Cherry Hand Pies

Today is Father's Day and I'm nearly 500 miles away from my dad.  Like my dad, I am a pie lover.  When faced with a choice of desserts, I'll choose pie anytime over other options.  My Dad's favorite pie is Cherry.  So today, remembering my dad on Father's Day, I thought I'd post this recipe for Cherry Hand Pie, which I have adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine.  I'll have to make more for my next visit home!



Here are a couple of tips.

First be sure and use parchment.  Otherwise, you will have cherry pie filling all over your cookie sheet and it will be a bear to get off.  Think about how a regular pie sometimes runs over and if you have ever cleaned up one of those drip catcher thingymajigs, you know how difficult clean up can be.  Use parchment and avoid it!

Secondly, don't forget to brush the edges of your pies with the egg wash.  It will help the crimps to hold and help contain the filling.  I missed this step and while they still turned out great, they were a bit messy.

Hot from the Oven

Cherry Hand Pies
Makes 9

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 Tablespoons cold water
2 cups fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted (or about 12 oz. frozen pitted cherries, unthawed)
2/3 cups dried cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 14 oz. package of puff pastry dough, thawed in the refrigerator
Flour (for dusting)
1 large egg white
1 Tablespoon cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons raw sugar



Chilling

Directions:

1. Line a large rimmed backing sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stir cornstarch and 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl and blend and set aside.
3. Combine fresh cherries and next 6 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cherry juices are released, about 5 minutes.
5. Add cornstarch mixture, bring to a boil, stirring often.
6. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
7. Roll out both sheets of pastry on a lightly floured board to a rectangle of 18"x 15".
8. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into nine 6x5 rectangles.
9. Whisk egg white and 1 Tablespoon of water together for egg wash.
10. Evenly divide filling among the nine rectangles.
11. One rectangle at a time, brush edges with egg wash and fold dough over filling so that the short ends meet, forming a 5"x3" packet.
12. Crimp edges with a fork to seal.  Using a sharp knife, cut a few slits in the top of the pie to vent.
13. Place on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining rectangles.
14. Brush tops with egg wash, then sprinkle with raw sugar. 
15. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
16. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F while the pies are chilling.
17. Bake pastries until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 30-40 minutes.
18. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet.  Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely.

Nutritional Information

One serving contains:
Calories (kcal) 289.9
%Calories from Fat 37.0
Fat (g) 11.9
Saturated Fat (g) 3.2
Cholesterol (mg) 11.0
Carbohydrates (g) 41.1
Dietary Fiber (g) 4.0
Total Sugars (g) 21.4
Net Carbs (g) 37.1
Protein (g) 4.2
Sodium (mg) 247.3