Peach and Curry Hand Pies

If you have pie dough in your freezer and fresh, ripe peaches you are set to make these easy hand pies, fit for one or more, with an elegant addition of spices. By Emily Stoffel When I was a kiddo, our neighbors had a Babcock peach tree with a limb that draped liberally into our yard and sagged heavy with juicy, white-fleshed fruit, ripe for the poaching. In summer evenings when the valley heat calmed down a beat, my mom would throw open the windows — thus inviting inward the sweetest delta breeze to ever kiss my pillowcase — and dial the oven to pie baking temps. My mom’s peach pies are of the old-fashioned variety: tall and lumpy with heaps of fruit and enveloped in two flaky crusts, the top of which is lacquered and ambered and adorned unapologetically with a little cluster of hand cut pie crust leaves and the likeness of the fruit within. Unfortunately, the baking gene skipped a generation (I enjoyed my peaches simply halved and smothered with so much cinnamon-sugar you didn’t dare breathe on the damn thing), so I present to you the cuttest peach pies you ever did see, made simply with pie dough and stuffed with stone fruit spiced just elegantly enough. I was able to get three mini (four-inch) hand pies and four minier (three-inch) hand pies from one premade pie crust — with some filling to spare — so doubling the recipe would make you more than enough pies for a party. Now your next pie adventure better be this Salted Chocolate Creme Pie. Print Description If you have pie dough in your freezer and ripe peaches you are set to make these easy hand pies, fit for one or more, with an elegant addition of spices. 2 large peaches, peeled and diced 2 T sugar (plus extra for sprinkling) 1 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp vindaloo curry powder (I always use Penzey’s) ½ tsp garam masala ½ tsp chili powder ½ tsp vanilla ¼ tsp salt prepared pie dough (about 1 premade frozen crust, defrosted, or generous ½ lb favorite dough) 1 egg, beaten Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with parchment or Silpat. Mix beaten egg with a splash of water and set aside. In a small bowl, combine peaches, sugar, spices and vanilla. Working with a floured surface and pin, roll out dough to about ?” thickness and cut to desired size for hand pies, re-rolling/cutting scraps as necessary. I was able to cut three 4″ pies (so six 4″ pieces) and four 3″ pies (eight 3″ pieces) from my dough. Transfer bottom pieces of pastry to lined baking sheet and top with a heaping tablespoon of peach mixture. Brush edges of pastry with egg wash. Lightly re-roll top pastry pieces so they’re ever so slightly larger than the bottom pastries and lay them on top, gently pressing to adhere. Crimp edges with a fork. Brush egg wash over hand pies and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Cut a few vents in pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake hand pies for 15-17 mins or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp. (Leftovers are great reheated in a toaster oven!) Enjoy! Category: Dessert, Baking Emily Stoffel Emily Stoffel (Em) is the voice behind The Pig & Quill, a food blog featuring original, (mostly) mindful & real food-based recipes — plus salty scribblings about life, love and all the miscellany that falls into that goofy little crack between the fridge and the cabinetry. When she’s not in the kitchen, you can find Em (pretending to enjoy) running, nerding out over marketing, chatting with Momma and planning elaborate vacations that sometimes work out. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Chris, and their three bicycles.

Peach and Curry Hand Pies