Quick and Simple Hand Pies in a pinch for Tea Time

Sep 09, 2019

Your Mama is coming.

She expects a nice cuppa Earl Grey and a sweet treat.

But there is one problem, you don't have anything sweet on hand and you have to eek out enough Earl Grey to get her a decent cuppa.

What's a child to do?

It may not be your mama, and you might not be the child, but every one has times where company is coming and some comforting homemade food is in order.

These quick and simple hand pies are just what the mama in our story needs (or maybe its you that needs them).

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Fall is upon us and that means that the freezers and larders are stored to the brim with all of the hard work from the summer gardens. There are piles of berries frozen and pie filling made and canned in jars.

Now is the time to put those lovelies to use!

In the summer we LOVE going to the local u-pick blueberry farm. The berries are usually the size of our thumb and in clusters like grapes. We just tickle the ripe berries and they come tumbling off the plant into our metal bucket. Clink, clink... clink, clink, clink.

Plenty of berries are eaten fresh by the pint fulls but pounds upon pounds are also added to the freezer. Normally we add them to our morning smoothies along with our raw milk kefir, but today we are baking up a treat!

 

 

These blueberry hand pies are sought after by the tiniest of hands in our home, but also the Farmer loves his share as well.

These hand pies can really be made with any berry or apple or even your favorite cream pie filling. What ever it is that you have on hand or access to, or a hankering for.

Today though, those frozen blueberries are about to bring some summer freshness to our kitchen and our bellies.

 

 

This recipe calls for your favorite butter pie crust. A good quality grass fed butter like Kerry Gold is what we love to use. We gave up hydrogenated oils like Crisco a LONG time ago.

Hydrogenated oils basically shrink wrap your pancreas, who doesn't really like to be shrink wrapped when trying to function properly. If you are curious about all the dangers of hydrogenated oils like Crisco check out this article here.

Not only is a good grass fed butter better for you than hydrogenated oils, but the taste is also phenomenal! Imagine the difference of eating Crisco out of the bucket verses butter on your toast.

There you go, now you know what I'm say'n. So go get your self some buttah! And lets get baking....

 

 

Blueberry Hand Pies

Blueberry Hand Pies

Yield: 10
Author:
Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 55 Min
These hand pies can be made with any berry or apple or even your favorite cream pie filling!

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe of your favorite butter pie crust
  • 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
  • 1/4 cup water 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  1. Place all of the ingredients, EXCEPT the arrow root powder (and the butter pie crust of course), in a heavy weighted sauce pan and heat on medium low, covering with lid. Once ingredients come to a rolling boil remove the lid from the pan and cook down about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way. Making sure to stir on occasion so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
  2. Once the sauce is reduced, mix the arrowroot powder with about 1 teaspoon of water and add to the sauce. Whisk in well. If sauce is not thick enough feel free to add a bit more arrowroot and water until you reach the desired consistency. This blueberry filling should be very similar the pie filling consistency. Once the pie filling is done, remove from the stove and cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
  3. Once chilled, roll out the butter pie crust to approximately 1/4 inch thick. Using a wide mouth canning ring, push into dough just enough to mark the pie location but not cutting through the dough. Make sure rings are 4 or so inches apart to give you room for cutting the hand pies out.
  4. Place 1-2 tablespoons of pie filing in the center of each mark just made. Fold the dough over the top and then cut the hand pies out sealing the pies as you cut with the wide mouth ring. Pinch sides all the way around the hand pie to insure seal and place on a baking sheet. Cut a small cross in the top for air to escape. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.
  5. Mix the egg and a little water in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the hand pies with the egg wash. Bake at 400° F for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

These lovely little hand pies also freeze great, unbaked, then bake as usual (adding about 5 minutes to accommodate their frozen condition) and enjoy!

​Do you and your family love going blueberry picking in the summer? What is your favorite pie filling to use?

 

 

 

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