Fridays are made even better with something sweet. Especially when it’s berry-filled, warm, and just out of the oven. Oh, and with ice cream, of course. It’s no secret that I’m loving the summer fruit right now. Since our Colorado peaches are not yet at their best, I’ve been embracing all the berries. I’m definitely not complaining, I love berries. But I had a whole fridge full of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Actually, I had strawberries and cherries too. So really, ALL the berries. I knew I wanted to make these mini pies, so I had my dad stock up on berries on his last grocery run before he left. I figured testing shouldn’t be too hard…since the concept I had for these pies in my head seemed fairly simple. Unfortunately, that was not the case. These took me forever to get just right! I actually ended up having to go back to the grocery for more berries. BUT, once I got them right I was excited. So excited. Because um, well, I firgured out a way to make pretzel pie dough and it’s the “thing” that makes these pies better. So with that let’s jump right on into these details. My brain is a little foggy today due to one too many failed recipes this week. I’m quite happy it’s Friday. And I’m so very happy to share these pies!
(pretzel “flour”)
(pretzel pie dough before rolling)
First things first, the dough.
This dough. It’s the result of so many recipe fails, head scratching, and a few tears, but oh my gosh, it’s delicious. At the time of developing this pie dough I might not have been sure all the effort was worth it… But, I can tell you now, the effort was worth it. This dough is GOOD. It’s adds that extra special touch I love all recipes to have. And it’s one simple ingredient that made it good, pretzels. A little salty pretzel flavor with your fruit pie. Such a delicious and somewhat addicting (because anything salty always equals addicting) combination.
(a thin layer of cream cheese)
(berries/jam on top of cream cheese) Here’s what I will say, you do have to have a food processor to easily make this dough. You need to finely grind pretzels into flour and the food processor is really just the easiest way. For any of you guys that don’t have a food processor, I’m so sorry. But don’t worry you can still make the pies with extra flour and a pinch of salt (details in the directions). Grind the pretzels into a fine flour, it should look pretty similar to the texture of all-purpose flour (see the above photo for reference). Now just add in the rest of the ingredients as you would traditional pie dough, so flour, butter, a little sour cream, and icy water. Once the dough is mixed, roll it out and cut into circles. Then chill while you make the filling.
Onto the filling…
It’s simple and easy as well…and so very good. Toss fresh raspberries and blackberries (loving this combination right now) with a touch of brown sugar, lemon, and the key ingredient, jam. You all know I love jam. It adds so much sweet flavor and texture. Why both? Well, the fresh raspberries provide a burst of flavor with every single bite. But the jam makes the pies extra sweet, gooey, and well – jammy. I LOVE the combo and it’s the secret to making these pies the BEST. If you haven’t tried using jam in addition to fresh berries in your baked sweets, this is the weekend. Trust me.
Now that the filling is made, it’s time to assemble. Add a little cream cheese to the center of each dough circle, then spoon the berries overtop. Now add the top piece of dough, and seal those sweet berries inside. As you are assembling, some of your dough may crack. Do not stress. It’s actually OK if the dough cracks and what I discovered was I ended up preferring my cracked “not perfect” pies over the more perfect looking ones. So it’s alright, just keep going. Promise. Next up, I like to transfer the pies to the freezer to chill out for a bit before baking. This will give you a perfectly buttery, flaky, and golden crust. They only need fifteen minutes, so it’s a quick chill in the freezer.
Once chilled, sprinkle the pies with pretzel salt or coarse sugar (I like the pretzel salt for these though), then bake. Simple. Simple. Why did they take so long to test? Because I was trying to make them way too complicated. In the end, simple with a slight twist is always the way to go.
These are great as a sweet breakfast, afternoon snack, or after-dinner dessert…with a big scoop of ice cream. Eating them warm out of the oven is the way to go. But they are also delicious leftover, as an afternoon pick-me-up! Every bite is perfectly salty, extra jammy, and bursting with sweet berries. Best summer weekend baking project. Get at um and enjoy.
Looking for berry-filled summertime favorites? Here are a few ideas for you: Bursting Blueberry Lemon Thyme Tarts Blackberry Lavender Cobbler Marinated Goat Cheese Strawberry Crostini Lastly, if you make these jammy raspberry cream pretzel hand pies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
