Ginger Pear Hand Pies Food

GINGER-PEAR HAND PIES

Steps:

• Crust:Combine flour, salt, butter, and cream cheese in a food processor; pulse until pea-size clumps form.
• With machine running, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture just comes together when pressed in your hand. Divide in half; shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.
• Filling:Whisk together eggs and 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl until thick and pale yellow. Whisk in flour, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• In a shallow saucepan, heat 1 stick butter, vanilla seeds, and ginger over medium-high until butter foams and browns, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into bowl with egg mixture, discarding solids. Whisk until well combined.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears and remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, until pears are soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes. Fold pear mixture into egg mixture.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a scant 1/8 inch thick. Using a 5-inch round cutter or a paring knife, cut out 5 rounds. Repeat with remaining disk. Gently press rounds into 10 cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, making pleats around edges and gently pressing to seal. Fill each with 1/4 cup filling. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until crust and filling are golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let cool about 20 minutes. Unmold; let pies cool completely on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

PEAR AND GRUYERE HAND PIES

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pears and the thyme and cook until the pears are tender and any juice has evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate to cool completely.
• Working with 1 sheet of puff pastry at a time, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 10-by-15-inch rectangle. Trim about 1/8 inch off of each edge. Cut the dough into 6 equal squares. Transfer the squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Brush a 1-inch border of egg on each square. Divide the cheese among the 12 squares. Then divide the pear mixture among the squares. Fold the squares over into triangles and press to seal with a fork. Transfer the pies to the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Brush the tops and sides of the pies with the egg. Cut a slit in each pie to allow steam to escape. Bake the pies until deep golden brown and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly and serve warm.

PEAR-CRANBERRY-GINGER CUTIE PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the cups of a muffin pan with nonstick pan spray.
• To make the pie filling, in a large saucepan, stir the water and sugar to combine. Bring the water-sugar mixture to a boil over medium-high, and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the cranberries to the sugar mixture, and lower the heat. Simmer the cranberries for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries start to pop. Drain the cranberries and set them aside.
• Peel, core, and cut the pears into 1/2-inch cubes. 5. In a large bowl, mix together the pears, ginger, and cornstarch. Add the cranberries and stir to combine.
• To make the crust, follow the All-Butter Crust recipe and roll out the dough per the instructions.
• Cut 16 (5 1/2-inch-diameter) circles from the dough. Reroll the dough scraps to make all the circles, and avoid overhandling the dough.
• Gently but firmly press each dough circle into a muffin cup. For the crust edges, use the fold-tuck-crimp method (see page 13) for each Cutie Pie.
• Spoon the filling evenly into the Cutie Pie shells, and set aside.
• If choosing the Crumb Top option, follow the Crumb Top recipe and sprinkle it over the filling.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. To see if the crust bottom is golden, too, use a butter knife to pop a Cutie Pie out of a muffin cup. If the bottom is not brown, bake a few minutes longer. If the pie top is browning too quickly, cover with foil for the final few minutes.
• Crust options: all-butter (or vegan, gluten-Free) Shape options: Cutie Pie (or 9-inch Pie, 7-inch Deep-Dish Pie, Petit-5, Flipside, Piepop, Piejar) 24 Cutie Pies
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar, and mix well.
• Add the butter to the flour mixture, and mix gently with a pastry blender, a fork, or your hands. The goal is to lightly incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. The butter pieces should be well coated with the dry mixture and somewhat flattened.
• Gradually add the water to the flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue mixing the dough until it comes together and forms pea-sized or crouton-sized crumbs. The dough should look like coarse individual pieces, not smooth and beaten together like cookie dough.
• With your hands, gather the dough crumbs together to form 2 patties, gently molding the crumb-like mixture into a patty shape and being careful not to overhandle the dough. Wrap each patty in plastic wrap.
• Chill the dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days. The dough can also be frozen for up to 2 weeks.
• When you're ready to use the dough, let it sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes to soften it and make it workable. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each of the 2 dough patties to about a 1/4-inch thickness, lightly dusting it with flour, if needed, to prevent sticking, and making sure to roll the dough evenly.
• 1 double-crust 9-inch pie, 2 single-crust 9-inch pies, or 16 Cutie Pies, or 36 Petit-5s, 8 Piejars, 10 Flips ides, or 50 Piepops
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and mix well.
• Add the butter to the flour mixture, and mix thoroughly with a pastry blender, a fork, or your fingers until the texture is like small peas.
• Add the rolled oats, and mix to create a crumbly consistency.
• Sprinkle the crumb topping over a pie, Cutie Pies, or Petit-5s before baking.
• Makes enough crumb topping for 1 (9-inch) Pie, 16 Cutie Pies, or 36 Petit-5s

GINGERED PEAR PIE WITH GOLDEN RAISINS

Steps:

• Combine raisins and ginger in heavy small saucepan. Add enough water to just cover. Simmer over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine pears and next 6 ingredients in bowl. Stir in raisin mixture. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 1/4-inch overhang. Spoon pear mixture into pan, mounding in center.
• Roll out second crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round. Roll up on rolling pin and unroll over pie. Trim edges, leaving 3/4 -inch overhang. Fold overhang of top crust under edge of bottom crust. Pinch edges together to seal. Crimp edges to make decorative border. Gather and reroll scraps. Cut out decorative shapes. Beat egg with milk in small bowl for glaze. Brush top of pie with glaze. Make several slashes in top crust so steam can escape.
• Bake pie until crust is golden brown and juices bubble up through slashes, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.