Thanksgiving Trend We Love: Handpies

by Kait Fowlie

Top handpie recipes from apps to dessert

Handpies, one of the "mini dessert trends" of 2014, are somewhere inbetween a full on pie and a pop tart, and make America's classic Thanksgiving dessert super easy / much more fun to eat. The versatile handpie can be made sweet or savory, fried or baked, eaten as an appetizer or a dessert. They're awesome for potlucks, and also make great leftovers. Here's how you should take advantage of the best thanksgiving food trend this year.

Best appetizer pie: baked brie is more often than not the first of all appetizers to get massacred at cocktail hour – it's delicious and addictive in summer and winter, topped with sweet or savory additions and wrapped in pastry and baked until melty. Alas, baking a big-ass wheel of brie takes time and work. These baked brie with rosemary and honey handpies are so simple, all you've got to do is wrap a chunk of brie in a square of pastry and bake 'em for 12 minutes.

Best side pie: Style Sweet's Butternut squash and goat cheese handpies with sage, butter and garlic make an ideal Thanksgiving side. Use store-bought pie dough to whip these together in under an hour. Double the filling to make them into a hearty vegetarian main that beats Tofurky any day.

Best main pie: Martha's turkey and vegetable handpie effectively wraps a full Thanksgiving dinner into a handheld pie – ground turkey, carrots and green beans simmered with some cream are reminiscent of a pot pie, but one you can scarf like a sandwich. How efficient! This recipe takes some time to make, but not as much as roasting a turkey.

Best dessert pie: Apple-toffee handpies take the classic Thanksgiving dessert and add crunchy toffee chips. Cut them in half and serve warm with vanilla ice cream for a next level, seasonal sundae. Or, at a brunch potluck as a sweet (and healthy!) breakfast pastry.

Best brunch pie: These sausage and feta handpies bundle sausage, feta, fennel and plum tomatoes into savoury dough package like a turnover. Served with salad and scrambled eggs, they make a full brunch spread. Try subbing sausage for chopped broccoli rabe for a vegetarian version.

If you're a superstar and are taking on the role of host this year, we applaud you! After you've perfected your handpies, check out some tips for throwing a chic Thanksgiving dinner party, from creating a menu to gifting your leftovers. Bon appetit!