Bourbon and Berries

Talk about a duo that’s simply meant to be.

LET’S BEGIN

The journey to make the outcome featured above was, and will always be, a long one. There are many different parts that all have to come together uniformly and seamlessly to get the end result that is so desired in a perfect hand pie. Timing is key, patience is crucial, and as you can see by my rough cutting attempts, a steady hand is not required.

THE DOUGH

The number one trick I have discovered to assure the perfect outcome of your dough may be a little controversial to some, but has never failed me.

I begjn by mixing all of ingredients necessary for the pastry dough together and actually work it with my hands before setting it to cool. I find that by working it some releases the air bubbles that can prevent the dough from receiving an even cool, especially since I do not like to chill my dough for too long. Also, when I set it in the fridge to chill, I cut the amount in half and wrap it separately to allow a faster chill that is also even.

Once I remove the dough from the fridge after about 45 minutes-1 hour, I then begin to work the dough even more. Since I am aiming to make pastry dough, for hand pies, I am not worried about adding more flour to my counter top or roller pin because it will actually helping in the process of creating a flaky crust. I will work the dough until it is no longer sticky, and appears uniform. Then, to execute to the most flaky crust possible, I will roll the dough very thin and flat, about 1 inch in thickness if not less, and then fold it over itself about 3 or 4 times. Then, roll it out again so it’s uniformly flat and cut desired hand pie sizes.

ADDING THE FILLING

Now the main lessons I had to learn the hard way while making these hand pies was that the filling cooks fast and does not want to be friends with us doughy counterpart.

Number 1: When making a blueberry bourbon compote, only use enough bourbon that you can smell it while it’s cooking. Anymore than that can easily become too much, causing the sugars to not break down the way you want for a compote.

Number 2: When placing the filling into the dough, less is more AND for this specific hand pie MAKE SURE THE BOTTOM PIECE OF CRUST IS ON THE BAKING SHEET FIRST. Attempting to move the crust with the filling (whether it‘s one half or a finished pie) will cause the filling to run away from the dough and the actual dough to stretch out of its shape you have built.

ALL IN ALL

Your outcome should be a sweet, light undertone of bourbon, flaky hand pie. The best way to tell when they are all finished baking is the light browning on top. I always look for a very light tan color to appear and pop them out the oven, but if you prefer them a little more done a woody brown color is nice as well!