Patriot Pies And Chocolate Hand Pies

Patriot Pies

Ingredients:

2½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

½ cup sour cream

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

½ cup ice water

1 can cherry pie filling

One egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Turbinado sugar

To make the dough for pies:

Take Note**Before we begin the #1 tip I have when making hand pie dough is COLD! That means cold dough makes for a flakey delicious crust. So heed my instructions on chilling!

Place a bowl or the bowl of the food processor in the freezer and chill. Remove from freezer and place food processor on machine. Using the cutting blade, add in flour, salt, and butter cubes. Pulsing till small beads are formed. Do not over do it! Change blades to dough blade. In a small bowl combine the water, lemon juice and sour cream. Whisk together. Slowly pulse in liquid. Continue till a ball is formed. Remove from the food processor and place in refrigerator. Allow to chill at least an hour. (this is also perfect to do the day before!)

Remove from refrigerator. On a well floured surface roll out crust to 1/8 inch thick. To cut out the round shape, I use the lid to the sour cream container. About 4-5 inches. Place circles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to blast chill.

Remove circles from freezer. Place 2 tablespoons of cherry pie filling on center of circle. Using your finger run water around the edge. Fold over and press together. Using a fork seal the edges. Place a small slit in the top. Return to freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove pies from freezer and brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake till pies are golden brown. The thicker the crust the longer the cooking process, 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool and serve!


Chocolate Hand Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups half-and-half

8 ounces Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon vanilla paste


Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine half-and-half, chocolate, sugar and cornstarch. Cook on medium heat, constantly whisking, until bubbly. Keep mixing for one more minute until thickened. Remove immediately from the heat and incorporate the butter and vanilla. Let cool. Cover with plastic wrap, placing it onto the surface of the pudding (to avoid air pockets that fill with moisture). Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.