Portable Hand Pies from Gale Gand’s Lunch!
Depending on where you live you might not have to wait until July to make these portable Blueberry Ginger Hand Pies. Hand pies seem to be experiencing a renaissance and it is easy to see why. Individual portions, easy to hold, easy to pack and fun to make. If you are comfortable working with piecrust these will be simple to make. These feature a juicy fresh blueberry filling to which Gale has brilliantly added blueberry preserves; it acts as thickener and flavor booster. The crystallized ginger adds a tiny bit of chew and an unexpected hit of heat and flavor. Read our interview with Gale to get more tips and also check out her Homemade Devil Dogs.
Excerpted and adapted from Gale Gand’s Lunch!
July means blueberry picking for my family and me. We always seem to pick way more than we can eat. We freeze some for the dark days of winter and weekend blueberry pancake production, and we also love using them in these delicious handheld pies. I’ve been seeing hand pies more and more often lately, and pastry chefs love making them because you can get creative and fill them with just about anything!
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- ½ cup blueberry preserves
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Grated zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger
- ½ recipe single pie crust or store-bought pie dough for 1 crust
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- Grated zest of ½ lemon
- Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, preserves, cornstarch, lemon zest, and ginger.
- Roll the dough out to ⅛ inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut 41/2-inch round discs of pie dough. Lay the discs on the lined baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush water around the edge of a disc, and place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Fold the dough over the filling to make a half-moon shape and carefully seal the pie’s edge with your fingers, then crimp it with a fork. Repeat with the remaining dough discs and filling.
- Chill the hand pies for 15 minutes to help the edges really stick together. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let the pies cool for 20 minutes on the baking sheet.
- Stir together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice to make a glaze.
- Brush the pies with the lemon glaze and let them cool for an additional 20 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. The hand pies are best served the day you make them, but they keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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