Festive Cranberry Hand Pies

Finding comfort in the traditions of the holidays is truly where I find some of my greatest joy. These festive cranberry hand pies are one of my favorite traditional pastries to make.

With Thanksgiving just a few days away and my trip to Publix still not completed, I find time to sit and think about the dishes I’ll prepare and the ones that are most special to me. I can’t imagine a Thanksgiving meal without the French sage stuffing I grew up on, the best cranberries around and some good old traditional pie, because my Nana’s pie crust is truly the best. Oh, and the pie crust cinnamon rolls my mom makes with the leftover dough, which inspired our most popular Rollings of Cinnamon apron.

Mixing old traditions with new keeps things ever-interesting, so when my friend Erica at Yes Ma’am Paper Goods said she was making Cranberry Hand Pies for our photoshoot with Heidi I had already decided these little guys were going to be at the top of my menu this holiday.

A little behind-the-scenes, we set up this shoot to capture the essence of our collaboration project this year, our Family Recipe Card + Cloth. I think this may be my favorite product of all-time because my own family recipes are so special to me and these are just the most meaningful gift I can imagine. The stories we’ve heard from the folks who have purchased the gift set already are truly remarkable {and I can’t wait to share after the holidays so as not to spoil any gifts!}

We wanted to shoot something visually beautiful and the burst of red cranberry for holiday captured this essence. We also wanted something a little traditional but a little on-trend and most importantly, something the kiddos + adults would love equally. Success my friends. You MUST make these – they’re the perfect blend of savory and sweet in an oh-so-fun grab and go size.

Today, the recipe and some images from the shoot were featured over on SMP Living, along with some fabulous hand-lettered Thanksgiving tags from Erica that you can download. Pop over and get the recipe and take a peek below at a few more images from the shoot!