Holiday Recipe Heaven: Day 2 - Pear Cranberry Hand Pie

Yesterday, was the first day of the Holiday Recipe Heaven series. Today, I'm back with a fabulous spin on mini pies. Food & Wine's Pear Cranberry Hand Pie is a self-contained, flaky wonder. Isn't this pic by I Want the Pie just gorgeous? As genius as this idea is, it's made even better because the recipe calls for a store-bought crust.




Ingredients - makes 8 hand pies

2 pears, cored, peeled and dice into 1/4 inch cubes
3/4 cup cranberries
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling
1 tbsp all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 batch of Quick Puff Pastry or a 14 oz package of all butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten   

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss the diced pears with 1/3 cup of the sugar, 1 tablespoon of the flour and the cranberries, ground cloves, cinnamon and salt.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 14 1/2-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 8 squares. Spoon the pear filling onto a corner of each square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold the pastry over the filling to make a triangle and firmly press the edges to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Prick the top of each triangle once with the fork to allow steam to escape during baking. Transfer the hand pies to a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until chilled.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Brush the chilled hand pies with the beaten egg and sprinkle them with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Bake the pies for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. Let the hand pies cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

If you're  joining the Recipe Heaven fun midstream, be sure to check out all of the projects in this holiday recipe series here.