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Nutella Heart Hand Pies with Cream Cheese Pastry Crust

Nutella-filled cream cheese hand pies are a perfect sweet treat for Valentine’s Day! Make the cream cheese pastry a day ahead fill with chocolate hazelnut spread straight from the jar for a warm hand pie and chocolate-filled treat!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
chill time 1 hour1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate hazelnut spread, hand pie, Valentine's Day
Servings: 10 (3 ½ inch) hand pies

Equipment

  • 1 food processor
  • 1 3 1/2 inch heart cookie cutter

Ingredients

  • Jar Nutella or Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
  • Cream Cheese Pastry Crust Recipe
  • 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • Sanding sugar or regular sugar optional

Cream Cheese Pastry Crust

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 8 oz. pkg. Cream Cheese, softened use full fat or Neufchatel, not fat free
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Instructions

Cream Cheese Pastry Crust:

  • Pulse all ingredients together in food processor until dough comes together.
  • Divide dough into two portions, and shape into flat disks. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes – 1 hour, until firm or overnight.
  • Allow to warm up briefly at room temperature (about 20 minutes) before rolling out.

To make hand pies:

  • On lightly floured surface, roll out dough.
  • Using 3 ½ inch heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts with cookie cutter. Reroll dough scraps and repeat and until you have 20 hearts.
  • Place 10 hearts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add hazelnut filling in the center of the heart, leaving ½ inch border. Brush edges of pastry with egg wash (egg beaten with a tablespoon of water) and top with a pastry heart.
  • Use a fork to crimp and seal the edges of each hand pie.
  • Brush tops with additional egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar or regular sugar.
  • Bake pies at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Transfer pies to wire rack and allow to cool 10 - 15 minutes and serve.

Notes

  • This cream cheese pastry comes together quickly with a food processor. You can make it a couple of days in advance and refrigerate until ready to roll out. Allow 20 minutes at room temperature before rolling out. 
  • Substitute store-bought pie crust or frozen puff pastry if you prefer.
  • Top the hazelnut spread with a spoonful of strawberry or raspberry preserves if desired, being careful not to overfill hearts.
  • Optional: Dust hand pies with confectioners sugar after cooling pies slightly before serving.