Who doesnt like a nice warm homemade pie? But you know whats even better than pie? Hand pies! A big slice of pie is always nice, but sometimes a few small bites is all you need. Hand pies are portable, which makes them a great candidate for lunch boxes or picnics and theres a wide variety of interesting flavor combinations you can try! In this recipe I used sweet cherries because I love the natural sweetness of this fruit. You can use your favourite cherry variety and adjust the amount of added sugar according to your personal taste. Any extra filling can be used as a topping for ice cream or spread on your favourite bread.

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For filling:
7 oz sweet cherries, pitted
1 1/2 teaspoons tapioca flour
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1/4 tsp lemon zest

For crust:
1 cup Spelt flour
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp cold water

For assembling:
1 tbsp coconut sugar dissolved into 1 tsp water

Directions:

Place the flour, coconut oil, sugar and water in a food processor and process for 30 -60 seconds until it forms a soft ball. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling.
In a small saucepan place the cherries, sugar, lemon zest and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Stir in tapioca and continue to cook for 6-8 minutes or until very thick.
Set aside and let it cool.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/16-inch thick.
Cut out 16 2 -inch circles.
Take 2 circles.
Place one circle on a tin lined with baking paper and place one 1 tsp of filling onto center of circle, leaving a 1/4-inch border.
Brush the border with sugar water mixture.
Use a small cookie cutter to cut a star out of the center of second circle.
Place second circle over filling and crimp edges with a fork to seal.
Repeat until all of the dough is used. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature.