Crawfish Hand Pies
Louisiana crawfish hand pies are a Cajun classic – so tasty, there are songs written about them. Filled with spicy crawfish tails in a creamy Creole sauce, they’re a taste of the bayou that can be made ahead of time and frozen. Brushing each pie with mayo is an easy way to egg wash.
Prep Time:
30 mins.
Cook Time:
15 mins.
Yield:
14 pies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 2 chopped green onions, about ¼ cup
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound peeled Louisiana crawfish tails
- 1 tablespoon (2 cloves) chopped garlic
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup Blue Plate® Mayonnaise + extra for brushing the pies
- 1 teaspoon Louisiana-style hot sauce
- 1 package pie dough (enough for 2 9-inch pies), refrigerated
Directions
- Make the filling: Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, celery and green onion and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Add the Creole seasoning, cayenne pepper, crawfish tails, garlic, cream cheese and parsley; stir to combine.
- Remove from heat and cool slightly, then mix in the ½ cup of mayonnaise and the hot sauce. Place the filling in a covered container in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before making the pies. (The filling can be made a day in advance and refrigerated.)
- Make the Hand Pies: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unroll one sheet at a time. Roll the dough out slightly on a floured surface and cut into 4-inch rounds, about 6 rounds per sheet. Save the dough scraps to make more rounds. (Form the scraps into a ball and roll out to ⅛ inch thick as needed to make more rounds.) Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the filling in the middle of each round.
- Brush each round lightly with mayonnaise. Fold the dough over to form a half-circle. Using a fork, crimp the edges to seal. Brush each pie with ½ to 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise as an egg wash. Repeat the process with the remaining pie dough and filling.
- Bake until golden brown and heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.
- KITCHEN TIP
- Crawfish Hand Pies can be made ahead of time and frozen.
- To oven cook from frozen, arrange pies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
- To air-fry from frozen, preheat the air fryer to 360℉. Make 3 small cuts with a sharp knife on the top of each pie to prevent it from popping open in the air fryer. Brush ½ teaspoon of mayonnaise on the top of each hand pie. Place 2 to 4 pies (depending on the air fryer size) in the air fryer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Repeat with remaining hand pies.
