These pies are really great because you can just pick them up in your hands and eat them with minimal mess, but they do take a little while to make because you have to form each pie individually although it's very worth it. Filling recipe simplified from Michael Chiarello and dough recipe from my friend Joellen.
Filling INGREDIENTS:
3 apples
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 TBS butter
1/4 cup honey
pinch salt
3/4 cup blueberries
1 beaten egg
1 tsp cinnamon and 2 TBS sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Peel and core the apples and cut into eighths vertically and then horizontally to make small, less than bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Saute butter over medium heat until lightly browned, then add apples and saute for 3-5 min. Reduce heat to low and add honey, salt, and blueberries, and mix well. While the filling marinates make dough (recipe as follows).
Preheat oven to 400*F. One by one, brush one half of the circles with 1 beaten egg. Spoon about 1 TBS filling, fold dough over and crimp edges with a fork. Put on a buttered baking tray, cut air holes on top and brush with egg wash. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on tops of pies. Bake for 20-25 min until puffed and nicely browned. Cool 5-10 min before eating, filling might be very hot.
Dough INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
2/3 tsp salt
1/2 shortening
6 TBS cold water
DIRECTIONS
Lightly stir flour and salt then cut in margarine. Sprinkle in water 2 TBS at a time. When dough is at a consistency that's perfect for rolling out (not too dry so crumbly but not too wet to stick to surface and rolling pin), dump dough onto a floured surface and roll with a floured rolling pin. Continue to roll, but don't over work, until dough is 1/8th inch thick. Then use any circular cutter on hand that when folded in half will make the size pie you want, and cut out circular pieces of dough. When no more circles can be made combine scraps into a ball, roll it out, and cut circles, repeat until no more dough left. After a while the dough will become hard and dry, just add more water a little at a time until correct consistency.
NOTE:
-This recipe is really great because it can be made vegan, just substitute shortening with any oil based butter, egg wash with olive oil, and honey (if you're a really strict vegan) with a simple syrup mixture (equal parts water and sugar)
-The apples can be omitted from the recipe to just make blueberry pies, and vise versa if you want just apple pies.
-For my circular cutter I used an empty and washed tomato sauce 30 oz can. It was the perfect diameter for the size pies I wanted to make.
-Picture is if pies before baking so after they will have browned and puffed up a bit more.
-Enjoy!
