Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Hand Pies, the Cupcake Culture Killer
I am so tired of the cupcake culture, sure they are cute and delicious, but enough! Let's make this a new trend: hand pies. Small, cute and tasty. Even better they are just as good with a savory filling as sweet. :) Spread the word. Here are two recipes to get you started. If you'd like a hand pie recipe, ask in the comments section.


Apple Hand Pie
Ingredients
Makes 4.
• 4 apples, peeled and chopped quite small, pick a baking apple
• 2 tablespoons sugar, I add this to taste since it really depends on how tart your apples are
• Sprinkling of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• All-purpose flour, for work surface
• Pie Dough, I tend to use Pillbury crust
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil or a Silpat (a nonstick baking mat).
2. In a medium bowl, add apples, cover and microwave about a minute to soften.
3. When slightly cooled add cinnamon, sugar and cornstarch; stir to combine, set aside.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut out 4 rectangles. Transfer rectangles to baking sheet.
5. Pile as much apple as you can fit onto one-half of each rectangle. Lightly brush egg around the edge of the covered half of each rectangle. Fold remaining dough over to enclose. Gently press edges together to seal. Brush the tops of each pie with egg. Using a paring knife, slash the top of each pie. This allows steam to escape and keeps your pie crispy. Sprinkle generously with sugar.
6. Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. If parts of the crust get too brown cover with small strips of tinfoil. Transfer pies to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Be careful the filling can remain as hot as molten lava.

Savory alternate Spinach Pies
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach, cooked
• ¼ cup shredded Swiss
• ¼- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese or feta cheese
• 1 jarred roasted red pepper, chopped

1. When spinach is cool enough to handle drain and squeeze out as much moisture as you can and add Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Follow directions as above, but at the stage where you would use apple, sprinkle 1/2 the rectangle of dough with shredded Swiss cheese. The Swiss will form a moisture barrier between the spinach and dough, keeping the bottom of the pie crispy.
3. Pile on as much spinach mixture you can fit and top with chopped red pepper. Seal pie, slash top, egg wash, sprinkle with a bit more Parmesan and bake as directed above.

15 comments:

missbhavens said...

KILL THE CUPCAKE!! KILL THE CUPCAKE! KILL THE CUPCAKE DEAD!!!

BEHOLD THE RISE OF THE HANDPIE!

I think we need seed money for a handpie biz. We'll wipe the floor with all the cupcake joints.

Anonymous said...

MMmmmmm

Michele said...

I agree! I love cupcakes, but the cupcake wagon jumped the shark ages ago!!

Grace Piper said...

@missbhavens Srsly. Let's talk.

@Nathan That is the correct response sir. :)

@Mushy I know, right?!

-Grace

Melissa.Danielle said...

I love pie!

Have you ever had a pie muffin? My favorite orchard sells them at my local farmers' market.

Yum-may.

Anonymous said...

Cupcakes? Meh. I think I will be trying the hand pies soon. It reminds me of Bobby from King of the Hill, he LOVES his fruit pies.

Grace Piper said...

@Melissa.Danielle
pie muffins? Never heard of it. Please explain. :)

@Oxen Cox
haha

Anonymous said...

I am SO on board with this!

Let us go forth and create handpies.

Lynn

Twitter
@LeifheitUSA

Melissa.Danielle said...

Pie muffins are pies baked in muffin pans. They tend to be a bit more crusty. Soooo Good.

Unknown said...

I do love cupcakes. But moreso, these things remind me of McDonalds Apple Pies. ;)

ryanne said...

jay is always like 'why is everyone freaking out over cupcakes, what is the big deal?' and i honestly have never been able to give him a good answer. 'um they are little cakes, with frosting?'
handpies it is!

Unknown said...

Pies??? I only like two kinds of pies, hot and cold! I'm certainly going to try the hand pie recipe, sounds great!

Anonymous said...

Interesting Add up!
I Buy Barbeques

Jessica said...

I concur! I'm so over the cupcake and while there are some awesome ones out there, many of the more popular bake shops just seem cookie cutter and overly sweet.
I made hand pies after apple/peach picking last month. (How freaking domestic am I??) Love that you are part of the movement to bring back the beloved hand pie! Bravo!
http://www.justchowbella.com/2009/09/well-arent-you-peach-hand-pie.html

itookmyprozac said...

I actually don't like cupcakes. I'll make them for others but I don't understand what all the fuss about. I'm jumping on your handpie wagon!