The evening before my birthday, I was on my way home and realised I didn't have a rolling pin. I called the husband from the train and asked him what he thought I should do- get off somewhere or go try and find one in the morning. He called me back and said he was on his way to the vicarage to see about borrowing one. Well, he arrives at the vicarage and is ushered in. The vicar doesn't have one, so she gets out her big book of parishioners and starts making calls. After a couple calls, she calls the lady who lives across the street from us who luckily has one. Since a lot of effort was put into finding me a rolling pin, I knew I was going to be doing a lot of baking the next day! In addition to making the birthday pie, I also made some mini pies and a few hand pies as a "thank you" for the help. I am happy to say they all turned out delicious!
birthday pie- strawberry rhubarb
Basic Pie Crust
1 1/4 c unbleached all purpose flour
1 T sugar
1/4 t salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 4" cubes
3 T very cold water
Using stand mixer, stir flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and toss with a fork or spoon to coat, then mix on medium-low until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Butter pieces should be no bigger than a pea. Add water and mix on low until dough begins to stick together.
For a lattice topped pie or double crust, double the recipe. The dough is best worked right away. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until 1/8" thick. Before baking, brush pie gently with an egg wash.
I used this dough for the big pie and the mini pies. It was so easy since I could use the mixer! This recipe can also be put together by hand using a pastry cutter/blender in place of the mixer.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling
3 1/2 c rhubarb, sliced 1/2" thick
3 1/2 c strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1/4 cornstarch
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
Combine ingredients in bowl and toss gently to coat. Spoon into crust and bake 350-375F for 45-55 minutes.
I will be completely honest here and say while the strawberry rhubarb pie tastes good, I totally screwed up the filling! I was a little worried the rhubarb would fully cook, so I decided to steam it beforehand. I put the lid on it and completely forgot about it! When I looked it the pot, it was basically mush after 5 minutes. Luckily the cornstarch helped to thicken it and really it all tasted the same in the end. I ended up stirring the strawberries into the rhubarb mush and it turned out fine. Just no large chunks of rhubarb. The husband did take one bite and say, "tastes like Publix," which was a compliment in my book!
For the mini pies, I rolled the dough out and used a drinking glass to cut out circles which I then pressed into my muffin tin. I wasn't sure they were going to come out, but they did and in fact I think I prefer the filling to crust to ratio. I will definitely make them again!
cutting out mini pies from basic pie dough
gently pressing the dough into the tin
Since I had some leftover rhubarb mush, I made hand and mini strawberry rhubarb pies and blueberry. The blueberry pies are so good!
ready to go in the oven
Blueberry Pie Filling
3 pints fresh blueberries (I used thawed frozen and it was still delish!)
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/8 c cornstarch
1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
In small bowl, combine sugars and cornstarch. In large bowl, add blueberries and toss gently with lemon juice and zest. Sprinkle dry mixture on blueberries and stir gently to coat. Pour into pie crust.
freshly baked
Hand pies have made the internet rounds several times and are basically mini turnovers. Since you are filling the dough, it needs to be quite pliable.
next to a 50p for reference
This dough was quite a pain and I will write the recipe below the way I made it. Really, the first step is supposed to be the freezer which I did and it just didn't work. The butter was too hard and almost broke my pastry cutter/blender. After some time to cool in the fridge, it was finally workable. Also, this dough needs to be made ahead of time since it's a lot of in and out of the fridge. Saying that, the end result is so worth it! It is tender, flaky deliciousness!
Hand Pie Dough
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c sour cream
4 t fresh lemon juice
1/2 c ice water
In a bowl combine flour and salt. Put butter pieces in another bowl. Place both bowls in the fridge for at least an hour. Remove bowls and make a well in the flour mixture. Add the butter and cut into the flour using a pastry cutter/blender until it resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In another bowl, whisk together sour cream, lemon juice and water, then add half of the liquid mix to the well. With your fingers, mix together until lumps form. Remove large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour. Pat all the lumps into a ball being careful not to overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Divide dough in half and roll out on lightly floured surface until the dough is 1/8" thick. Using a round cutter, cut out circles and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate circles for 30 minutes.
Remove circles and allow to sit 2-3 minutes. Spoon filling onto each circle and seal the edges with a little water. Use the tines of a fork to press the edges together while creating a decorative border. Refrigerate filled pies for another 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375F. Remove the chilled hand pies from fridge and cut a small slit in each. Lightly brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until pies are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
Oh and this is what part of my kitchen looked like while baking- you'll note the post-it's on the cabinets. Those are my recipes. I find it easy to pop them up there and that way they are at eye level as I'm baking.
