My favorite Pop-Tart growing up was the S’mores Pop Tart, so I created a grown-up version: S’mores Hand Pies. These feature a super-flaky, tender pie dough made with crushed graham crackers for a hint of molasses sweetness, a rich milk chocolate filling, and a toasted marshmallow topping that’s bruléed to golden perfection.
How to Make the Perfect Pie Dough
A great pie dough yields a crust that’s flaky, tender, buttery, and lightly sweet. Achieving that texture requires the right ingredients and careful technique.
The Ingredients
For flaky dough, cold butter and cold liquid are essential. Like scones or biscuits, the cold butter creates steam pockets as it bakes, producing layers and flakiness. The liquid must also stay cold so it doesn’t warm the butter and cause it to melt prematurely.
I also use vodka in the dough. Vodka reduces gluten formation compared with using only water because it contains alcohol, which doesn’t activate gluten the same way. Pure vodka is about 60% water and 40% ethanol, so substituting part of the water with vodka lowers overall water activity. I prefer a 50/50 mix of vodka and ice water to avoid altering the flavor while improving tenderness.
The Technique
Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking warms and smears the butter, reducing flakiness and encouraging gluten development, which makes a tough crust. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then press it into a disk, wrap it, and chill for at least an hour. After chilling, let it rest on the counter for a few minutes so it’s slightly easier to roll, then roll to the specified thickness.
How to Make the Chocolate Filling
For the filling, combine milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bring the mixture just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Add finely chopped milk chocolate and melted butter, stir lightly, and let sit for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Whisk until smooth, then set aside to cool and thicken to room temperature before filling the pies.
Assembling the S’mores Hand Pies
Roll the dough to about 1/8″–1/16″ thick and cut into sixteen rectangles roughly 3″ x 4″. On half the rectangles (the tops) poke several small holes to vent steam and brush the edges with egg wash. On the other half (the bottoms) place a heaping tablespoon of chocolate filling in the center, spreading it while leaving a 3/4″ border. Brush the border with egg wash, then set the tops over the bottoms. Press the edges together with your fingers and crimp them with a fork to seal.
-
Spread chocolate filling, leaving 3/4″ border -
Add egg wash around border of ‘bottom’ -
Add egg wash around the border of the ‘top’. -
Place ‘top’ onto ‘bottom’. -
Seal edges by pressing them down with fingers. -
Crimp edges with fork.
For an even flakier crust and firmer shape, freeze the assembled hand pies for 30–60 minutes before baking.
Bake the hand pies until golden. While still hot, spread 1–2 tablespoons of marshmallow fluff on each pie. Use a kitchen torch to brown the fluff to a golden finish, or briefly place under a hot broiler while watching carefully to avoid burning. Finish with a drizzle of melted chocolate if desired.
Get the Recipe:
S’mores Hand Pies
Pin
Rate
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Pastry Dough
- 2 cups Cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 ½ cups (320g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (160g) sifted graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup (60g) white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp vodka, well chilled
- 4–6 tbsp ice water
Milk Chocolate Filling
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder
- 100 g milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Topping & Decoration
- 1 cup marshmallow fluff
- 1/4–1/2 cup chocolate candy melts, melted (optional)
Instructions
Making the Graham Cracker Pie Dough
-
Mix chilled vodka and ice water in a small cup and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter cubes and work them into the flour with a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces.
-
Drizzle in the vodka-water while tossing with a fork. Knead gently in the bowl until a shaggy dough forms. If it’s too dry, add more ice water, a teaspoon at a time, until it holds together.
-
Shape the dough into a disk, place in a freezer bag or wrap tightly, and chill for one hour.
-
When chilled, let the dough sit on the counter for 3–5 minutes, then roll on a well-floured surface to 1/8″–1/16″ thickness. Cut into 3×4″ rectangles.
Making the Milk Chocolate Filling
-
Combine milk, sugar, and cocoa in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bring just to a simmer, then remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and melted butter, stir gently, and let sit for 5 minutes.
-
Whisk until the mixture is smooth and let cool to room temperature before using to fill the pies.
Filling & Baking
-
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling onto half of the rectangles (the bottoms). Spread it, leaving a 3/4″ border, and brush the border with water or egg wash.
-
On the remaining rectangles (the tops), poke several small holes, brush the edges with water or egg wash, then place each top over a filled bottom. Press the edges together and crimp with a fork to seal.
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the assembled hand pies on a parchment-lined sheet and freeze for 30–60 minutes to firm up.
-
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before topping.
Topping & Decoration
-
While the pies are still warm, spread 1–2 tablespoons of marshmallow fluff on each. Use a kitchen torch to brown the fluff or broil briefly while watching closely. Let set for a few minutes, then drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.
Source: Filling adapted from The Loopy Whisk