Strawberry Hand Pies

With the delightful warm weather here now all I've been able to think of lately is my favorite summer time dessert: fruit pies. I mean really, what says love better than a fresh fruit pie? That's right -- Nothin'! Well, okay...a portable version of a fruit pie might just be better. That's where the hand pie comes in.

A distant, better looking cousin of the turnover, the hand pie houses it's own portion of delicious fruit filling and top and bottom crust all in handy compact size. Perfect for sharing. Perfect for casual entertaining. And in my case, perfect for bribing a dozen middle-schoolers into listening to me while I teach them Confirmation prep at church. Haha.

With these little beauties I'll have no problem. The A sweet pie dough is used. With the addition of lemon and a bit of vanilla you can use less sugar and still get the same sweet taste to the dough. The sugar in the filling has been cut down considerably to provide a nice contrast between the sweet, flaky dough and the slightly tart juicy bite of the filling. A delicious treat for any pie lover. Especially for breakfast... ;)


Strawberry Hand Pies

Ingredients:
1 recipe sweet butter pie dough (see below if needed)
3 c. fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

powdered sugar for dusting

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Directions
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.
-In medium bowl, combine strawberries, granulated sugar and lemon juice and set aside.
-Turn dough out onto a powdered sugar-dusted work surface and cut pie dough in half (rewrap other half and place back in fridge to stay cold).
-Roll one half of pie dough out about 1/8 in thickness. Using round pastry cutter (or trace knife around small plate), cut out about 5-6 inch rounds.
-Place round onto baking sheet and place about 2-3 Tbsp strawberry mixture into center.
-Using pastry brush dipped in a small amount of egg, brush the edge of half of the round.
-Fold dry edge onto egg brushed half, forming semicircle shape, and press edges together to seal with the tines of a fork.
-Brush the top of the pie with egg mixture and sprinkle with sugar.
-Use a small knife to make a 1 inch slit in the top of the pie for steam to escape.
-Repeat with remaining pastry dough.
-Place in oven and bake until tops are beginning to turn golden brown, about 20 minutes.
-Let cool on sheets for 7-10 mins and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
-Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 10-12


Sweet Butter Pie Dough

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon zest
2 sticks (1 c.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 in pieces
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6-8 Tbsp cold buttermilk (whole milk with a dash of fresh lemon juice can be subbed)

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
-In small bowl, combine vanilla and buttermilk, stir to combine and set aside.
-In large bowl, add flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest and whisk to combine.
-Use pastry cutter or two knives to cut butter into flour mixture until resembles course meal or just until all pieces are less than pea-sized.
-Add buttermilk mixture and stir in until dough comes together.
-Transfer dough to powdered sugar-dusted work surface and shape into flat disk.
-Wrap disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Notes: You can also make the dough in the bowl of a food processor, just be careful not to over process (30 secs should be enough to bring it together.)

Pie dough may be made ahead and frozen for up to 2 months if wrapped well.