Hi Folks:

It’s March 14 once again (3-14) and what better day to celebrate your irrational self! This marks our 11^th Pi Day post, and while we’ve done a few variations to the classic idea of pie over the years, we thought that this year we’d get a little closer to the mark without crossing that line. To that end, this year’s pie recipe uses puff pastry rather than a normal pie dough (hey, why not – we did peachzza dough last year).

So here we go:

Blueberry Hand Pies*

SERVES: 8

TIME: 2 hours, plus 30 minutes cooling

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
These hand pies are portable (and made to be eaten out of hand); perfect for parties, picnics, or on the go; and can easily cross over from dessert to sweet snack (they can even be breakfast fare if you’re feeling indulgent). To make them as easy as they are versatile, we started with store-bought puff pastry and a simple precooked filling of blueberries flavored with cinnamon and lemon zest. Freezing the pastries before baking allowed the pastry enough time to crisp up without the risk of the filling overcooking or bubbling out in the oven. Even still, cutting sufficient steam vents—we found we needed three 1-inch-long slits in the tops—was key to preventing the turnovers from bursting open and leaking blueberry. Brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sugar, our turnovers were crispy and flaky on the outside and full of luscious blueberry filling.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound (3¼ cups) fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup (3½ ounces) plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
2 (9½ by 9-inch) sheets puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

BEFORE YOU BEGIN
To thaw frozen puff pastry, let it sit either in the refrigerator for 24 hours or on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cook blueberries, ½ cup sugar, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until blueberries begin to break down and release their juices, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until mixture thickens and spatula starts to leave trail when pulled through, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Whisk cornstarch and water together in bowl, then stir into blueberry mixture. Cook until mixture has thickened to jam-like consistency, about 1 minute (you should have about 1¼ cups filling). Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

3. Adjust oven rack middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Working with 1 sheet of pastry at a time, roll into 10-inch square on floured counter. Cut pastry into four 5-inch squares. Place 2 tablespoons blueberry filling in center of each square.

4. Brush edges of squares with egg wash, then fold dough over filling to form rectangle. Using fork, crimp edges of dough to seal. Transfer pies to prepared sheet and cut three 1-inch slits on top (do not cut through filling). Freeze pies until firm, about 15 minutes. (Once frozen, pies can be transferred to airtight container and stored in freezer for up to 1 month.)

5. Brush tops of pies with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until well browned, about 25 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer pies to wire rack and let cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

* We’ve had this recipe for a number of years, but we believe it came originally from the  Cook’s Illustrated website and is under their copyright. We do like to give credit where we can, but there are any number of similar recipes online. The recipe was free to access at the time we downloaded it, but if anyone objects to it being here please let us know and we’ll remove it from this post. Otherwise, we encourage you to check out their site and various magazines as they really put in a lot of effort to perfect their recipes!

So there you go. A little hand-held taste of heaven that you don’t have to share!

Wherever you are today, remember to hug the one you’re with!

Hugs,
M&M