As summer berry season comes to a close, I think you have one more cookie to make. I promise these Raspberry Pie Cookies are worth turning the oven on for. A cream cheese pie crust that traps fresh raspberries on an almond flour bed, they have quickly become my new favorite cookie!
We moved recently (again, yes, I know), but this is a final move for us. If you've been around here for a while, I started my blog in 2010 while living in northern California. I was fresh out of graduate school and needed a hobby, so I decided to share small batch desserts with you on the internet. Strange how, from that little decision, so much has come. Eventually, work moved us all around (even back to my hometown of Dallas for a few years), but we have officially settled in southern California.
I'm new to having lovely weather all day long, but the thing I missed most about California came rushing back to me instantly. The fresh produce. The fields full of it. I live near a lot of berry farms, and somehow managed to land a neighbor that owns acres of of raspberries.
When bowl after bowl of fresh raspberries kept landing on my doorstep, I knew I needed a delicious way to use them. I wanted to make a raspberry pie, but opted for something more portable and share-able. These raspberry pie cookies were born.
How to Make Raspberry Pie Cookies
Anytime you bake with fresh fruit, it contains so much water. Pies are notoriously runny because of this, and the best you can do is thicken it with cornstarch. For these raspberry pie cookies, however, we're going to spread a layer of flour, almond meal and sugar underneath the berries. As the berries cook and melt in the oven, their juices will be absorbed by the almond meal, making a frangipane-like filling. It's exactly as delicious as it sounds.
I haven't even told you about my go-to pie crust recipe! I use cream cheese in my pie curst, because it's just better than way. And while this is a small-batch dessert blog, the recipe below is for a full-size double pie crust. So, you can make these cookies, or you can save this recipe for a full-size cream cheese double pie crust.
Ingredients
- Cream Cheese. One 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, softened to a cool room temperature, but not overly warm.
- Butter. Two sticks of unsalted butter, or 8-ounces. Also slightly softened but not overly warm.
- Flour. Two cups of flour for the pie crust, and another two tablespoons for the filling beneath the raspberries.
- Sugar. Just two tablespoons of granulated sugar for the raspberry filling. These raspberry cookies aren't overly sweet.
- Almond Meal. Two tablespoons of finely ground almonds. You can use almond flour or almond meal. Typically, almond meal contains the skins of the almonds and is slightly coarser. Both will work well here. If you don't have almond meal or almond flour, place ¼ cup of whole raw almonds in a high-speed blender or coffee grinder to make your own.
- Raspberries. We need 9 ounces, about 1 ½ packages of fresh raspberries. Do not use frozen for this recipe--they contain too much water when they defrost.
- Egg Yolk. One egg yolk for brushing on the cookies before baking. This is entirely optional, but it does help the cookies have a golden brown crust.
Instructions
Place the softened cream cheese and butter in a food processor and pulse a few times.
Add the flour and salt, and pulse again. Finally, add the water, and pulse until a chunky dough comes together.
Remove the dough from the food processor, press it flat on a floured surface. Divide in half, press it flat into a 8-inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and place both halves in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove one of the dough pieces. Roll it into a 14-inch rough circle.
Preheat the oven to 350 and line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Next, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and almond meal.
Sprinkle the flour, sugar and almond meal mixture evenly over the entire surface of the pie crust you just rolled out.
Using just your fingers, split the raspberries in half and scatter them over the surface of the crust.
Finally, roll out the other crust to 14-inches, and use a pizza wheel to cut it into lattice strips. Lattice the crust on top of the raspberries. (See below for how to lattice).
Then, use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out cookie shapes. (The same cutter I use for my buttermilk biscuits). It helps to coat the cookie cutter in flour. You might have to twist to pull up the bottom crust (ensure the bottom crust has plenty of flour underneath it so it doesn’t stick to the board).
Place the pie cookies at least one inch apart on the cookie sheet lined with parchment. Beat the egg yolk with a splash of water, and brush it all over the surface of each pie cookie.
This is optional, but you can sprinkle coarse sugar on the pies for extra sparkle. Bake for 23 minutes. Before removing them from the oven, ensure the bottoms are golden brown like the tops.
Tips and Tricks for Pie Cookies:
The best way to learn how to lattice a pie crust is to watch a video online. After rolling out the dough to a 14-inch circle, place it in the fridge to firm up. Then, use a pizza cutter to cut the ½-inch thick strips for lattice work. I like to start by placing lattice strips in one direction over the entire surface of the pie. Then, I take another strip and begin to weave it in. I start at the edge and go over, under, over, under each strip. The next strip will be in the opposite direction: under, over, under, over, etc. Simply lift up the opposite strips while you weave. Again, watch a video, it's hard to explain in words. If you can braid, you can absolutely lattice. But, even if you can't braid, lattice is easier because you're only keeping track of two pieces at a time instead of 3 like a braid.
The best way to store these cookies is at room temperature for up to 2 days, tightly wrapped. Beyond that, they can be frozen both before and after baking. If freezing before baking, add an extra few minutes to the bake time. If freezing after baking, defrost in the fridge overnight and let rest on the counter to come to room temperature before serving.
If latticing pie crust isn't your idea of fun, but you still want to eat pie in cookie form, I'm here for you. Roll out the second crust and use a small cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Drape this over the raspberries and cut the cookies out as usual.
Raspberry Pie Cookies
Adorable pie crust cookies with sweet raspberry and almond flour filling.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened,
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) butter, cold
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond meal
- 9 ounces of fresh raspberries (~1 ½ packages)
- Optional: 1 large egg yolk and coarse sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Place the softened cream cheese and butter in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add the flour and salt, and pulse again.
- Finally, add the water, and pulse until a chunky dough comes together.
- Remove the dough from the food processor, press it flat on a floured surface. Divide in half, press it flat into a 8-inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and place both halves in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove one of the dough pieces. Roll it into a 14-inch rough circle.
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Next, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and almond meal.
- Sprinkle the flour, sugar and almond meal mixture evenly over the entire surface of the pie crust you just rolled out.
- Using your fingers, split the raspberries in half and scatter them over the surface of the crust.
- Finally, roll out the other crust to 14-inches, and use a pizza wheel to cut it into lattice strips.
- Lattice the crust on top of the raspberries.
- Then, use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out cookie shapes. It helps to coat the cookie cutter in flour. You might have to twist to pull up the bottom crust (ensure the bottom crust has plenty of flour underneath it so it doesn’t stick to the board). You should get about 12 cookies.
- Place the pie cookies at least one inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.
- Optional: Beat the egg yolk with a splash of water, and brush it all over the surface of each pie cookie. Sprinkle coarse sugar on the pies, too.
- Bake for 23 minutes. Before removing them from the oven, ensure the bottoms are golden brown like the tops.
Notes
Almond Meal: You can use almond meal or almond flour; both work well. Almond meal typically has the skins of the almonds while almond flour does not.
Raspberries: Do not use frozen for this recipe--they contain too much water when they defrost.
Lattice: The best way to learn how to lattice a pie crust is to watch a video online. See the FAQ block within the post for a description.
Easy Button: If latticing pie crust isn't for you, roll out the second crust and use a small cookie cutter to cut out shapes all over the dough. Drape this over the raspberries and cut out the cookies as usual.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 185Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 155mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g
Lucille Ann Wiedenhoeft says
Love This!!!