Vegan option available.
Ahhh. I just love the sound of Easy Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies. These little flaky handheld pies are absolutely incredible and are so easy to make. I know that it can feel intimidating when making any type of crust, whether it be for pies, pop tarts, hand pies-----you name it. However, to be honest, it's such a simple process that I've grown to appreciate, especially when they come out as perfectly crisp as these.
Of course, for greater ease you can always use puff pastry and they'll be just as flaky and crisp. Totally up to you! Speaking of this option, I recently made these Asparagus + Mozzarella Puff Pastry with Herb Honey which are so BOMB. As you know, asparagus and broccoli are the perfect Spring ready ingredients to brighten up any dish.
So, if you're still on the fence about making your own pastry---just remember that ensuring that you incorporate these few important steps will make all the difference!
After much practice, I’ve learned that the trick to a flaky crust and pastry is the butter (grated or cubed or both) and ensuring that the water/milk is SUPER COLD! Everything else works together perfectly after that main (and most important) step.
For the Herb Crust:
For the Filling:
As you can see, I’m no stranger to homemade patties, pop tarts, or pastries of any sort. Due to the fact that I’ve made them so many times, I feel like I have completely perfected the recipe. My secret to a super flaky Easy Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies:
I know----You might be wondering why I’ve stated this but it works. Since we’ll be using 2 sticks in this recipe, I simply grate 1 stick of butter and cube the other. Honestly, I think that the variation in the butter pieces helps some to melt faster and settle more in the dough, which creates a beautiful flakiness like no other.
To take it a step further, you can add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients and blend it into “peas-like” pieces–leaving out the grated butter for now. Then after the dough has chilled and you’ve begun rolling it out until a floured surface, simply add the grated butter in, fold a few times and then roll it out. This creates butter in more than one layer which creates a heavenly crust too.
Yes! To make these hand pies entirely vegan and dairy-free, simply substitute the unsalted butter with vegan butter as well as the cheese for dairy-free shreds (Violife has great options!), and melted vegan butter in place of the egg wash.
Here are a few tips for making the perfect at-home hand pies:
Because the flaky dough is so sensitive, I like to make my filling first. Vegan butter needs to stay cold to achieve the layers we want, so having the filling ready to go when the dough is ready is essential.
You’ll see that I use both organic all-purpose flour as well as pastry flour in some of my recipes that include pastries. I discovered this mix when experimenting with many of my pastry recipes. Pastry flour adds a nice crunchy, flaky outer layer to the pastries.
It may seem tedious to measure out your dough squares/rectangles before creating the hand pies. After many trials, I have learned that randomly cutting squares and sticking them together was uneven and a waste of dough. Instead, I now measure the dough squares out to 3” x 4”, and the tops fit onto the bottoms each time!
Store leftover hand pies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To serve, simply re-heat hand pies in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute or via the oven or toasted oven until heated through.
These hand pies can also be frozen for up to three months. When you want to serve it, defrost the pastry on the counter for a few hours to come to room temperature.
Although these hand pies are based on using cheddar cheese, you can also switch things up and add a new flare in their flavor profile by adding any of the following:
Absolutely! For longer storage–leftovers can be stored in the freezer. After they have baked and are completely cooled, simply place your hand pies onto a baking sheet (spaced apart) and freeze them for 2-3 hours. Once frozen, transfer them to a zip loc bag and reheat when ready to eat!
If you make these Easy Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies, tag @orchidsnsweettea_ on Instagram and hashtag it #orchidsandsweettea!
Tag @orchidsnsweettea_ on Instagram and hashtag it #orchidsandsweettea
Easy Broccoli Cheddar Hand Pies.
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