Hand-held Lemon Pies

Picnics need low-mess desserts that you can eat with your hands. That’s why a hand-held Lemon Pie is perfect!

Spring is a time for picnics and playing at the park. The sun is out longer and the weather is gorgeous. And it is the ideal picnic weather, before the real heat of the summer sets in. The key, I believe, to good picnic food are things that can be eaten with your hands. And that even includes dessert. Cookies and brownies are always good, but what about pie? If you’re talking about a Hand Held Lemon Pie, then it is certainly picnic worthy.

Step one is two pie crusts that are roughly the same size and shape. I chose to make mine from scratch, the recipe I like makes 2 pie crusts and I simply rolled them out (the best that I could) to the same size. Of course you could also buy pre-made pie crusts. Pie crusts are mainly flour, vegetable shortening or butter, and a little bit of water.

Once the crusts were both rolled out I took one and spread out my lemon filling on top of it. This I did buy from the store and I used about 1 cup. Lemon curd or lemon pie filling would be perfect.

Then I placed the second pie crust on top of the filling and use a round cookie cutter (about 3 inches) to cut through both pie crusts. I tried to get my circles as close together as I could and then threw away the scraps.

Once the pies were cut out I used fork tines to seal the edges. I cut a small ‘X’ in the top of each pie and brushed them with egg wash (one egg and a splash of water mixed together). I baked my hand held lemon pies at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Take them out when they are slightly golden brown on top.

Sweet little hand held pies perfect for picnicking.

And you could fill your pies with whatever filling you wanted! Handheld apple pies, cherry pies, chocolate pies. What kind of handheld pie will you be making?

Pie Crust Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup cold water

Directions

• Combine flour, salt, and sugar
• Cut in vegetable shortening using a pastry knife or two butter knives. If using two butter knives, hold one knife in each hand and cut in opposite directions. Cut in shortening until the pieces are pea size/it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Drizzle water over mixture 1 tablespoon at a time. Make sure the mixture is evenly moistened.
• Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• On a floured surface roll out the dough one half at a time.