Cranberry Hand Pies Recipes

CRANBERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• For dough:
• Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal (no big pieces of butter should remain). With motor running, slowly drizzle 1/2 cup ice water through feed tube. Pulse until dough just begins to come together.
• Divide dough in half. Form each half into a ball; flatten into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic. Chill for at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out.
• For filling and assembly:
• Combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest and juice, and tapioca in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Let stand for juices to accumulate, about 10 minutes, then cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer and begins to thicken, 5-6 minutes. (Some cranberries will have burst.) Let cool completely. DO AHEAD: Cranberry filling can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until very thin, about 1/16" thick. Using cookie cutter, cut out 16 circles.
• Brush edges of 8 circles with beaten egg. Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling in center of each egg-washed circle. Top with remaining circles to form 8 pies. Using a fork, crimp 1/4" around edges to seal. If desired, use cookie cutter to clean edges. Repeat with remaining dough, egg, and filling.
• Divide pies between prepared sheets; chill for 45 minutes. DO AHEAD: Pies can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; keep chilled.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Working with 1 baking sheet of pies at a time, score dough, forming a small X in the center of each pie. Brush tops of pies with beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
• Bake pies until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles out of Xs, 17-20 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining baking sheet of pies.

CRANBERRY-QUINCE HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to brown. Add the quinces and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Add the cranberries, granulated sugar and 1/4 cup water, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is syrupy, the quinces are tender and the cranberries start to burst (or you can pop them), 4 to 5 minutes more. Stir in the salt. Transfer the mixture to a metal bowl and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
• Dice the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into bits and fold it into the fruit. Cut the pie crusts into twelve 4-inch rounds. (You'll have to reroll the scraps from each crust to get enough.)
• Fill a small bowl with water. Brush the edge of one of the pastry rounds with water. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon (about 1 1/4 ounces) filling into the center. Fold the dough over the filling, seal by pressing the edges with a fork and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, leaving a few inches between the pies. Brush the tops with a little water and sprinkle with some of the raw sugar. Use a paring knife to cut two little vents in the tops of the pies.
• Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 24 minutes, rotating the pan after 12 minutes. Place the pan on a rack and let the pies cool for 5 minutes before serving. They can also be served at room temperature.

STRAWBERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract in a bowl; set aside and let the strawberries macerate.
• Lay the 2 pie crusts on a large floured work surface. Roll the crusts out to about 12 inches, and using a knife or pizza cutter, cut 4 sides of the circles to form 2 squares. Cut each square into three equal rectangles so you have a total of 6 rectangles. Using a slotted spoon, place 2 tablespoons of the strawberry mixture on one half of the long ends of the rectangle, but don't spread all the way to the edge.
• Brush beaten egg around the sides of the strips, and then fold the dry end over the strawberry mixture end. Using a fork, gently press the edges together to seal really well, and cut a couple slits in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape.
• Brush the tops of the hand pies with the remaining egg and set hand pies onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove the pies to a wire rack to cool and dust with confectioners' sugar, if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.