BLUEBERRY HAND PIES - OTHER FRUITS WELCOME!

 
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Our ABC July project was exactly what I needed to welcome summer after a rain drenched June: Blueberry Hand Pies, a recipe from King Arthur Flour. These cute portion-sized pies combine two major food groups: buttery pastry and fruit!

Since our wonderful native Maine blueberries were not ripe yet, and frozen wild blueberries are not quite as flavorful, I combined them with rhubarb from the garden (as "honorary" berry), and threw some fresh raspberries in the mix. (When I made them a second time, I used sour cherries from our garden).

The amount of sugar in the filling was sufficient to balance my tarter fruits, so I didn't add any more sugar. But first I omitted the lemon juice, until I tasted the cooked fruit. It could definitely do with a little more tang, so the lemon juice went back in.

The food processor makes mixing a cinch

For the dough I used the food processor, which made short work of cutting the butter to the desired pea sized pieces. Adding the sour cream I had King Arthur's cautioning in mind: the dough will not be cohesive.

Emptying the bowl on the counter I found this quite the understatement - not cohesive? Without the slightest feelings of solidarity, the crumbles did their best to avoid contact with their comrades, rolling madly around and trying to escape to the floor.

No worries about the crumbles: the dough will eventually cooperate!

Here my soda bread making experience came handy, I told myself not to get nervous, and managed, with a little bit of milk to moisten my hands, (and without brutal force!) to coax the rebellious crumbles into a rough semblance of a dough.

A piece of plastic foil helps here, too, you can press on the crumbs without them sticking to your hands (or, later, to the rolling pin).

For my second batch I added a bit of vodka to the dough (America's Test Kitchen's advice in mind), to make it a little moister without the danger of gluten-development, as with water. (Don't worry, you won't taste the alcohol.)

The turns - rolling and folding the dough - were less difficult than I expected. Even though the dough was brittle and got some cracks in the process.

Since it was a really warm day, and the dough started to stick a bit, I put it after the first turn for a few minutes in the freezer, to firm up again, and, also, gave it an overnight rest in the fridge before shaping and baking it the next day.

Ready to spend the night in the fridge

The little cut out stars from the vents made nice little cookies. We liked the crunch and taste of raw sugar as topping better than sparkling sugar that added nothing to the flavor.

Looking at those cute little pies we knew: they had to be great. They didn't earn their 5-star reviews for nothing - the were absolutely delicious!! Definitely something I will make again!

They taste as good as they look - definitely a keeper (here with sour cherries)

SUMMER BERRY HAND PIES   ( adapted from King Arthur Flour)
(8 Pies)

DOUGH
216 g all-purpose flour
25 g whole grain flour (I like Einkorn)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
227 g unsalted butter, cold (2 sticks), cubed
113 g sour cream
1-2 tbsp vodka (helps moistening, but, unlike water, without gluten-development - no worries, you won't taste it!)

FILLING
227 g blueberries (or other berries, sour cherries or rhubarb, or mixed, fresh or frozen)
50 g sugar (or more, to taste)
1 tbsp. Instant ClearJel (or 2 tsp. cornstarch)
2 tsp. lemon juice

TOPPING
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
raw sugar, for sprinkling

Process the dough to a coarse, crumbly mixture with large, pea-sized butter pieces

DAY 1
Using a food processor, add flour, salt and baking powder to bowl, and pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse, until mixture is crumbly, but leave most of the butter in large, pea-sized pieces.

Or whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl, add butter, and work with hands or pastry cutter.

The sour cream hardly seems enough to moisten the dough (but it does!)

Transfer dough to a bowl, and, using plastic spatula, fold in sour cream, and vodka (dough won't be cohesive.)

Plastic foil helps with kneading and out rolling the dough

Turn it out onto a floured work surface, and bring it together, with a few quick pushes and kneads (moisten hands with milk, or cover dough with a piece of plastic foil and use it to push without sticking). DON'T GET NERVOUS, ALL WILL BE OKAY!

Pat dough into a rough log, and roll it into an 8" x 10" rectangle (plastic foil on top prevents sticking). EVEN IF IT'S BRITTLE AND CRACKS, YOU ARE DOING JUST FINE!

Folding the dough the first time - you can see the butter pieces

Dust both sides of the dough lightly with flour, and, starting with a shorter end, fold it in thirds like a business letter. (If the dough gets too soft, and starts to stick, freeze it for 15 minutes to firm up again.) Use a bench knife to loosen it, if it sticks.

Trim dough to make straight edges, and place cut pieces on top

After the second turn the dough looks a bit smoother

Flip dough over, turn 90°, (re-flour, if necessary) and roll it again into an 8" x 10" rectangle. Trim sides with bench knife, placing cut off pieces on top of dough, and fold it in thirds again.

After two turns you have a neat dough package

Wrap package with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight. Or, if you prefer to bake the same day, chill dough for at least 30 minutes (better longer) before using.

DAY 2
Combine all filling ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. (Adjust with more sugar or lemon to taste.) Transfer cooked berries to a bowl, and let cool to room temperature. (Use ice water bath, if you need it to cool faster).

Preheat oven to 425°F, placing a rack on the middle shelf. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

A pizza cutter works just fine for dividing the dough

Roll the dough into a 14" x 14" square. Trim edges with bench knife. With a pastry wheel, or a 3 1/2" square cutter, cut out sixteen 3 1/2" squares.

Divide filling among 8 of the squares, using about a heaping tablespoon for each. Brush some of the beaten egg along edges of each filled square.

The filling looks almost too much, but it doesn't squeeze out

Cut a vent into each of the remaining eight squares, using a decorative cutter of your choice. (Place cut out pieces on baking sheet, they are great as cookies.).

Top each filled square with a vented square, place pieces on baking sheet, and press along edges with the tines of a fork to seal.

Hand Pies (and star cookies) ready for baking

Brush pie tops (and cut out cookies) with remaining beaten egg, and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake pies for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving (theoretically, we ate them, with ice cream, while hot).

 Sour Cherry Hand Pie - my delicious 2016 version!

To make ahead: Place unbaked pies on the baking sheet in the freezer. When they are frozen, wrap them individually in plastic foil and put them in a freezer bag. You don't have to thaw them, you can bake them frozen (without foil) - it will take a little longer.

Would you like to join the Avid Bakers? New members are always welcome!

Post was updated August 2016.

CLASSIC FRUIT TART

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A light, fruity dessert seems rather enticing, when temperatures reach almost 90 degrees.

The blueberries, raspberries and blackberries in our garden are still green - (and the poor little strawberries get "slugged" before they are ripe), but the supermarket has now berries in good quality - not that watery stuff from California.

Therefore, Hanaâ's Avid Bakers' Challenge for July couldn't have come at a better time - the Classic Fruit Tart from "The Weekend Baker".

Not ripe yet - blueberries in our garden

Abigail Dodge wrote this book for people who don't like spending hours in the kitchen, when smart do-ahead steps are possible, and the refrigerator is your friend.

Usually I follow Abby's make-ahead suggestions, but my oven was still hot from my Saturday bread baking, and I had invited a neighbor for tea.

And, really, what could be nicer than a toasty kitchen, heated from baking pitas at 550º F - when outside temperatures almost reach the 90 degree mark? (My husband only rolled his eyes...)

I made the dough, substituting a quarter of the all-purpose flour with spelt. Being a bit in a hurry, I chilled my finished dough disk only for 30 minutes, the minimum given time.

After preparing the pastry cream I rolled out the dough on a silicone mat. Soon I realized the impossibility of achieving the desired 14"-round, the dough started tearing, and there was no way to roll it around the pin without total disintegration.

Cooling the dough was not an option - my nice, practical King Arthur silicone mat was too large for the fridge. Its size made it also too difficult to flip it over the tart pan. Sweating and desperate, I searched my kitchen for anything that could help me get the dough in the right place.

Fortunately I found a metal cake platter that I could press on the dough, then flipping it over the tart pan. But not without mishap, the sharp fluted edge of the pan cut right through the dough, and the whole pain of rolling out the round to that size had been in vain - "for the cat", as the Germans say.

Skippy couldn't care less!

 Using the cut off dough pieces I pinched together a half-ways even rim, and put the tart in the oven. When I took it out, I saw with great displeasure that, in spite of all my gentle handling, the dough had opened up some ugly cracks in the bottom.

But pastry cream covers all baking sins with a layer of pure innocence, and fresh blackberries and raspberries gave the tart a pretty, cheerful look.

And the reward for all that effort? The tart was absolutely delicious, and everybody had a second helping!

Afterwards I looked through basic tart recipes (from William-Sonoma, "Fine Cooking" and "Cook's Illustrated") to see whether there were some helpful hints. Obviously a cooling time of just 30 minutes for the dough was not enough, it should have been 1 hour instead.

Rolling out the dough to a 14"-round for a 9"-inch pan seems rather unnecessary, 2 inches larger than the pan should have done it.

And in William-Sonoma's "Pie & Tart" I even found my own scribbled note: "Roll out the dough on a thin plastic cutting board, and flip it over the pan".  That's exactly what I will do the next time. Or just press into the pan with my fingers!

RED BERRY DESSERT - ROTE GRÜTZE

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Hot summer days and ripening berries are a sure sign of "Rote Grütze" coming up on my culinary horizon. Rote Grütze (literally translated "red gruel"- sounds awful, I know!) is a fruity, refreshingly tangy dessert, made of at least two (but better more) kinds of red berries. One should be tart, like raspberries, sour cherries, or red or black currants. The others can be strawberries, sweet cherries, blueberries, blackberries - the last two I consider honorary red berries.

Rote Grütze is a traditional dessert of Northern Germany and Denmark (where it's called Røde Grøde). In summer you'll find it on the menu of many restaurants, and every housewife in Hamburg or Esbjerg will serve it to her family, surrounded by whipped or liquid cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.

Originally a Northern specialty, Rote Grütze became so popular that it slowly made its way further down to the South. Even conservative Bavarians - who usually poo-poo everything beyond the "weisswurst equator" - don't seem to shun this "Prussian" intruder.

Unfortunately I can't get red or black currants here in Maine - they might harbor a bug that is harmful to white firs. And fresh sour cherries are hard to find, too, only at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, in Portland.

Therefore I like using a frozen berry mixture, adding fresh berries from the supermarket or street vendors. The use of vanilla pudding powder instead of starch is, also, very convenient. Your thickener comes prepackaged and pre-flavored.

My version is as easy to make as it tastes good. When we have a summer party, it's always a great hit with our guests, we have never any leftovers!

Ingredients:
1 package vanilla pudding powder*)
3 tbsp. cold water
500 g mixed berries, fresh or frozen (reserve 1/4 cup to add later)
3-4 tbsp. sugar, depending on tartness of berries
2-3 tbsp. Creme de Cassis (black currant liqueur), or other fruity liqueur (optional)

*) Some pudding powders are not sweetened, and some have to be dissolved in hot liquid. In those cases, add more sugar to taste, and mix with hot water. But don't add the milk as per package instructions - you are making Rote Grütze, not regular vanilla pudding!

How to make:
In a small bowl, stir together pudding powder with water, until dissolved and smooth.

In a saucepan, stir together frozen berries with sugar and thaw on low heat. Add fresh berries (except for the 1/4 cup to add later,) and stir until combined.

Add dissolved vanilla pudding powder in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low, and let simmer, stirring frequently until berry mixture thickens (that doesn't take very long.)

Remove from heat, and stir in remaining fresh berries and Creme de Cassis (if using). Pour into glass bowl. Let cool down to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.

Serve with cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla sauce.

Tip:
If you don't like seeds in the dessert - and don't mind the extra work - puree and strain berries before adding the pudding powder.

RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Take Limoncello Cheesecake recipe with following changes:

For the crust:
Use Graham crackers

For the filling:
Instead of sour cream: use 300 g raspberry puree
instead of 150 g sugar, use 200 g sugar
leave off lemon zest
instead of Limoncello, use Creme de Cassis