I know we’ve all been seeing upside-down hand pies on the internet for a while now, and to be honest, I’ll never get sick of it! I love upside-down hand pies, and although I might be a bit late to this trend, I still wanted to make something unique and fun to add to the hand pie side of the internet. These Hot Honey & Goat Cheese Upside-Down Hand Pies are everything I want out of hand pie – they’re herby and savory, complete with crispy goat cheese and a buttery, flaky crust that’s to die for. Plus, the hot honey drizzle takes them to the next level! You’ll be addicted.
These little upside-down hand pies from heaven are the perfect appetizer for a dinner party, or for a little snack to lift your spirits during the work week. No matter what the occasion, everyone can use a little more crispy cheese in their lives. 😉
I have a few tips for the crust and filling later in this blog post, so make sure to read on to find ways to simplify and expand this recipe!
The ingredients for these upside-down hand pies
The key to these hand pies is using high-quality goat cheese, which is why I opted for Cypress Grove’s Humbolt Fog goat cheese. This soft-ripened California goat cheese is light yet creamy and so flavorful. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, I encourage you to give this one a try! It might change your mind…
Here’s everything you’ll need for these upside-down hand pies:
THE HAND PIE CRUST
- 300 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups), plus more for rolling out
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 226 grams salted butter, chilled (1 cup)
- 6 tablespoons ice water
THE HAND PIE FILLING
- 16 ounces sliceable goat’s cheese, such as Humboldt Fog
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- 5 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh sage leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
FOR SERVING
- 1/4 cup hot honey of choice, for serving
Do I need to make the crust from scratch?
The age-old question for puff pastry… Should it be homemade? Well, it depends on your preference! The short answer is no, but if you’re looking for a fun weekend activity, making the crust for these hand pies from scratch is fun and delicious.
If you don’t have the time to make the crust from scratch, don’t worry! These upside-down hand pies will come out just as delicious using store-bought puff pastry. It’s easy to work with and relatively cheap, so it’s a great option!
But, if you do decide to make the crust from scratch, I’ve put the process into simple steps that will guarantee a perfect puff pastry crust every time!
How to make homemade puff pastry
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Remove your butter from the fridge, you want it as cold as possible. Either grate in the butter using a cheese grater, or cut it into 1-centimeter square cubes and toss them in.
- Make sure all the butter is coated in flour, and use your hands to press the butter into flat pieces, keeping some in large chunks, and others in smaller pieces. The dough should be rough, but not crumbly.
- When you can squeeze the dough and it comes together just slightly, but then immediately breaks apart, that’s when you are ready to add the ice water.
- Add in the ice water and continue to press and mix the dough with your hands, it should start to come together.
- Move the dough to a work surface and press the dough down until is about 2″ high. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 pieces, pile the pieces on top of each other, and press them down. Rotate 90 degrees, and repeat the same process.
- *Note: I do not flour my work surface during the lamination process, but feel free to do so if your dough feels a bit warm or hard to handle, or if you see butter begin to break through. An easy way to fix a butter break is to sprinkle a bit of flour over the exposed part.
- After laminating the dough a few times, press the dough down until it is about 1-2″ thick, sprinkle it with flour, and use your hands to form it into a smooth disc.
- Tightly wrap the crust in cling wrap and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into the edges of the cling wrap, forming a tight rectangle.
- From here you must chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour is best.
How to assemble these goat cheese hand pies
Once the crust is ready and the filling is made, it’s time to put these upside-down hand pies together. It’s simple and easy, but it’s important to make sure that you’re working with cold puff pastry. If the dough warms up, the hand pies will be very difficult to assemble, and they won’t be as flakey out of the oven.
To make sure that the dough is cold throughout the assembly process, simply put the hand pies in the fridge for 5-10 minutes at a time when the dough starts to warm up, then continue working once it’s cold again.
Here’s how to assemble the hand pies:
- Begin preheating the oven to 375°F.
- While the dough is chilling, slice the goat cheese into 2″ x 3″ rectangles. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the mushrooms, shallots, garlic and herbs. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and add the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix a few times to get everything coated.
- The crust should be rested now, so on a floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle 12″ x 16″. Cut this rectangle into 16 pieces, each 3″ x 4″.
- On a sheet pan, add a drizzle of olive oil in eight places. Place the goat’s cheese on top of the oil. Pile the vegetable mixture on top, then top with a piece of the pie crust.
- Whisk together the egg and brush each top of pastry with egg wash.
- Bake the pastries in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Some cheese will seep out the edges, which is totally fine.
- When they are out of the oven, let them cool for a few minutes before flipping.
- Drizzle with hot honey, and serve!
What to do with leftover filling
As luck would have it, I have a great pasta recipe that uses many of the ingredients in these hand pies! So, if you have leftover mushroom and herb filling that you don’t know what to do with, just cook it down in a pan. Then you can add it to a pasta of your choice, and finish it with melty goat cheese to make a creamy sauce.
If pasta isn’t what you’re craving, you can also cook down this filling and serve it over toast with melted goat cheese on top, or try adding the ingredients to a homemade pizza for an easy weeknight dinner.
Looking for more appetizer and snack recipes?
Appetizers set the mood for the rest of the meal… Let me help you make it great!
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Marinated cheese is one of my favorite ways to take a slightly snacky cheese and elevate it to party appetizer level. This cheese is marinated in olive oil and aleppo and a ton of citrus zest, giving it a fruity, peppery, nutty taste that is perfect for when you want an easy appetizer that is sure to impress.
This Miso-Glazed Eggplant is a take on the traditional Japanese Nasu Dengaku, but with a few of my favorite Indonesian ingredients added in the mix. I combine two sauces, kecap manis and sambal oelek, to create a sticky, sweet and spicy miso glaze and then double-cook this eggplant into soft, tear-apart, eggplant heaven.
And that’s everything for these Hot Honey & Goat Cheese Upside-Down Hand Pies!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Hot Honey & Goat Cheese Upside-Down Hand Pies
This snackable, tearable, and shareable appetizer is so fun, highly delicious, and can also flex to be a savory breakfast or even a dinner main with a nice side salad. The star of this recipe is the homemade, extra flaky pie crust and the aged goat cheese. Add them together with some savory ingredients and it’s a light, buttery, umami moment that is so fun to make and eat.
Equipment
-
1 bench scraper
-
1 Rolling Pin
-
1 chef’s knife
-
2 half sheet pans
Ingredients
For the hand pie crust
- 300 grams all-purpose flour 2 cups, plus more for rolling out
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 226 grams salted butter, chilled 1 cup
- 6 tablespoons ice water
For the hand pie filling
- 16 ounces sliceable goat’s cheese such as Humboldt Fog
- 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms stemmed and sliced
- 5 medium shallots thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh sage leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
For serving
- 1/4 cup hot honey of choice for serving
Instructions
-
Prepare the pie crust. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
-
Remove your butter from the fridge, you want it as cold as possible. Either grate in the butter using a cheese grater, or cut it into 1-centimeter square cubes and toss them in.
-
Make sure all the butter is coated in flour, and use your hands to press the butter into flat pieces, keeping some in large chunks, and others in smaller pieces. The dough should be rough, but not crumbly.
-
When you can squeeze the dough and it comes together just slightly, but then immediately breaks apart, that’s when you are ready to add the ice water.
-
Add in the ice water and continue to press and mix the dough with your hands, it should start to come together.
-
Move the dough to a work surface and press the dough down until is about 2″ high. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 pieces, pile the pieces on top of each other, and press them down. Rotate 90 degrees, and repeat the same process.
-
*Note: I do not flour my work surface during the lamination process, but feel free to do so if your dough feels a bit warm or hard to handle, or if you see butter begin to break through. An easy way to fix a butter break is to sprinkle a bit of flour over the exposed part.
-
After laminating the dough a few times, press the dough down until it is about 1-2″ thick, sprinkle it with flour, and use your hands to form it into a smooth disc.
-
Tightly wrap the crust in cling wrap and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into the edges of the cling wrap, forming a tight rectangle.
-
From here you must chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but up to an hour is best.
-
Begin preheating the oven to 375°F.
-
While the dough is chilling, slice the goat cheese into 2″ x 3″ rectangles. Set aside.
-
To a large bowl, add the mushrooms, shallots, garlic and herbs. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and add the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix a few times to get everything coated.
-
The crust should be rested now, so on a floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle 12″ x 16″. Cut this rectangle into 16 pieces, each 3″ x 4″.
-
On a sheet pan, add a drizzle of olive oil in eight places. Place the goat’s cheese on top of the oil. Pile the vegetable mixture on top, then top with a piece of the pie crust.
-
Whisk together the egg and brush each top of pastry with egg wash.
-
Bake the pastries in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Some cheese will seep out the edges, which is totally fine.
-
When they are out of the oven, let them cool a few minutes before flipping.
-
Drizzle with hot honey, and serve!
