Grab a substantially-sized saucepan, and in it, whisk together 4 tablespoons of water, brandy, sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. And keep that going until everything is adequately combined with one another. At which point, you can add in your cherries, as well.
Then, you’re going to want to bring everything to a boil, and cook those ingredients for about 3-5 minutes, until they thicken up. And, don’t forget to keep stirring the contents the entire time. When they reach that desired thickness, you can remove them from the heat source, and place them to the side for the time being, to allow them to cool down a touch.
Now, you’ll want to preheat that oven of yours to a solid 400°.
As that warms up, you should lightly flour your countertop, and roll out a portion of that store-bought dough into a large rectangle. I’d say aim for a shape that’s roughly 14” x 9” in dimension.
After that, you’ll want to cut out 8 little rectangles, with each one being about 3 ½” x 4 ½” in size. And repeat that very same process with the rest of your dough.
When you’re done with that step, simply transfer 8 of these freshly-cut dough rectangles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, so as to avoid sticking during the baking process.
At this point, you’ll want to take your cherry mixture from the beginning of this recipe, and add about 3 tablespoons of it into the center of each of those dough-rectangles.
In a small bowl, whisk together your egg, along with 2 tablespoons of water, to create an egg wash. Then, brush the edges of the dough with it.
Following that, you will want to top those 8 rectangles with the other 8 rectangles. Be sure to seal the edges, by pressing down on them with a fork.
Add another coating of egg wash, and cut a few slits into the tops, before tossing it in the oven.
You’ll want to bake these hand pies for about a half an hour, or until you notice that the crust is taking on a delicious golden brown color scheme. Also, if you see the hand pies become “puffed” in the most subtle way, you’ll know they are good to go.
When you’re happy with how everything is looking, remove them from the oven, and place them on a wire rack to cool down for a bit.
Now, you’ll want to create your icing, which couldn’t be easier. Simply toss all of those ingredients into a bowl, and mix them together to the best of your ability. When you’ve done that, head back over to your hand pies, and drizzle a “healthy” amount of this infused frosting onto them, as this will be where your potency will come from.
As a final touch, you can top each off with some freeze-dried strawberries, and when you’re done with that, just let it mellow out a bit more, until everything sets completely. When that happens, pick one (or two), and dig in!