Treat to Try: Ohio Pies

Hand pies have serious potential to be The Next Big Thing. Sure, they’ve been around for decades in fast food restaurants as desserts, but that was before they had the cool moniker: hand pie.

Perfect little pastries, hand pies can come in savory or sweet flavors and they’re less mess than a regular piece of pie. You don’t need silverware, or even a plate (just a hand). And you don’t have to share anything, so there’s no negotiating for slice size.

Ohio Pies bakes exemplary versions of Apple Hand Pies. All the bakery’s offerings are premium, made with organic, non GMO ingredients that include everything from apple chunks, to corn starch, to butter. There’s locally produced honey in the mix too.

The instructions on its hand pie package suggest baking the treat for eight to 10 minutes, but those instructions were noticed only after carelessly consuming the pie in its entirety. Gobbling is probably a better word. Not a crumb was left.

To be fair, the hand pie was already baked, so the instructions were more for re-warming. And it’s hard to imagine how it could be better. The pastry was especially fetching – with a few sweet, buttery shards and flakes breaking free to be enjoyed by themselves. Loaded inside the pastry are square chunks of soft apples in a gloriously sweet, oozy syrup that ties it all together.

Ohio Pies makes more than hand pies. The home bakery does full-on sharable pies with the same commitment to quality. Year-round flavors include Banana Cream and Maple Pecan, seasonal favorites include Blackberry, Lemon Meringue, as well as interesting offerings such as a Chai Pie, based in a chai pastry cream that’s housed in a graham crust.

Special orders of the big pies carry price tags well north of $35. But you can score a gateway hand pie for less than $10 at Bexley Co-Op, or follow the bakery’s events at ohiopies.com.

To see the article in Columbus Underground, visit: https://www.columbusunderground.com/treat-to-try-ohio-pies-ma1/