Delicious, quick and easy to make, these hand pies are the perfect portable treat!  Tuck them into your picnic basket or take them along on your next road trip for the delicious taste of blueberry pie on-the-go.  

Blueberry Hand Pies

Time:  45-50 minutes     Servings: makes 8 hand pies

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups of blueberries
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
• 450gr of frozen butter puff pastry,  thawed according to package directions, but still cold
• Flour for dusting work surface
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Sugar for sprinkling

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and cornstarch.  Stir to make sure mixture is well combined and berries are evenly coated.

Frozen puff pastry is typically sold with 2 pieces of pastry to a package.  Remove 1 piece of pastry from the package and place the second piece in the fridge to keep cold.  Note that the dough should be defrosted, but still cold to the touch.  If your dough is not cold, wrap it well and return it to the fridge until it is chilled.

Dust a work surface with flour.  Working quickly, roll the first piece of pastry into a 9×13″ rectangle.  Using a 3″ round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, cut out 8 circles. Remove the extra pastry around the circles and return to the fridge for another use, or discard.  Transfer 4 of the circles onto the prepared baking sheet and heap 2-3 Tbsp of the blueberry mixture into the centre of each of the 4 circles. Using a pastry brush, brush some of the beaten egg around the edges of the pastry, going in a circle around the blueberry mounds.  The egg will act as glue to seal the pastry circles together. Pick up  up one of the remaining 4 circles of pastry, and gently stretch it out with your fingers to make it a little larger. Drape the stretched pastry circle over one of the blueberry topped pastry circles. Using your fingers, press down around the blueberry mound to enclose the blueberries and seal the two layers of pastry together.  Using the other pastry circles, repeat the stretching, draping and sealing to enclose the next three pies. Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge to keep cold.  Repeat with the second piece of puff pastry  to make 4 more pies.  Place the second set of  pies on the baking sheet and return to the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Reserve the rest of the beaten egg.

Remove the pies from the fridge. Using the tines of a fork, go around the circle of each pie, pressing down with the fork, to crimp the edges. Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, cut vent holes into the top of each pie. Brush the pies with some of the remaining beaten egg, and sprinkle each liberally with sugar.  Transfer the tray to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry has risen and is golden brown and some of the berry filling has bubbled out of the vent holes.  Allow to cool on the baking sheet.  These are best eaten the day they are made.

RECIPE NOTES

• It’s important that the pastry remains cold until it’s time to bake, so make sure the pastry is defrosted but still chilled before you start, and keep the unused portion wrapped in the fridge until ready for use.
• These are best the day they are made, but freeze well after baking if you need to make them in advance.  After the baked hand pies have cooled, freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Once frozen, wrap each pie individually, then place in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 2 months.
• Puff pastry scraps can be used to make savoury croutons for soups or stews.  Cut the leftover pastry into small pieces and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.   Brush the tops with the remaining beaten egg, then sprinkle them with cracked black pepper and salt, grated cheese or dried herbs (or a combination of seasonings, cheese and herbs!).  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes until golden, puffed and flaky.