Secret Chef Strawberry Hand Pies

Two-Bite Strawberry Hand Pies

Author: Kelly Jaggers 

Prep time: 20 mins Serves: 30

Ingredients

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 T orange zest

2 T sugar

1 t. kosher salt

1 cup butter (2 sticks) cubed and chilled

3-6 T ice water

Filling:

2 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

2 T packed light brown sugar

1/4 t. cornstarch

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries

Garnish:

1 egg beaten well

1/3 cup coarse sanding sugar 

Instructions

1. Begin by making the crust.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, orange zest, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine, then add the cubed butter. Using your fingers rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse sand studded with peanut sized pieces of butter. 

3. Add 3 tablespoons of ice water and gently mix the dough with your hand until it forms a shaggy ball. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough lightly, about 5 times) then form the dough into a disk and divide into two pieces. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to three days.

4. While the dough chills prepare the filling.

5. In the work bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the diced berries and mix until some of the berries are gently mashed but the mixture is still chunky, about 20 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill for 15 minutes.

6. Heat the oven to 350 F. 

7. Once chilled pull one half of the dough out of the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes to warm up. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1⁄8-inch thick, about a 12-inch circle, turning the dough often to make sure it does not stick. Dust the surface with additional flour if needed. Use a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out circles of dough. Cut as many as you can, you should be able to get at least 20 from the first roll, and arrange then on a parchment lined baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, press into a disk and chill for 20 minutes, then roll them out and cut out the remaining dough circles. Repeat this with the second dough ball.

8. To assemble the pies begin by placing a heaping 1⁄2 teaspoon of the filling into the center of 30 of the dough circles. Gently brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, then top with a second dough circle, gently pressing around the edges to help the dough adhere. With a fork crimp the edges of the pies to seal. Brush the tops of the pies with beaten egg, then dust with the sanding sugar.

9. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the pies are golden brown all over, and the bottoms of the pies are deeply golden. Cool to room temperature on the baking sheet before serving.