We had no plans to make these berry hand pies. We were all in the kitchen making fried chicken cutlets. Every surface of our countertops had something: plates of flour, breadcrumbs, cutting boards, and of course plates lined with paper towels to drain the chicken once we removed it from the oil.
But you see, I had this Pâte Brisée in the fridge ready for a pie or some fruity tart. I just had to make this. I got the idea from July 2013 issue of Bon Appétit.
So after we were finished with dinner, we made these scrumptious hand pies with mixed frozen berries. To think that I almost didn’t make them because we ran out of fresh berries! Instead we used frozen mixed berries, and no one could tell the difference. These pies were so good.
Make tiny ones for the little ones and a regular size for grownups.
Enjoy!
Mixed Berry Hand Pies
Pâte Brisée
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe
Makes 1 large disk or 2 small disks (enough for one 9-inch pie, 12 hand pies or three 5-inch pies)
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Mix flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse again until mixture resembles course crumbs with some large pieces remaining, about 5 seconds.
Pour water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture begins to hold together, about 10 seconds (make sure your dough is not wet or sticky.) Form into a flattened round (for hand pies or mini pies) or 2 small flattened rounds (for a large pie). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.
This dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw before using. You can also keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
You can make this by hand. Work mixture with fingers or pastry cutter, just make sure to knead lightly on a smooth surface for just a few seconds.
Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups mixed berries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sugar
In a medium bowl stir together all ingredients.
Assemble the pies:
You’ll also need two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 375° F. Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Roll half of dough on a lightly floured surface to a 15×12-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 rectangles about 1/8 inch thick. Re-rolling scraps as needed.
Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons berry mixture (depending on the size of your berries). Brush edges with egg wash, fold dough over and press edges then seal with the tines of a fork. Repeat procedure with remaining dough. Place pies on baking sheet and lightly brush the pies with egg wash and cut a small vent in top of each pie. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and bake 25 minutes or until golden.
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.
