Blueberry Hand Pies w/ Googly Eyes
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Perfect for the Eye Doctor
Hand pies?!
I’ve seen all this talk about hand pies in my Instagram feed, and I gotta admit, I really did not understand what the fuss was all about. I remember both Pop Tarts and individual apple pies from Mickey D’s when I was a child (and I rarely ate either of them), so is everyone just waxing nostalgic for those days of childhood turnovers with what we’re now calling hand pies? And, since we’re talking about it, why just a pie for your hand? Why not make the whole damn pie and enjoy more filling in your pie hole?
I suppose that a hand pie is to a whole pie as a cupcake is to a big cake; sometimes it’s more fun or appropriate to the occasion to have an individual serving. Plus, they are super cute!
Farmers’ market bluebs
This particular occasion called for delivery of hand pies to Marc’s retina surgeon’s office. We wanted to thank the doctor and his staff for all the care and talent they gave us this past winter/spring—it was a long scary process, but they helped us through, and Marc’s eye is almost perfect again!
And why not throw in a little humor with the blueberry hand pies and add some googly eye candies? With the way mine cracked on top (I overstuffed my buttery crust cuz I like bluebs so much!), they already looked like little booberry monsters, so attaching eyes on them for an eye surgeon seemed perfectly appropriate to me! Plus, I hear the doctor and staff devoured them within minutes, so that’s a good sign this recipe is a winner!
Y’all, go grab some summer bluebs at your local farmers’ market and pie them! They truly are divine this time of year. These cute, delicious blueberry hand pies are the perfect occasion for a thank you delivery, late summer gathering outdoors, a kid’s birthday party, or really, just to have around the house for a light breakfast or dessert. (Though I seriously doubt they will last longer than a day or so…!)
Enjoy ‘dem bluebs—they are in season & beggin’ to be (hand) pied! See my recipe below.
Smooches, y’all - !
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Hand pie for your pie hole
Blueberry Hand Pies w/ Googly Eyes
makes 8 hand pies
ingredients
3 c fresh blueberries
¼ c + 2 T sugar
3 T ap flour
½ t sea salt
¼ t cardamom
zest of whole lemon
1 T lemon juice
1 egg whisked with 1 t water
raw coarse sanding sugar (optional)
2-crust pie crust (if you make your own pâte brisée, i suggest making it with an egg instead of cold water because of how much you’ll handle the dough to cut into hand pie circles.)
method
gently toss blueberries with dry ingredients, zest & lemon juice. set aside.
roll out your dough on floured surface (or on parchment) and cut into eight 5 ½-6” individual circles. if you need to reshape & reassemble dough to get all 8 circles (and you will), just rechill dough in-between roll outs. place your 8 circle rounds on 2 different parchment-lined baking pans & chill.
preheat oven to 425°.
whisk egg with 1 t water in small bowl. set aside.
pull out one pan of 4 rounds. place a large spoonful of the mixture onto each round. (it’s just shy of 2T if you don’t want them to burst. if you don’t mind some cracking & want more bluebs to pastry ratio like i do, it’s closer to 3T.) then brush the edge of half the circle with egg wash & fold over other half to seal each round into a half-moon shape. use the back of a fork to crimp and seal. if you see any slight cracks in the crescent of your dough, it’s okay to smooth those out.
brush each hand pie with egg wash and sprinkle with raw sanding sugar. with a sharp knife, cut 2 vents on top of each pie. return the finished pan to the refrigerator to rest for about 15 minutes before baking & repeat this process for the second pan of 4 rounds.
bake all eight pies together on a parchment-lined baking pan or bake in rounds of two.
bake at 425° for 10 minutes.
turn temperature down to 375° and bake for another 10-12 minutes until filling bubbles & crust is golden.
if you want your filling to set so you can really hold these pies by HAND, let the pies cool before eating!
if you want googly eyes, procure all-sugar eye candies from your favorite baking supplier & affix with sugar glue. impress your 6-year old or your eye doctor!
DEEE-LIGHTFUL!