A new recipe

I've been in a baking and cooking mood this week but it's been so hot that I've not wanted to be in the kitchen for long. But today, I awoke to the birds singing and a gorgeous high of 67 degrees. Don't you just love Colorado? So, I just had to attempt a new recipe. Bourdon Handheld Peach Pies. Oh my goodness, I'm in Heaven! A Samantha tidbit for you; I love to cook with alcohol. I have a slight allergy to alcohol so I can't (nor would I really want to) down a shot of liquor. But I can savor the flavors when it's baked or cooked into something! This recipe is a bit of work though. It's a pastry dough so it's time-consuming. I was apprehensive about that because I'm not the best baker. Cooking, I'm quite good at, but not baking. But the sour cream in the dough made it heartier and less prone to toughness if overworked a bit. Feel free to substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream! I did and it came out just fine!


Peach Hand Pies

As I said before, these are time-consuming but there is a reason for all the chilling. The dough is high in butter (for flakiness) and when warm, it's very hard to handle. Follow the recipe, you won't be disappointed!

Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 14 to 24 (depending on cutter size)

For the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into
pieces
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:
2 cans of sugar free peaches (or fresh but then you'll need more sugar)
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar or Splenda substitute
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon bourbon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

One egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water (for egg wash)
Coarse sanding sugar, for decoration

1. To make the pastry, in a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. If preparing ahead of time, the dough can be stored at this point for up to one month in the freezer.

2. Divide the refrigerated dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one half of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 4 1/2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut seven circles out of the rolled dough. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting, and chilling process with the remaining half of dough. (I used a 4-inch cutter–if you can call a “cutter” the tin edge of the container that holds my smaller round cutters–and managed to get 12 from each dough half, after rerolling the scraps.)

3. Make the filling: Chop the peaches into small bits (approx. 1/2-inch dice), much smaller than you’d use for a regular-sized pie. Mix them with the flour, sugar and pinch of salt, and add the bourbon and vanilla.

4. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature until just pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons filling (use the smaller amount for a 4-inch circle) onto one half of each circle of dough. Quickly brush a little cold water around the circumference of the dough, and fold it in half so the other side comes down over the filling, creating a semicircle. Seal the hand pie, and make a decorative edge by pressing the edges of the dough together with the back of a fork. Repeat process with remaining dough. Place the hand pies back on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and return to the refrigerator to chill for another 30 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the chilled hand pies from the refrigerator, cut a small slit in each and lightly brush with the egg yolk wash. Sprinkle sanding sugar generously over the pies, and place pies in the oven to bake. Bake until the hand pies are golden brown and just slightly cracked, about 20 minutes. Remove the pies from the oven, and let stand to cool slightly before serving.