Category Archives: Pastries

Berry Hand Pie

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hand-pieA good hand pie is one of my favorite treats. They are quick, easy to make and versatile. I prefer berry hand pies, but you can also make savory, meat, veggie, almost any kind you can imagine. Most of all they are delicious and if you make them small enough, you don’t have to share.

In 2025 I started making my own rough puff pastry using Sally’s recipe. It’s easy to make and way better than any commercial brand.

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but cool.
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or decorating sugar
  • ½ cup white chocolate chips
  • 6 ounces berries (and berry but I prefer raspberry and bluegerre
  • 3 tablespoons coarse white sugar or decorating sugar

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
  2. Stir the cream cheese and granulated sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the white chocolate chips.
  3. Cut large berries in half.
  4. Sprinkle the flour on the work surface.  Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Using a round cutter, cut into 24 (2½ -inch) circles.
  5. Brush the edges of 12 pastry circles with the egg mixture.  Place about ½ tablespoon cream cheese mixture in the center of each.  Top each with about one small or two halves of a large berry.  Place the remaining pastry circles over the filling.  Press the edges firmly to seal.  Crimp the edges with a fork. If you don’t seal them adequately the filling will leak out of the sides of the finished pastry.
  6. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.  Using a sharp knife cut small slits in the tops of the filled pastries.  Place the pastries onto a silicone or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.
  8. Eat. They are small. Eat again.

Pate a Choux #1

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Rising from the depths of a cold caught in Seattle a week ago, I decided to try my luck at baking pate a choux, the basis for pastries such as creme puffs or eclairs. I found several recipes and decided on one from The Kitchn (thekitchn.com). I made small profiteroles with pastry cream (recipe also from The Kitchn) instead of ice cream. My execution of this recipe produced a nice flaky, although not fully risen pastries which were easily filled with pastry cream and dipped in a hardening ganache. The mini eclairs I piped on the same sheet did not rise at all and were discarded.First Pate a Choux 2

I tried a second recipe which used one baking temperature for baking, finishing and drying. These did not rise nearly as well as The Kitchn recipe.

While the shape was less than ideal, the flavor was excellent. Trying again next weekend. The shape as to be the result of having too much or too little water in the batter prior to baking. The water turns to steam which “inflates” the dough.