Strawberry Hand Pies

These Strawberry Hand Pies are flaky, sweet, juicy and baked to perfection. These were so yummy that I actually wanted to sell them at a bakery and wanted everyone to taste it. #Justathought 😛

Hello all you lovely readers,

Did you enjoy the series of post for valentines special on the blog? Well I got a lot of feedback where in CDBS readers shared the pictures of all that they made. The Vanilla Shortbread Strawberry Trifle with Fresh Strawberry Sauce was a huge hit. That was one of my favorites too. Well I will be sharing all the feedback by the end of the month. I was supposed to do it for January too but it somehow didn’t work. But I promise from this month onwards the CDBS Monthly Highlight page will definitely be up.

P.S- If you too want to be featured on the blog, do share your pictures and experience of cooking from CDBS. I would love to share it with the world. ❤

This month has been extremely special. Yes, a lot of amazing posts and feedback is one reason but the most amazing thing that happened a few days ago is Chef Kunal Kapur liked a few pictures of CDBS on Instagram. So did Farah Khan Ali ( Jewelry Designer). I was really taken aback by this. It was such a wonderful feeling. For more updates on that you have to follow me on INSTAGRAM: @COOKINGDIARYBYSHRUTI.

Coming back to this recipe, its my ultimate favorite. Strawberries are there in the market for a last few weeks and I am trying to make the most of it. Honestly, it was a strawberry custard creme tart which was in my head. But then I had made a similar version with mangoes last year. (Click Here for the recipe of Mango Tarts). My mom was really craving them. Since she is out of town, I didn’t want to bake it.

P.S- You will see them on the blog soon 🙂

A bite sized pie has always been in my head. Its easier to serve and because it is bite sized you can really cut onto the portions. (Although this has never been on my mind)

I know most of you find it really difficult to try a pie or a tart because of a simple thought i.e if it will come out the way it should. You can read my post of Mango Custard Creme Tarts for a detailed post on how to make it. The important thing to know while making a pie is that your crust should be perfect. It should be flaky and fudgy. You don’t want the crust to be either too crisp or too soft. It just has to be perfect. There is no other way.

P.S- There are a few simple rules you need to follow while making a pie to bake it to perfection.

These strawberry hand pies are really easy to put together if you make a perfect pie dough. Once the dough is ready you are sorted to make these. I have mentioned some common mistakes that you could possibly make while making Pies. If you avoid these, you can bake them easily.

Some Common Mistakes that you can avoid while making Pies are:

1. Not Chilling the Pie dough:

I did this mistake for the first time when I made a pie. My pie was hard as a rock. Nothing beats a tender and flaky pie crust. And the key to make a perfect pie crust is chilling the dough for atleast 30 mins. If you are wondering why is this important is because it lets the butter to solidify again and lets the gluten relax and deactivate. If you don’t follow this crucial step your pie crust is most likely to shrink while baking.

2. Not using Chilled Butter:

Baking is really about the rules. We tend to avoid things like this when mentioned in the recipe. It seems less important. But you need to keep every step in mind while baking. Using a chilled butter is really important while kneading the dough. This helps to deactivate the gluten that can be formed while kneading. If you use a warm butter it will activate the gluten in the dough.

3. Over Kneading the Dough:

Whenever you make a pie crust, just combine the dough softly with your hands. It need not be perfect. It will be crumbly. Over Kneading the dough will never give you a flaky crust. Just combine the dough together and refrigerate it.

4. Throwing the pie right into the oven before baking:

Another really common mistake. You need to chill your pie for atleast 15 to 20 mins before you put it for baking. This is because while you are working with the dough the temperature of the dough rises again because of the warmth of your hands. You have to chill it again once you have filled it with your filling so that the gluten is deactivated.

5. Serve it while its hot

I know its really difficult to stop yourself once it is out of the oven…But a hot pie directly from the oven is a really bad idea. You need to cool it for atleast 1 hour before serving so that it sets naturally. Allow it to cool down.

You can make these hand pies in any flavor you like. Right from apples to raspberries to blueberries. You can fill in anything you want. I have caramelized the strawberries with some sugar to avoid the sourness in them.

Lets begin with the recipe.

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY HAND PIES

Makes- 7 to 8 pies

Preparation Time- 1 hour( includes dough chilling time)

Baking Time- 20 mins

INGREDIENTS:

For the pie crust:

• All purpose flour- 120 gms
• Chilled Unsalted Butter- 60 gms (cut in cubes)
• Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
• Baking Powder- 1/4th tsp
• Sugar- 2 to 3 tbsp
• Salt- 1/4th tsp (if you are using salted butter you can skip this)
• Chilled Water- 2 to 3 tbsp

For the strawberry filling:

• Finely chopped strawberries- 1 cup
• Castor Sugar- 4 tbsp
• Lemon Juice- 1/2 tsp
• Lemon Zest- 1/2 tsp

PROCESS:

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients of the strawberry filling and keep aside in the refrigerator for cooling.

In a clean work surface, take the all purpose flour and add the chilled butter in cubes. Use a fork to break down the butter until the flour become crumbly.

Now add sugar, salt and baking powder. Make sure you work with really light hands.

Mix the vanilla extract and water together. Now drizzle 1 tsp of the mix at a time to combine a dough.

Do not add excess water. Just add enough to combine the dough. The dough will be crumbly. Form a ball, cover it with a cling wrap and let it chill for atleast 30 mins.

Once the dough is chilled…roll it out roughly till it is 1/2 inch thick, and cut out small circles of it as shown in the pic below.

Now fill in the filling, cover it with another circle, and close the ends with the help of the fork. Also punch the fork a few times on top so that there is space for some air and the pie doesn’t burst.

Once these are ready, chill it again in the fridge for about 20 mins before baking.

Bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins at 180 degrees.

Let it cool and enjoy.

For any queries and collaborations contact me at : cookingdiarybyshruti@gmail.com

You can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for more regular updates.

If you cook or bake anything from Cooking Diary By Shruti…Please Share the Pictures on Instagram or Facebook and Tag @cookingdiarybyshruti. I would love to see them. Also I would feature it on my blog.