Best Ginger Pear Hand Pies Recipes

PEAR-GINGER PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Sift the flour, baking powder and fine salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter and lard with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Beat the egg yolk, vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water in a liquid measuring cup with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and gently stir with a fork until just moistened. Gently gather into a ball, then shape into a disk on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edge with your fingers; set aside.
• Make the filling: Gently toss the pears with the lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger and flour in a bowl. Spread the marmalade on the bottom of the pie crust. Add the pear mixture, keeping the pears as flat as possible.
• Make the topping: Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until fine crumbs form. Scatter the topping over the filling and gently pat down.
• Bake the pie 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until the topping is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling, about 40 more minutes (cover with foil if the topping is browning too quickly). Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

BLACKBERRY-RASPBERRY HAND PIES

Steps:

• Whisk together sour cream, lemon juice, and ice water in a bowl. Mix together flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add butter and beat with a mixer on medium-low until mixture resembles coarse meal with some blueberry-size clumps remaining. Gradually beat in sour-cream mixture until just combined but still crumbly. (Squeeze a small amount of dough to see if it holds together. Beat in more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary.) Divide dough in half, gather into 2 flat rectangles, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until just firm, 45 minutes.
• Roll out each rectangle of dough into a 7-by-14-inch rectangle on a piece of floured parchment with a floured rolling pin. (Dough will be very thin.) Transfer rectangles on parchment to 2 baking sheets and refrigerate until firm, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together berries, remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Slide 1 dough rectangle, still on parchment, onto a work surface. With a long side facing you, cut dough crosswise into four 3 1/2-by-7-inch strips.
• Mound 2 tablespoons berry mixture in center of bottom half of each strip. Brush edges with egg wash and fold top half over fruit to enclose. Press firmly to seal and trim bottom edge, leaving folded top edge uncut. Cut vents in each pie and place about 2 inches apart on baking sheet lined with fresh parchment. Transfer to freezer. Repeat with remaining dough and berry mixture. Freeze hand pies until very firm, at least 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Lightly brush pies with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake, rotating sheets and switching racks halfway through, until pies are golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.