Bourbon Peach Hand Pies

By Texaschef11

Ingredients

• pastry
• 2 1/2 cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 16 tbsps (8 oz) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 tsps fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup ice water
• filling
• 2 lbs. peaches
• 1/4 cup (35 g) flour
• 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp bourbon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• finish
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsps water
• coarse sanding sugar (I used regular sugar)

Preparation

Step 1

Pastry: Combine flour and salt in a medium-large bowl. Put the butter pieces in a small bowl. Freeze both of the bowls for an hour, then make a well in the center of the flour and add the butter. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter until the whole thing has the texture of coarse meal (I actually left some pea-sized chunks of butter in there – it’s awesome). Hollow out another concavity in the center of the butter-flour mixture. In a different bowl, whisk the sour cream, lemon juice, and ice water together until evenly blended. Pour half of the liquid volume into the flour and combine them with your fingertips until the dry mix has absorbed all of the liquid in big clumps of dough. Set the clumps aside in another bowl, add the remaining liquid and repeat. You don’t want to overwork the dough because it’s supposed to be flaky pastry, not stretchy bread. Consolidate the lumps of dough together into one mass and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for an hour. [Deb says you can store the dough for up to one month in the freezer at this point.] Cut the ball of dough in half. Lightly flour a work surface and roll half of the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness (I did a little book folding: fold in thirds, turn again and fold in thirds, roll). Cut shapes to your desired size and geometry. I tried squares (that’s a generous description – they were cut free-hand) and rounds (I used a 3 1/2-inch biscuit cutter). I like both. Move the dough shapes to parchment-lined baking pans and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Do this over again until you’re out of dough. I made 12 square shapes and 12 circles.

Filling: Peel and pit the peaches then cut into a medium dice. Toss the peaches with the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the bourbon and vanilla and toss to coat.

Assembly: Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let them sit for a couple of minutes at room temperature so they are no longer brittle. Place 1-2 tablespoons of the peach filling on half of your square or circle (the temptation to overstuff is large, but try to resist – they’ll look prettier). Wipe some water on the edges of the dough and fold it in half to make a semi-circle or rectangle or triangle depending on the starting shape. Press the edges together to seal the pie and then using the tines of a fork, you can press the edges to create a ruffled look. Once you’ve finished filling all of the dough shapes, place them in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

Finish: Heat the oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, whisk the yolk and water together. Remove the pies from the refrigerator and slice a few steam vent slits in the top of the dough for each pastry. Brush with egg yolk wash and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake about 20 minutes or until the pies are golden brown and starting to crack. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before devouring (the filling is HOT). Makes about 24 depending on the size of your pies.