Jam Hand Pies

Hand pies are for crust lovers. If you enjoy the flaky, buttery crust of a pie more than the filling, then hand pies are for you.

They're also conveniently portable. Have you tried lugging a pie dish on public transportation, dodging people on the sidewalk so you can bring a pie to work to share with co-workers? It's not fun. Hand pies can easily fit into a container and thrown into a bag without worrying about spillage.

And if you're into the cute factor, they're tiny and bite-sized.

It does take a bit more work than a regular pie but they are worth it, I think. Unless you're a pie filling lover.

I made this peach jam last summer and it's crazy delicious. I've tried many peach jam/preserve recipes over the years and none of them captured the taste of peaches at their peak. I have finally found my peach jam holy grail and used it as my hand pie filling.

Jam Hand Pies
From Joy the Baker

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold buttermilk
1 jar of jam
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
Granulated sugar, for topping

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture. Some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes; some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring the dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help re-chill the butter and distribute the moisture.

On a well-floured surface, roll one of the disks out to a 1/8"-thickness. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut about 10 to 12 circles out of the rolled crust. Place the circles on a plate and place in the refrigerator while you roll out and cut circles from of the second pie crust disk.

You can re-roll the scraps of pie crust if you'd like. The more you work the crust the tougher it will become, but that's okay for about two re-rolls.

Place a rack in the centre and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

To fill the pies, remove the rounds from the refrigerator and working a few at a time, place about 1 teaspoon of jam into the centre of each circle. Lightly brush the edge of one side of the crust with egg wash. Fold the crust over. Press gently to seal the jam inside the crust, and use the tines of a fork to press the edges together, sealing well.

Use a small knife to cut a few vent slits in the top of each semi-circle. Place on the prepared baking sheets about 1-inch apart.

Repeat with all of the crust circles. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if your dough has warmed substantially. At this stage you can also freeze the pies on the baking sheet until frozen through, about 2 hours. Once frozen through place in an airtight bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. Pies can be egg washed and baked from the freezer by adding about 7 minutes to the baking time.

Brush the tops of the pies lightly with egg was and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Remove from the oven. Place on a wire baking sheet to cool completely.