Savory Squash Hand Pies

Filled with squash, apples, sausage, herbs, and spice, these hand pies are great to serve at any time of the year. But they’re especially perfect during the fall and winter seasons when squash is in season. A perfect filling paired with a flaky crust creates a great main, side, or snack!

These are a unique savory hand pie perfect for fall.

Let’s be honest, we will not make a hand pie daily. They take some work, a little time, and are not a weeknight meal. When you do choose to make this recipe, it will be worth it. These are special treats and are something that you won’t be able to pick up ready to go at a store. They’re not frozen goods from a grocery store but are full of flavor.

This all starts with a good crust. The filling is full of hearty seasonal produce. They are rounded out with sausage to make them more of a meal. The sweet, salty, and slightly spicy sausage compliments the sweet butternut squash with apples and onion. These are fully a joy to eat and perfect with a bowl of soup.

Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

• Pie dough is what makes or breaks these hand pies. I find homemade dough will be flakier and more flavorful. A store-purchased dough will work in a pinch.
• Butternut squash is easy to find in the fall. The flesh is dense and sweet to balance the sausage.
• Frozen kale is a great way to add some greens without noticing. The kale easily blends with the ingredients and adds a nice savory flavor.
• Apples are a good mix of tart and sweet and keep their texture during sauteing. The crisp apple is a nice surprise flavor.
• Flour will tighten up any residual liquid in the filling. The key is to cook the flour and eliminate any raw flavor.
• Chicken stock ensures the filling is not pasty but has just enough moisture.

Here’s how to make this recipe.

1. Prepare the sausage. Slice the sausage into small, 1/2-inch bite-size pieces. In a skillet with a neutral oil, add the sliced squash. Brown the sausage to achieve a bit of a crust on the exterior. Once the sausage has browned, remove it from the skillet, transfer it to a plate, and set aside. Leave the residual oil in the skillet unless it is more than 2 tbsp.

2. Add the squash, apples, and onion. Peel and seed the butternut squash and chop it into a small dice. Additionally, chop the onion and apple into small bite-size dice. For the apple, the skin can be left on or removed. Add the squash, apple, and onion to the skillet with the reserved oil and let them cook to soften. 

3. Add the kale and flavorings. After the squash has softened, add the kale and mix it into the squash, apple, and onion mixture. Add the salt, black pepper, fresh thyme leaves, and garlic granules. Stir the flavorings into the squash mixture for about a minute to let the flavors marry. 

4. Add the flour and stock. To the squash mixture, sprinkle in the flour, and mix it in to begin its activation. Then add in the chicken stock and stir it to ensure it’s mixed in well. Let the mixture come to a simmer so it thickens. Once thickened, remove it from the heat, add the sausage back in, and let it cool.

5. Prepare the dough. Using a double batch of pie dough, work with one half at a time. Roll out the dough into a circle and use a circular object to slice out 5-inch round circles. Each half of the pie dough should yield six rounds, which may mean that after slicing out five, the dough can be pushed back together and rolled back out for the final one. Take the other half of the pie dough and repeat the same process.

6. Fill the dough. Using a cookie scoop, fill each pie dough round with the sausage and squash filling. Top the filling with Parmesan cheese. Beat an egg in a bowl to create an egg wash, then brush half of each dough circle with the wash. Take the unwashed half of the dough and fold it onto the other half, matching up the edges and using it as glue. Press the edges together and then crimp with the tines of a fork. Once crimped, place each hand pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. When all of the hand pies are on the baking sheet, brush each hand pie with egg wash, cut a vent hole on the top of each hand pie, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

7. Bake the hand pies. Once ready, place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake at 375°F for 20 to 24 minutes. Once golden brown, remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly before eating.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

• The squash mixture is done cooking when thickened and holds together. It will look like a thick gravy that contains the pieces of squash and apples together slightly.
• Make sure to let the squash and sausage mixture cool completely before filling the hand pies. If the mixture is still hot or even warm, it will cause the dough to melt, which could affect the flakiness of each hand pie.
• Pie dough is used for hand pies because of its flaky texture. The pockets of butter within the pie dough will create pockets of steam, creating the flaky layers of dough that are desired.
• When cutting out the rounds of pie dough, I use a cereal bowl, which is coincidentally 5-inches around. You can use any circular object that is approximately 5-inches in diameter.
• If the pie crust is getting too warm while working with it, simply place it back in the freezer for a few minutes to chill it. This will ensure that the hand pies have the best texture once baked.

You’ll love these other fall-inspired recipes.

• Apple cider quinoa kale salad
• Savory roasted squash galette
• Pork chops with quick applesauce
• Kielbasa with cabbage and apple
• Chicken and curried lentils harvest bowls
• Slow cooker chili
• Pork chops with cabbage and apples
• Harvest skillet pizza
• Sausage and butternut squash pasta

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