Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Peach Hand Pies...

I am TERRIBLE at making pie crust.
BUT, I may have just stumbled upon the secret to making an incredible flaky, yet moist, dough.
Years ago, my mother-in-law would make an apple pie on a cookie sheet, and the crust she used in that recipe was delicious.
Her secret ingredient in the crust was sour cream but, unfortunately, her recipe has been lost over the years.
I've been wanting to make "hand pies" ever since I saw the Farm Chicks strawberry picnic pies, and I've been wanting to try to reinvent my mother-in-law's yummy crust for quite some time as well.
Last week the idea for peach hand pies and the desire to try my crust idea came together in a beautiful way.
For the crust:
In a food processor pulse together:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Add 2 sticks, (1 cup) cold butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cold plain greek yogurt, (which is what I used), or sour cream
2-3 Tablespoons of icy cold water
and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Pulse in food processor just until dough is combined
Form dough into a ball on a sheet of wax paper and chill in refrigerator while you make the filling
For the filling:
Peel and cut 6-8 peaches into small chunks, (apples would work too)
Add 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Stir together with the peaches.
Roll chilled dough out on floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick
Cut dough into circles about 5 1/2 inches diameter
 (I traced a small saucer.  This recipe made 10 hand pies.)
Top each circle of dough with a couple spoonfuls of filling

Fold dough over filling and crimp edges together with a fork dipped in flour and poke top of hand pie with fork a couple of times
Make an egg wash by beating one egg with a bit of water
Brush hand pie with egg wash and sprinkle a bit of sugar on top
Bake on parchment paper covered cookie sheet in 400 degree preheated oven until golden brown
 (30-40 minutes)
When pies are cool drizzle with a glaze (approximately 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla with a Tablespoon or so of milk added until glaze is pourable, but not too thin and watery)



The Hubs is off of sugar, so I gave the hand pies to a couple of friends, who gave them a two thumbs up.
I give them two thumbs up as well... not that I sampled them or anything. :)
The best part is, thanks to my "secret ingredient", I think I may have finally conquered pie crust!


Still following,
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10 comments:

  1. You had me at peach pie. I'm salivatin!!! I'll have to try the crust recipe out...not to mention the hand pies. I grew up on cherry fried pies, which are similar!
    Blessings,
    Leslie

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  2. Looks yummy! Would the crust work without the yogurt/sour cream? I don't usually have either of those on hand.

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  3. They certainly look great! I made something similar with apples- Isn't it fun baking during this season??!!

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  4. I keep seeing hand pies, but have never made them. They are beautiful!
    I make fabulous pie crust (and I am quoting Mister, on that) but just have always used the pie crust recipe from Betty Crocker. My cookbook dates from the early '80's with test kitchen pictures that look like someone was celebrating the Bicentennial.

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  5. Girl you have such gifts, your photography here is as beautiful as your kitchen yumminess. So glad to have a chance to see your love in action. Wondering to my self, self, you think we could pull that off with maybe......some other fruits, apple or blueberries? Want to be brave and give it a shot. From Elizabeth to Elizabeth

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  6. Oh my goodness, these look delicious! I'm itching to make something with apples...maybe some of these pies :)

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  7. Pie crust and I have never been compatible, but I think this recipe may be my lucky break. They are lovely. I imagine you could use apples, or my favorite...stewed apricots. Yummy!
    Debbie

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  8. Oh yum! These looks absolutely delicious. They wouldn't be around long at my house.
    Mary Alice

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  9. Oh yummy! Gonna try this soon!

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  10. They look great! Can't wait to try them. The last photo of the pies on the blue plate is really pretty.

    One thing that would make it a little easier for me would be to make the recipe more printer friendly or to put the whole recipe together. It took 16 pages to print everything. It was hard to select only certain parts of the recipe since there were photos between the recipe text:)

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