Texas Hand Pies Recipes

HAND PIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, and cold butter pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer and blend on low until mixture resembles coarse sand.
• Add in your egg and just enough water to bring the mixture together
• Press into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
• Prepare your fresh fruit by chopping into small cubes (if needed) or use frozen fruit. No need to defrost.
• Place your fruit and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter is melted and bubbling.
• Add in your water (or juice), sugar, lemon juice, and salt and mix until combined. Bring to a simmer.
• Combine your ClearGel with your water and whisk to make a slurry. Pour into your simmering mixture and mix for 1-2 minutes to cook the gel. If you're using cornstarch, you only need to cook until it's clear.
• Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Preheat your oven to 400ºF and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper
• Let your dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to let it soften a bit
• Dust your surface with flour. Begin by pressing your dough with your rolling pin to start flattening it.
• Roll your dough out to 1/8 thick or about the thickness of a cake board. Thinner than you think. Thinner dough results in a crisper, crunchier crust for your hand pies.
• Cut your dough into 6" circles. I used a 6" cake board as a template or you can use a 5" circle cutter if you want smaller hand pies.
• Fill your 6" hand pie with 3 tablespoons of fruit filling (5" circles take 1 heaping Tablespoon). Do not overfill.
• Brush the outside edge with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of cold water)
• Fold the hand pie over and crimp with a fork to seal well
• Use a knife or fork to make some vents on top
• Brush the hand pies with more egg wash and place them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Chill for 20 minutes.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. They should be golden brown and the filling will just be starting to bubble.
• Let your hand pies cool for 10 minutes.
• While your hand pies are cooling, make your glaze. Just whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth.
• Use a pastry brush to brush the thin glaze over the hand pies and enjoy!
• These hand pies taste best the day they are baked but will last for three days in an airtight container in the fridge or frozen for up to 2 months.

TEXAS PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Pour pie filling into 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with pineapple. Do not stir. Sprinkle cake mix over pineapple. Sprinkle coconut over cake mix. Sprinkle nuts over coconut and pour melted margarine over all.
• Bake 40 minutes, until top is golden brown.

TEXAS HAND PIES

Steps:

• Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the food processor bowl. Pulse a time or two to blend. Add the vanilla, sour cream and milk. Pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter, shortening and sugar and egg, and process until the mixture is thoroughly blended and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
• Divide the mixture into 12 equal portion and form into balls.
• Refrigerate for about an hour until they're well chilled.
• Preheat oven to 375, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Flour the work surface and rolling pin. Place a ball of chilled dough on the floured surface. Roll each ball of chilled dough into a 5" diameter circle, using additional flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
• Spread 1 1/2 tbsp filling on one half of the circle, leaving a 1/2" uncovered space around the edge of the dough. Moisten the 1/2" space all around the edge of the dough with water.
• Fold the circle of dough in half, over the filling, and crimp the edges with a fork. Prick the pies a few time with the fork tines, to allow the steam to escape while they're baking.
• Place the pies on the parchment on the baking sheet, and bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, or until they're light brown.
• Place the pies on a cooling rack until room temperature. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before serving.

DRIED AND FRIED FRUIT PIES

Steps:

• In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the apricots with the water. Simmer over low heat until the fruit is plump and soft and most of the water has been absorbed, about 25 minutes. Add more water if needed.
• Drain the apricots and chop them. Mix the apricots in a small bowl with the jam or preserves, and the nuts or bread crumbs. Refrigerate the filling, if you wish, for as long as 24 hours.
• Roll the pie dough out 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut it into rounds with the top of a coffee can or with a large round biscuit or cookie cutter. Spread equal portions of filling on each round, moisten the dough edges lightly, and fold the rounds over into half moon shapes. Crimp the edges with a fork.
• In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat at least 4 inches of shortening to 350°F Fry the pies in batches, turning them over midway through the cooking, after they rise to the surface. Remove them when they are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Drain them, and sprinkle them with sugar. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before eating. Makes 8 pies.
• Variations: The pies can be baked rather than fried. Place them on a greased baking sheet, brush them with a little beaten egg (1 egg is enough for this batch of pies), sprinkle them with sugar, and bake them at 375°F for about 20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.
• Experiment with other dried fruit or jam fillings. Try dried peaches simmered in peach nectar with a touch of jalapeno jam, or dried apples with cider, a splash of applejack, and cinnamon.
• FOR THE PIE CRUST: Using a food processor, a bowl with a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the lard, butter and vegetable shortening into the flour and salt. Whatever method you choose, be careful not to overwork the dough, which would reduce flakiness. Add the water a few tablespoons at a time, until the dough just holds together. Divide the dough into two mounds, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate them at least 30 minutes (or wrap one mound for the freezer, if you don't plan to use it in the next couple of days).
• If the pie crust is to be baked, preheat the oven to 400°F
• On a floured board or pastry cloth, roll out the dough in a circle a couple of inches larger than the pie pan. To avoid stretching the dough excessively, roll it from the center outwards, lifting the rolling pin after each stroke rather than rolling back over the dough in the opposite direction. Loosen the dough, drape it around the rolling pin, and center the crust over the pan, dropping it gently into place.
• If you're making a one crust pie, crimp the edges decoratively. If your pie is to have two crusts, roll out the second mound of dough, too.
• For a single pre-baked crust, prick the dough in several spots. Cover the pie shell with foil, and weight the foil with dried beans or pie weights. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or follow the directions in your pie recipe.
• One cowboy commented that a chuck wagon cook "is a sort of human that was kicked in the head by a brindle cow or a cross-grained mule when very young...They're temperamental as wimmin too; an' like the bosses, don't need no sleep neither." -Quoted in Ramon Adams, Come and Get It.
• Texas Home Cooking.

TEXAS PIE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in chicken, chilies and mushrooms. In a small bowl, combine soup, sour cream and hot pepper sauce; add to pan. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese in the bottom of pie shell; add chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted.

FRUIT-FILLED HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix together fruit, sugar, orange zest and juice, salt, and cornstarch; mix until well combined. Set fruit mixture aside.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough to a 16-by-11-inch rectangle. Trim to 15-by-10 inches. Cut into six 5-inch squares. With a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. Working with one square at a time, place 2 tablespoons of reserved fruit mixture in the center. Brush two connecting edges with beaten egg and fold on the diagonal over the filling, pressing to seal. Repeat process with remaining squares.
• Repeat entire process with remaining pate brisee. Place hand pies on prepared baking sheet. Brush pies with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Using a pair of clean scissors, snip the center of one side of each hand pie to allow steam to escape.
• Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until crusts are golden brown and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve warm.