Pies and the holidays just seem to go together, but taking them to a tailgate party is a bit tricky because they are fragile to transport and hard to serve. Hand pies are individual treats that can be made ahead of time (even frozen) and brought to the game with very little fuss. Use any fruit pie filling—apple, cherry or peach. See the filling options below.

Fruit-Filled Hand Pies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty Level: Medium
Yield: 12 pies

Ingredients:

• 1 refrigerated piecrust (or a homemade crust of your choice)
• Fruit filling (see below)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Apple Filling

• 2 cups diced apples, peeled
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Half-teaspoon cinnamon (for apple)
• Fourth-cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons flour

Instructions:

1. Mix fruit, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour.
2. Follow directions below.

Cherry Filling

• 2 cups pitted sour pie cherries, drain well to remove all excess moisture
• Third-cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions:

1. Mix fruit, sugar and cornstarch.
2. Follow directions below.

Peach Filling

• 2 cups chopped and peeled fresh or frozen peaches
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Fourth-cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, mix fruit, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes until fruit is soft. Cool completely.
2. Follow directions below.

Hand Pie Directions:

Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and then cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the dough on a floured surface to smooth out the folds and wrinkles. With a 5-inch round cutter, cut out dough circles. Pick up the excess bits and roll out again. Continue until you have used all of the dough.

Place 2 tablespoons of filling in each circle and fold the dough over into a half moon shape. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal each and then place them on the parchment sheet. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until the dough is browned and the filling is hot and bubbly. Pack them up and bring them to your tailgate.

Now try these awesome tailgate-friendly soup recipes!

Kimberly Lord Stewart is a food author and journalist for CBS Denver local, Organic Food Reporter for Examiner.com, and the Food, Wine and Spirits editor for Denver Life magazine. Her book, “Eating Between the Lines” tells readers about the truth and myths of food labeling. Stewart is the recipient of two Association of Food Journalist awards for food news reporting and the Jessie Neal Business Journalism award. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.