To commemorate George Washington's Birthday, and in honor of opening week of the musical I am starring in:1776, I give you a tart cherry hand pie. After just one bite you are guaranteed to want to say God Bless America!
She's My Cherry Pie (Tart Cherry Hand Pies)
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| photo by king orchards |
Prep Time: 20 minutes
In Active Prep Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12 pies
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 ¼ Cups All Purpose Flour
¼ Cup Shortening - Cold
¾ Cup Butter – Cubed and Cold
¼ Ice Water
½ tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Egg
Turbinado Sugar for Garnish
Filling:
4 Cups of frozen tart cherries thawed and juice extracted
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Reserved Cherry Juice
½ Cup Granulated Sugar
¼ Cup Corn Starch or Tapioca
1 ½ tsp Vanilla
Zest of One Lemon
Directions:
In the bowl of your food processor or mixer put the flour, shortening, butter, salt, and sugar. Mix it together until the dough looks pebble-like. Slowly stream in the water until the dough comes together as one big ball. Take the dough out of the mixer, or food processor, and form it into a flat disc and cover with plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for an hour, or in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium size sauce pan put the cherries, lemon juice, (reserved) cherry juice, sugar, cornstarch (or tapioca), and vanilla and stir over medium-high heat. Keep stirring the mixture until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Taste. If it needs a little more acid add some of the lemon zest and more cherry juice until you reach the right balance. The filling is done when you pull your wooden spoon through the mixture and the path stays clean for a few seconds. Take the filling off the heat and let it cool.
When the filling has cooled to at least warm, and the dough is nice and cold, preheat the oven to 350 and flour a clean flat work surface. Roll out the pie dough to ¼ inch thickness and cut out circles (pint glasses are the perfect side). Take one circle, place pie filling in the center. Then put another circle on top. Put egg wash along the edges and crimp the ends with a fork. Put an X in the center of the hand pie to allow the steam to get out. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle the turbinado sugar for garnish.
Put the pies on parchment lined cookies sheets and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream.
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