Raspberry Hand Pies {Guest Post from Krissy’s Creations}

Raspberry Hand Pies

Recipe from Krissy’s Creations

Makes: About 12 2.5-inch Rounds

Pie Crust

• 3 cups All Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting the surface
• 18 tablespoons (2 sticks + 2 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, Cold
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 10 tablespoons Water, Very Cold
• Raspberry Filling
• 6 ounces Fresh Raspberries (1 container)
• 2 tablespoons Raspberry Preserves
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• ½ tablespoon Cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• Pinch Salt

For the Egg Wash

• 1 Egg
• 1 tablespoon Water

To make the crust, start by cutting the butter into ¼ inch squares.  Put all the butter in a small bowl and place in the freezer until needed.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and sugar; mix just to combine.  Add in the butter and beat until the butter pieces are the size of small peas and the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Some butter pieces may not break down.  If this happens, use your hands to squeeze the mixture together to break up the larger pieces.

With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add in the very cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Stop adding water when the mixture comes together and is in wet clumps.  Be sure to not add too much water – you don’t want to dough to be extremely wet.  You might not use all 5 tablespoons, or you might need to use more.

Pour out all the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Form the dough into a disc.  Flour all sides of the dough, and wrap the disc in plastic wrap.  Chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

To make the filling, place the fresh raspberries in a medium bowl.  Mash the raspberries until they release their juices and are completely mashed.  Add the raspberry preserves, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and salt.  Stir until all the ingredients are fully combined.  Set aside the filling until ready to use.

When the dough is done chilling, remove from the refrigerator, and place the disc onto a floured surface.  Dust the top of the dough with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick.  While you are rolling out the dough, be sure to check the bottom of the dough to make sure it is not sticking.  If it starts to stick, add more flour to the surface.

Using a round cutter, anywhere from 2-3 inches, cut out discs of dough and place on a baking sheet.  After you have cut as many discs as possible, place the baking sheet in the freezer to quickly chill the dough, about 5-10 minutes.  Remove the discs from the freezer and leave half of the round discs on the baking sheet.

In a small bowl, create the egg wash by whisking together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water.

Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of each disc.  Brush the egg wash on the edges of the disc, around the filling.  Grab 1 disc that is not on the baking sheet and place on top of the filling.  Using your fingers, press the edges of both discs together.  Repeat the same process with the remaining discs of dough.  When finished, brush the tops of the mini pies with the egg wash.  Using a sharp, small knife, cut a small slit in the top-center of each pie.

Place the pies in the oven and bake until they have puffed up and turn golden brown in color, about 20 minutes.  Remove the pies from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Serve as-is or re-heat in the microwave until warm.

These last about 7 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.