Blueberry Hand Pies

With exams finally over and school coming to an end today, I felt like I should spoil myself a little with the fact of all the stress from studying for exams for the past week. We have a bunch of blueberries that we bought not to long ago that needed to be used (we stocked up on blueberries when there was a sale).

I wanted to make something that would for sure make me feel happy. And what better than pie! A feel good dessert in my opinion. I didn't necessarily want to make a big pie because I knew not everyone would want to eat it (with bikini season here), so I decided to make them in little individual pies. These aren't hard to make at all, and the dough is very good. It's kind of flaky, which I like. If your not into making your own dough or don't have the time, you could always buy store bought dough. That'll be just as good. Either way, they'll turn out great. These were killer!

Recipe

For the Filling

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
Milk for brushing top


For the Dough

1 1/4 cup flour
6 tbsp. butter, cold, cut in small cubes
2 tbsp. shortening
1/8 tsp. salt
3-4 tbsp. ice water

1. For the filling, in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat cook blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. To make the dough, get a food processor or use your hand, blend flour, butter, shortening and salt until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and has some pea sized pieces of butter left in it.

3. While pulsing, add water a little at a time until dough comes together when pinched in your hand. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 1 day. Preheat oven to 375.

4. When dough is ready, roll chilled pastry out on a lightly floured surface into a 1/8 inch thick rectangle. Cut 4 1/2 inch squares or circles. Fill with about a mounded tablespoon of filling. Seal shut with your fingers . Fold edges over in a decorative shape or seal with the tines of a fork. Re-roll dough scraps to make up to eight circles or squares, allowing it to rest about 10 minutes between rolling.

5. Place hand pie on parchment lined cookie sheet. When all the pies are on the cookie sheet brush with a little milk and generously sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 20-25 minutes until golden brown, rotating cookie sheet half way through baking. Store at room temperature.