Strawberry-Almond Hand Pies

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Mixing graham cracker crumbs into the pie dough gives these bite-size treats the sweet flavor that would come from a crumb crust with the flaky goodness of a traditional piecrust.

Strawberry-Almond Hand Pies
 
Makes 14
Ingredients
  • 8 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 egg white
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • ¾ cup almond meal
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1½ cups thinly sliced strawberries
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • Graham Cracker Pie Dough (recipe follows)
  • Garnish: confectioners’ sugar
Graham Cracker Pie Dough
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • ¾ cup cold water
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Spray 2 (7-well) cast-iron mini cake pans with baking spray with flour.
  2. In a medium bowl, beat 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, butter, egg, egg white, and extract with a mixer at medium-low speed until smooth. Add almond meal and flour, beating until combined.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; stir in strawberries and lime juice until well combined.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll Graham Cracker Pie Dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using a 4½-inch round cutter, cut dough into 14 rounds, rerolling scraps as necessary. Transfer dough rounds to wells of prepared pans, pressing into bottoms and up sides. Spoon about 1½ tablespoons almond mixture in center of each well. Top almond mixture with strawberry mixture.
  5. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is slightly puffed and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Graham Cracker Pie Dough
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cracker crumbs, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pea-size pieces remain.
  2. In a small bowl, combine ¾ cup cold water and vinegar. Stir ½ cup vinegar mixture into flour mixture with a fork. Stir in remaining vinegar mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, until a shaggy dough forms and holds together when pinched. (Some dry spots will remain.)
  3. Turn out dough onto a clean work surface, and knead 3 to 4 times until dough forms a loose ball. Shape into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. If refrigerating for more than 1 hour, let dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.
Notes
KITCHEN TIP-If you don’t have two cast-iron mini cake pans, you can bake the pies in batches of 7 at a time in one pan. Cut the dough in half before rolling out, and refrigerate one portion while rolling out the other portion.