Blueberry Hand Pies

This recipe is from King Arthur Flour. They have a bake along series & this is the first recipe I have tried from this series. These Blueberry Hand Pies are delicious & quite easy to make.

I did not put enough filling in the hand pies. It looks like I put in the same amount as the recipe & pictures from the step by step on the King Arthur website, but there was not enough filling in my hand pies. The recipe from King Arthur says to put in a slightly heaped tablespoon of filling, so I did that & had left-over filling which I put in the fridge. When I was putting the hand pies together it looked like I had enough filling in but once the hand pies were baked it is not. Otherwise, they are delicious! Next time, & there will be a next time for sure, I will add more filling!

There are alot of directions in the method, but none of them are difficult! You should give this a try. It is very good.

Here is the recipe 

Ingredients

For the Pastry

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup cold butter, cut in cubes *** recipe calls for unsalted but I used salted since I didn’t have unsalted!

1/2 cup sour cream *** I used plain greek yogurt

For the Filling

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen *** I used frozen

2 tbsp cornstarch *** if you are using frozen blueberries use 2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

For the Topping & to put them together….

1 large egg, beaten

2 tbsp coarse sugar *** I used turbinado sugar…which is a coarse sugar

 

Method 

For the pastry

1. I made the pastry in the food processor….Put the flour, salt & baking powder in the food processor & pulse twice to mix the ingredients together
2. Add the cubed butter into the food processor & pulse a few times until the butter is pea sized or bigger. Be careful not to over process as you want the butter in fairly large pieces, this makes the dough flakey.
3. Add the sour cream or yogurt & mix.  I did not over mix this & it was just a bunch of crumbs when I took it out of the food processor. Usually for dough you process the ingredients until it forms a ball around the blade, but I was concerned not to over-mix this,  so I empties the bowl onto a work surface & kneaded them together into a ball.
4. Form the dough into a rectangle shape & roll it into an 8 x 10 rectangle. Dust both sides lightly with flour & fold the dough in thirds, starting with the short end.
5. Turn the dough over & turn it to a 90 degree angle. Roll it out again into an 8 x 10 rectangle. Fold it in thirds again, starting at the short side
6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap & put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before you make the hand pies. This chills the butter in the dough. *** I left the dough in the fridge for longer & it was very hard when I took it out. Too hard to roll out. I let the dough sit on the counter until it was softer.

For the filling

1. Put the blueberries into a sauce pan.
2. Mix the cornstarch & sugar together, put into the saucepan.
3. Add the salt & lemon juice. Mix to combine
4. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring so it does not stick to the pan. Once it begins to bubble, reduce the heat medium & cook until the mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Stir often!!!
5. Once the berry mixture is thick, remove from heat & let cool to room temperature. You can put the mixture into the refrigerator to cool quicker if you want!

To make the hand pies

Preheat the oven to 425f

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

1. Roll the dough into a 14 x 14 inch square. *** I did not flour the surface I was rolling the dough on, but floured my rolling-pin
2.  Cut the dough into 3 1/2 inch squares, you will get 16 squares
3. Put the filling on 8 of the squares, divide it evenly. *** I think it will be more than 1 heaping tbsp per square. Put the filling in the middle!
4. Use some of the beaten egg & a pastry brush to brush some egg on the edges of the square that has the filling on it
5. Make a vent in each of the 8 squares that are reserved for the ‘tops’ of the hand pies. You can use a knife for this or a small cookie cutter…. your choice. I used a knife & made 4 slits in the top.
6. Put a ‘top’ that is vented, onto each square that has filling on it.
7. Press the edges together using a fork, sealing well
8. Brush the tops of the hand pies with beaten egg & sprinkle with sugar
9. Put the hand pies onto the prepared baking sheet…
10. Put the baking sheet with the hand pies into the refrigerator to cool for about 15 – 20 minute….recipe says if the dough gets sticky put in the fridge for 20 minutes, but I put it int he fridge anyway. I wanted the dough to be nice & flaky
11. Bake the hand pies for 18 – 20 minutes until they are golden brown.
12. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving to make sure the filling is cool enough to eat & won’t burn your mouth!!
13. You can keep the pies at room temperature for a couple of days or freeze them .

Enjoy!