Hand pies may seem old-fashioned, but they’ve stuck around for a reason. They’re a classic, delicious treat! These homemade Chocolate Hand Pies have a smooth, chocolate ganache filling and a flaky, tender crust. And the best part about these mini hand pies is that they’re easy to make and fit into a variety of diets. Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and AIP-friendly, these Chocolate Hand Pies are a healthified treat that even kids can enjoy.
Are Hand Pies healthy?
These Chocolate Hand Pies are a great way to fit an occasional treat into your a well-balanced diet. They are free from common allergens and made with better-for-you ingredients, so everyone can enjoy them from time-to-time. Traditional hand pies are made with white pastry flour, butter, and refined sugar. This recipe includes some much healthier swaps.
Tigernut flour, coconut flour, and arrowroot starch
You can make your own gluten-free pastry dough with a combination of tigernut flour, coconut flour, and arrowroot starch. Each of these ingredients is grain-free, Paleo, and AIP-friendly. They contain healthy nutrients too, including iron, folate, Vitamin E, and more.
Coconut cream
This Chocolate Hand Pie recipe uses coconut cream in place of heavy cream. Coconut cream is dairy-free and full of healthy fats and medium chain triglycerides to keep you full and satisfied, and they rev up your metabolism for all kinds of activities!
Coconut sugar
Coconut sugar is an unrefined sugar, minimally processed sugar that contains more minerals and other nutrients compared to white cane sugar.
Coconut sugar does contain iron, zinc, potassium, and calcium (however, these are just trace amounts). Coconut sugar also contains a type of fiber called inulin, so it may have a lower glycemic index than refined sugar, which is really why it can be considered a healthier swap when you want to enjoy an occasional treat.
How to make gluten-free Chocolate Hand Pies
Making your own pie from scratch can seem intimidating, but this recipe is actually fairly easy to make. There are three components: the dough, the filling, and the optional topping.
First, make your dough. Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Then, crumble the chilled palm shortening into the flour mixture and use a fork to combine. The dough will be very crumbly. Finally, add coconut milk to the mixture and stir. Add 2-4 additional tablespoons of coconut milk if the dough is too dry. Place dough in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.
While the dough is in the refrigerator, make your ganache filling. Start by heating the coconut cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Stir with a spoon until the mixture is smooth and all the chocolate melts. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes until it slowly thickens into a ganache.
Now it’s time to assemble the Chocolate Hand Pies. Remove your dough from the refrigerator and divide into four equal parts. Place one sheet of unbleached parchment paper underneath one portion of the dough, and one sheet on top of the dough. Roll out to ¼ inch thickness.
Now remove the top layer of parchment. Use a pizza cutter to cut your dough into two equal sized rectangles, about the size of your cell phone (3” x 4.5”). Add about 1 tablespoon of chocolate ganache filling to the center of one rectangle of dough, leaving about half an inch around it. Using the parchment paper, fold the second rectangle of dough over top the sheet that has the filling, creating one hand pie.
Cut the dough and use a fork to seal the edges of your hand pie completely. Use a spatula to transfer the pie to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If you choose to add the topping, brush the top of your hand pie with coconut oil and sprinkle with coconut sugar.
Repeat the above process for each Chocolate Hand Pie. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until crispy. Let the pies cool completely before removing from the baking sheet, otherwise they will crumble. If you have any chocolate ganache remaining, you can drizzle it on top of the cooled pies. For a more solid drizzle combine leftover ganache with coconut butter before drizzling over hand pies. Garnish your Chocolate Hand Pies with shaved, sugar-free chocolate.
How to Store Chocolate Hand Pies
You can store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days (I don’t think they’ll last that long!)
They can be reheated in a 325 degree oven until warmed through. Or you can enjoy them at room temperature (or straight out of the fridge!)
Can You Freeze These Chocolate Hand Pies?
These tarts won’t freeze well because freezing changes the texture. If you do freeze them, be prepared for the texture to be drier rather than light or flaky.
Here are more chocolate recipes you’ll love!
Chocolate Hand Pies
Course:
Servings
4
Ingredients
For the Pie Dough
- 1/2 cup 120.00 ml Tigernut flour
- 1/3 cup 80.00 ml coconut flour
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml arrowroot starch
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp 1.23 ml sea salt
- 3 tsp 14.79 ml gelatin
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml palm shortening
- 2/3 cup 160.00 ml coconut milk
For the Filling
- 1/8 cup 30.00 ml chocolate chips
- 1/2 scoop The Myers Way® Double Chocolate Paleo Protein
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml coconut cream
For the Optional Glaze
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml chocolate chips melted
- 1/4 cup 60.00 ml coconut butter melted
- 1/2 scoop The Myers Way® Double Chocolate Paleo Protein
- 1 Tbsp 14.79 ml coconut sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Add the arrowroot starch, tigernut flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, sea salt, and gelatin to a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Crumble the palm shortening into the flour mixture and cut the shortening into the flour using a fork.
- Pour 1/2 cup coconut milk into the flour mixture, adding 2-4 tablespoons of additional milk if dough does not seem moist.
- Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. While the dough is chilling, begin making the filling.
- Heat the coconut cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the coconut cream begins to boil, remove from heat then add the chocolate chips and The Myers Way® Double Chocolate Paleo Protein to the coconut cream.
- Stir until the ganache is smooth and completely melted.
- Allow it to cool for 15 minutes. During this time, it will slowly thicken.
- Remove dough from the fridge, and divide into 4 equal portions. Using two sheets of unbleached parchment paper, one under the dough and one on top, roll out one portion of dough at a time to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Remove the top layer of parchment and cut the edges of the dough with a pizza cutter to make the dough form two equal sized rectangular shapes (each about 3 inches x 4.5 inches). Add about 1 tablespoon of filling to one rectangle of dough, leaving about a half inch of dough around it. Using the parchment paper, fold the second rectangle of dough on top of the dough that has the filling, creating a rectangular hand pie.
- Cut the dough and use a fork to seal the edges. This works best when the fork is cleaned between each seal, which prevents the dough from sticking to the fork and breaking.
- Use a spatula to transfer the hand pie to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush a little melted coconut oil onto the top of the hand pie, and add a sprinkle of coconut sugar to the top. Repeat for remaining hand pies.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pies are crispy. Let the hand pies cool completely before removing from the parchment paper, otherwise they will crumble.
- As an optional topping, you can drizzle hand pies with combined melted chocolate chips, melted coconut butter, The Myers Way® Double Chocolate Paleo Protein and sprinkle with coconut sugar.
