Strawberry Hand Pies


For today’s recipe I wanted to do something I’d never done before. I have had these hand pies bookmarked for quite some time now and decided to make the strawberry version since we have all these strawberries on hand.

After reading a bunch of the comments about the recipe for the pastry dough, it sounded like it was a pain to deal with. And since it’s been hot here in Boston, I didn’t want to deal with the repeated chilling of the dough.


I started to think about another dough recipe. I debated just using my go-to pie crust recipe… Then I remembered the Good Eats episode “A Pie in Every Pocket”. Alton Brown made handpies (and even used the same dough to make homemade pop-tarts!) Once I found Alton’s recipe and read the reviews it looked like this dough would be easier to work with.


I had a lot of fun making a big mess in the kitchen the night I made these. The pastry dough is VERY easy to work with. And quite tasty. After the hand pies cooled, I popped them in the freezer. Hubby and I have been eating them for breakfast. Popping them in the toaster oven at work does the trick for reheating them.

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Check out my SECOND week of Strawberry Recipes HERE

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Strawberry Hand Pies

Yield: ~20

Ingredients:

For the Pastry Dough
9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 cups
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 ounces shortening, approximately 6 tablespoons
3/4 cup milk
1 egg mixed with 1 to 2 teaspoons water

For the Filling
2 pounds of strawberries (~4 cups, chopped)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Make the Filling
Hull and cut strawberries into small pieces. Mix them with the flour, sugar and pinch of salt, and add vanilla.

Make the Pastry Dough
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse for a few seconds and then pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add the shortening and knead it into the flour with your hands until it is crumbly.

Add the milk all at once and mix in with a spatula until it begins to come together.

Lightly flour your hands and the countertop and turn the dough out onto the countertop. Knead the dough ball, folding over 10 to 20 times.

Using a rolling pin roll the dough to 1/3 to 1/2-inch thickness, then cut into rounds using a 2 1/4-inch ring. Roll each round as thinly as possible or to 5 to 6 inches in diameter.

Assemble and Bake the Pies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto the dough, brush the edges of half of the dough lightly with the egg wash, fold over and seal the edges together with the tines of a fork, dipping it into flour as needed. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and snip or cut 3 slits in the top of the pie.

Brush a little bit of egg wash on the outside of the pie and sprinkle with decorating sugar.

Place finished pies onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Dough Recipe from Alton Brown
Filling Recipe from Dinner and Dessert, originally from Smitten Kitchen

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27 Responses to “Chocolate Goat Cheese Mousse Tart”

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    1
    Eva @ Eva Bakes — June 7, 2013 at 8:27 am

    What an awesome way to feature goat cheese in a dessert! I never thought of turning it into a chocolate mousse – sounds like I need to try this soon. 🙂

    • beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:51 am

      You definitely should. I know goat cheese isn’t for everyone, but we really enjoyed the subtle flavor in the mousse.

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    Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic — June 7, 2013 at 8:42 am

    Jen, I love everything about this tart – from the chocolate crust to the mousse and the pretty strawberries on top. Yum! Enjoy your birthday month 🙂

    • beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am

      Thanks for humoring me on the whole birthday month thing 🙂

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    Krystal R. — June 7, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    Ohhh lalalalala, I totally dig this dessert even more because it has goat cheese and strawberries…some of my fave foods!! Happy Birthday month…you better party and eat like it’s your birthday!!

    • beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 1:52 pm

      Oh I’m definitely going to party like it’s my birthday! All month long 🙂

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    Shannon — June 10, 2013 at 10:24 am

    oh yes to the goat cheese in this tart! fabulous. happy birthday month 🙂 you might need to make this a few more times to celebrate?!

    • beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:09 pm

      Oh I have been baking plenty of deliciousness this month to celebrate 🙂 You know how hard it is to repeat recipes…

  5. #
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    Karen — June 10, 2013 at 11:50 pm

    Love the idea of incorporating goat cheese in a dessert- I have never seen it down with chocolate before. I will definitely be trying this soon as I have some goat cheese in my fridge waiting to be used 🙂

    • beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 7:20 am

      Oh yea, goat cheese and chocolate go really well together.

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    Carolyn — June 11, 2013 at 8:26 am

    Oh my, the use of goat cheese in this is phenomenal! I would love to try it!

    • beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 8:46 am

      Definitely do! And you could top it with any fruit you like. I think raspberries would be good too.

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    Consuelo @ Honey & Figs — June 11, 2013 at 9:39 am

    Chocolate must work great with goat cheese since they’re both utterly delicious!! This recipe looks magnificent omg I think I would be able to eat the whole tart by myself *-*

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    Justine @ Cooking and Beer — June 11, 2013 at 1:17 pm

    Goat cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in desserts, and your tart looks soooo delicious! Thanks for sharing =) Definitely a must try this summer.

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    Nutmeg Nanny — June 12, 2013 at 10:33 am

    Oh wow this is gorgeous! I love this recipe, I bet it tastes heavenly!

  10. #
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    Beth — June 25, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    I just finished making my second one for this week…we love it…it is so smooth and rich and well D E L I C I O U S!!!…my grandson requested the second one but truth be told I was gonna make it anyway…the bittersweet chocolate and the cocoa in the crust are what make it….if anyone out there hasn’t tried it do so you will be in love….

    • beantownbaker — June 25th, 2013 @ 5:38 pm

      So glad you’ve enjoyed it! I definitely need to make this again. I have already made it with raspberries but want to try blackberries next.

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    Beth — July 1, 2013 at 6:10 am

    you wont believe it but I made this AGAIN yesterday…I did a play on bananas foster on the top…it was a hit with my company…and good recipes for sweets for the 4th?..lol….

    • beantownbaker — July 3rd, 2013 @ 5:02 pm

      Wow – bananas foster on top. I would never have thought of that! I am making this tart and this strawberry shortcake for the 4th.

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    Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com — July 15, 2013 at 11:48 am

    So sinful and delicious looking 🙂

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    NaturesComplete — July 17, 2013 at 1:27 pm

    Holy yumminess. I never thought of putting goat cheese in. My mouth is watering at the thought. Strawberries are my absolute favorite berry of all time. I will have to for sure try this recipe, Got it saved to my personal file. thank you.

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    Laura — August 3, 2013 at 12:07 am

    I love chocolate mousse and I love goat cheese, so clearly I need to make this!

    Also, there is strawberry picking (not sure it is organic though if that matters) up here near Oxford. I can get you the info for next year if driving up here is not a problem (I imagine it depends on what side of Cinci you live 🙂 ).

    • beantownbaker — August 4th, 2013 @ 6:44 pm

      I definitely don’t mind driving for freshly picked strawberries!!

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    Kelly Senyei | Just a Taste — September 20, 2013 at 6:17 am

    I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this recipe! It’s hard to beat mixing tangy goat cheese with chocolate and berries. What a unique recipe!

    • beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:11 pm

      It tastes as good as it sounds! I hope you try it.

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    Lauren — June 1, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    WOW! What a wonderful recipe! Definitely one of my new favorites! Happy birthday month!

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    April — March 1, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    Does this go in the fridge covered or uncovered and how long does it last? Thanks!

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