Peach Hand Pies from Lisa Donovan in Food and Wine Magazine
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Our peaches out on the East End of Long Island are outstanding this year. They’re glorious to look at—all those colors from deep golden yellow mottled with shades of orange and red, almost to purple. It seems almost a shame to peel them, let alone cover with them with flaky pastry. Waiting under the skin is that juiciest of fruits, as golden as can be. And if you want an ideal picnic item, you can’t really do better than this Peach Hand Pie. It’s just the right size to be eaten in about two bites. Inside is the delectable peach itself – so sweet that there’s hardly any sugar in the recipe. That is, if you don’t count the Turbinado sugar Andrew has baked right into the crust making these a crispy, flaky treat. Then the icing on the pie adds another layer of sweetness. Off they went to the beach where they were devoured by our guests. One, I counted, ate 6 all by himself.
Our peaches came from Yellow Barn Farm, 1077 Head of Pond Road, Water Mill, NY
The recipe for Andrew’s version came from Lisa Donovan, writing for Food and Wine magazine a couple of years ago. Lisa even offers up the suggestion that the uncooked Hand Pies, naked of their egg wash and Turbinado sugar, can be frozen for up to a month in advance, popped in the oven for a last-minute dessert. On that timetable, these might even make it to your first tailgate picnic in the Fall. A reminder of just how wonderful this summer’s peaches were.
Andrew insists these are not at all hard to make. You make the filling first, the skin of the peaches slipping off the peaches easily once they are parboiled. Do this first and remember the filling has to cool to room temperature before it goes into the fridge for a good two hours until it’s cold. The dough is fairly standard and it too requires an hour in the fridge. When both filling and dough are chilled, the fun begins. You roll out the dough, get out a 4 inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds until you have 16 of them. These too get refrigerated for 30 minutes. Then it’s really a matter of spooning the filling into the center of each pastry round and folding them in half, sealing them with your fingers. Make two slits to allow the steam to escape. Onto the baking sheet, brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with Turbinado and ta-da! Bake and 18 minutes later Peach Hand Pies! Here is the recipe:
Peach Hand Pies
August 15, 2019
: Makes 16 Hand Pies
: 45 min
: 45 min
: Easy but build in the time for chilling, cooling and icing.
The perfect portable peach dessert. Ripe peaches encased in a crunchy pastry topped with sugar and icing.
By: Monte Mathews
Ingredients
For the Filling:
3 small peaches (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup ice water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
For the Icing:
1 ½ cups confectionary sugar
¼ tsp. Vanilla Extract
5-5 ½ tsp. Milk
Directions
Step 1Make the peach filling
Step 2Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Using a sharp paring knife, mark an X on the bottom of each peach. Add the peaches to the saucepan and blanch until the skins start to peel away, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to the ice bath and let cool completely. Peel, halve and pit the peaches and cut into 1/4-inch pieces. You should have about 2 cups. Wipe out the saucepan.
Step 3In the same saucepan, combine the peaches with all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and syrupy, about 12 minutes. Scrape the filling into a small bowl. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 2 hours.
Step 4Meanwhile, make the dough
Step 5In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. Scatter the butter over the flour and, using your fingers, pinch it in until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs, with some pieces the size of small peas. Stir in the ice water just until a dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently to form a ball. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Step 6Preheat the oven to 450° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter, stamp out 6 rounds and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Top with a layer of parchment paper. Gather the scraps and form into a ball. Roll out again and stamp out 2 more rounds. Transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 7Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 dough round at a time, brush the rim with the beaten egg. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the filling into the center and fold the round in half to enclose. Press the edge firmly to seal and transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, arranging the hand pies 2 inches apart on the sheets. Brush the tops with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Using a paring knife, cut 2 small slits in each hand pie. Bake until puffed and golden brown, shifting the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking, 18 minutes. Transfer the hand pies to a rack and let cool slightly.
Step 8While the hand pies bake, make the icing:
Step 9Whisk confectionary sugar, vanilla extract and milk thoroughly until smooth. Add more milk and sugar until you achieve the consistency you want.
Step 10Once hand pies are completely cooked, drizzle icing over each one. Let icing set before serving Hand pies.
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Did you know that New York State is the second largest apple producer in the whole country? Only Washington State tops us. Trust a resourceful friend of ours, Wendy Brovetto, native New Yorker and grandchild of an Upstate New York Farm family, to create truly incredible Rustic Apple Jams in 4 extraordinary flavors. When she did, Croton Trading Co. was born.
Wendy explains ”We created our apple jam after one of those overzealous days of apple picking yielded a larger-than-usual haul. With more apples than any family could consume, the experimenting began and gave way to what we think is the perfect blend of apples and cinnamon.”
“We source our apples from local NY Orchards -- Thompson's Orchard in Westchester Co andl Richters Orchard on Long Island. I have a special fondness for these family-owned farms. Richters Orchard was a big part of my childhood, as my sistersand I would go on weekly outings with my dad to stock up on apples and cider"
"We carefully blend different apples to create our flavor profile and find inspiration from seasonal spices to create our Apple Jam”. Wendy proudly states.
Now Croton Trading Company is up to 4 flavors: Fall Harvest Blend, Ginger Pear Fusion, Chai, and Brown Sugar. You can see the whole range here:
Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to put Croton Trading Company’s Apple Jam to work making our Skillet Apple Pork Chops. This one-pot recipe is perfect for weeknights but so good you may want to serve to company. The chops finish cooking in Croton Trading’s Apple Jam and we always serve it on the side to give even more great apple taste to the dish. Here’s the recipe:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-oz.) bone-in pork chops
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 cup Croton Trading Rustic Apple Jam (we used Ginger Pear)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 small red onion, thinly vertically sliced
Chopped Parsley for garnish.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with 3/8 teaspoon salt and 3/8 teaspoon pepper. Add pork chops to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until pork chops beautifully browned. Remove from pan. Set aside pan and drippings.
In a small bowl, combine stock and Croton Trading Apple Jam, stirring with a whisk. Set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan with drippings, swirl. Add remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 3/8 teaspoon pepper, sage, rosemary, and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in stock mixture. Return pork chops to pan; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Plate each chop individually. Top with chopped parsley as a garnish. Serve with plenty of Croton Trading Apple Jam on the side.
Our peaches out on the East End of Long Island are outstanding this year. They’re glorious to look at—all those colors from deep golden yellow mottled with shades of orange and red, almost to purple. It seems almost a shame to peel them, let alone cover with them with flaky pastry. Waiting under the skin is that juiciest of fruits, as golden as can be. And if you want an ideal picnic item, you can’t really do better than this Peach Hand Pie. It’s just the right size to be eaten in about two bites. Inside is the delectable peach itself – so sweet that there’s hardly any sugar in the recipe. That is, if you don’t count the Turbinado sugar Andrew has baked right into the crust making these a crispy, flaky treat. Then the icing on the pie adds another layer of sweetness. Off they went to the beach where they were devoured by our guests. One, I counted, ate 6 all by himself.
Andrew insists these are not at all hard to make. You make the filling first, the skin of the peaches slipping off the peaches easily once they are parboiled. Do this first and remember the filling has to cool to room temperature before it goes into the fridge for a good two hours until it’s cold. The dough is fairly standard and it too requires an hour in the fridge. When both filling and dough are chilled, the fun begins. You roll out the dough, get out a 4 inch biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds until you have 16 of them. These too get refrigerated for 30 minutes. 
Then it’s really a matter of spooning the filling into the center of each pastry round and folding them in half, sealing them with your fingers. Make two slits to allow the steam to escape. Onto the baking sheet, brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with Turbinado and ta-da! Bake and 18 minutes later Peach Hand Pies! Here is the recipe:
