Make it Yourself...Hand Pies Crust Recipe

The recipe for hand pies in the August issue of Midwest Living is a very easy handling dough. It is necessary to chill the dough so do not skip this step. Any butter crust must be chilled and this handled so well when it was chilled over night.

The crust is tender and flakey and well worth the time involved. Try making the crust and filling one day and rolling out and baking the pies the next. Excellent pie crust and the blueberry filling, which is what I used, is also excellent. 

Fruit Hand Pies

PREP 30 minutes  FREEZE 30 minutes  CHILL 45 minutes  BAKE 16 minutes

½ cup butter cut into ½ inch pats

½ cup shortening, cut into ½ inch pats

½ cup sour cream

2 egg yolks lightly beaten

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 ¾ cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 egg lightly beaten - 1 tablespoon water - 2 tablespoons coarse sugar

  Place butter and shortening on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and freeze for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, egg yolks and lemon juice; chill.

  In food processor with blade attachment, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add butter and shortening. Pulse until butter bits are pea-size. Drop spoonfuls of the sour cream mixture over the flour mixture. Pulse until the pastry comes together but is still crumbly with visible butter bits. 

(Or cut in the butter and shortening by hand. Stir in sour cream mixture with a fork). 

Gently knead the dough into a ball using floured hands. Divide dough into four portions, pat each into a 4-inch square and wrap in plastic wrap; chill 45 minutes or overnight.

  When pastry is ready, combine egg and water in a small bowl for egg wash. On a lightly floured surface roll a dough portion to ⅛ inch thickness (hand pies need to be thicker than regular pie to hold in your hand). Keep remaining dough in refrigerator. Cut 4 4-inch circles using a 4 inch cookie cutter. For round pies, place 2 pastry circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoon of fruit filling onto center of each circle, leaving a ¾ inch border. Brush borders with egg wash. Prick remaining two circles a few times with a fork or cut a small shape out in the center. Place circles over filled circles, crimp edges to seal. For half moon shapes, fold circle over with one tablespoon of filling. Brush border with egg wash and crimp to seal and prick top with fork. 

  Repeat with remaining dough to make a total of eight round or 16 half moon pies. Scraps make be rerolled to make a few more pies. Brush pies with remaining egg wash; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake in a 375° oven for 16 to 18 minutes until golden brown.