Raspberry Almond Hand Pies

My kitchen life lately: raw, raw, raw... BAKED. I've developed a rather strong preference for raw and no-bake treats over the years, but the occasional baked treat is still a must. I know it's V-Day approaching, but these raspberry almond hand pies were actually dreamt up, crafted, baked, photographed, and devoured precisely on Christmas day. Maybe it was the chilly atmosphere, maybe a longing for the smell of something sweet baking away in the oven, maybe I was just inspired by the arriving company that included a favorite little princess, but hand pies were suddenly a must...

And so I quickly re-purposed another recipe idea and whipped up a batch that we all thoroughly enjoyed. Comforting, warm, filled with gooey jam little treats are always welcome at...well pretty much any house I'm sure! My raspberry-almond-anything loving husband was even willing to overlook the "silly" heart shapes for the sake of enjoying a few of these little guys, which sort of made me laugh -- watching a bearish man with little heart-shaped pies in hand can be rather entertaining ;)

To be honest, perhaps I'm the one feeling the hearts to be "silly". I have to fess up here: I'm really not a V-Day person (major understatement); Valentine's day things tend to make me all kinds of squirmy and uncomfortable...am I the only one who gets this way? Maybe that's the reason I felt ok with whipping out the heart-shaped cutters on a day that was far, far away from V-Day -- no pressure that way ;)

Today is the coldest day of the year here so far (-41C :S ), and that same sense of longing for something warm and comforting baking away reminded me that I've yet to share the recipe for these hand pies! So here I am, sheepeshly giving you a heart shaped recipe two days before V-Day... eeeek. Oh well, the pies are truly delicious, V-Day or not, and always a good recipe to have in mind for a day you need something warm, sweet, gooey, fruity, and nutty to cozy up with.

And of course these can be made any shape you like -- the hearts just happened to be on the bigger end of my cookie cutter selection, so I went with those. But circles were equally nice too. Stars were too fussy for my liking -- beware ;)

You can fill these with whatever filling you like. I went for a fruit-sweetened jam, but any other thicker jammy filling will work great here too. Or even some bananas and chocolate. Apples and caramel, anyone? I think one of my favorite fillings to try was apricot jam with some thin chocolate squares. Those were amazing for variation. But raspberry and almonds are a super simple classic that's always a crowd pleaser, so those are the ones I recommend going with first and foremost <3

Raspberry Almond Hand Pies

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★★★★★ 4.8 from 6 reviews

• Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 5 pies
• Category: Pie
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Dessert

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Description

A classic gluten-free hand pie with an almond sorghum crust and gooey raspberry jam filling. Dairy-free.

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Ingredients

• ½ cup sorghum flour
• ½ cup almond flour
• 3 tbsp almond butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp pure almond extract
• ⅛ tsp salt

Filling:

• Raspberry jam of your choice (I used St. Dalfour's fruit-sweetened raspberry jam)

Optional Topping:

• raw sucanat for sprinkling

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Process all cookie ingredients in a food processor into a uniform sticky mixture. Lump into a ball of dough and flatten into a disk. Roll out the dough flat into 1/16". Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out as many hearts as you can. Transfer 5 of them onto the cookie sheet, spaced about 1" apart for easier handling. Spoon ½ tablespoon jam onto the center of each heart, leaving the edges clean all around. Cover with any remaining cut-out hearts and pinch the sides closed by pressing down evenly all around with your fingers. Roll out remaining dough from the leftover scraps to create more hearts to cover remaining cookies and pinching the sides closed. Optional: use a fork to press the dough down along the edges all around.
3. Use a knife to cut a tiny slit in the center of each cookie. Optional: sprinkle with raw sucanat if using.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15 mins. Cool completely on a wire rack and enjoy!