FOR THE LOVE OF PIE — a series that celebrates the simple things. Today, Anne & Kate’s Cherry Hand Pies! And that little thing called friendship. ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹ I'd planned to tell you all about the goodness that's happened around here in the last month. Planned to tell where we've been and what we've been up to. I wanted to tell you of our trips to Vancouver Island and New York City. About all the talented folks we've had the pleasure of working with lately. And of just how extraordinary I think the internet is at introducing like-minded people. But then I remembered Anne's pie post and I thought, perfect! You see the first day Anne and Kate met in person was the day they got to making these pies. And to me, that's a pretty great thing. Find a little more about Anne & Kate and their recipe below. xo, n 
WHO? Anne Sage, Blogger at The City Sage WHAT KIND? The official name for this recipe is Cherry Hand Pie. However I've dubbed it Friendship Pie, as I asked my lovely friend Kate Arends to my house to bake it with me. Kate is the blogger at the beautiful site Wit & Delight. We've been online pals for years, but the sunny Tuesday morning when she visited San Francisco was the first time we'd ever met in person! I like to invite people over to bake individually sized foods, such as small pies or pizzas, for example. It provides an activity around which the gathering can center, and it helps to break the ice. WHERE? These little pies are super versatile. Kate and I ate ours fresh from the oven with tea at 10 am, so they were more like a homemade pop-tart breakfast than a dessert. Once cooled, they were packable and portable, perfect for picnics or potlucks. WHY? I have a crippling weakness for cherries, so I'm always on the lookout for recipes that make the most of them. In fact, I've always thought that if I were a fruit I'd be a cherry--a bit sweet, a bit tart, and requiring of some effort to enjoy but worth it in the end.
BEST... ...when made by a team. Because sure, it doesn't actually take two people to prepare these pies, but everyone has a lot of fun when they get their hands in that dough.
ONE OR TWO THINGS: Little known fact: prior to going full-time my various media gigs, I worked as the chef at a tech start-up here in San Francisco. I definitely know my way around the kitchen and have a few culinary tricks up my sleeve that I like to pull out now and then, but on the whole I was quite happy to hang up my apron.
CHERRY HAND PIES Makes 12 This recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs, Spoon Fork Bacon. A collaboration between photographer Teri Lyn Fisher and food stylist Jenny Park, the recipes on the blog are foolproof and the writing is gut-bustingly hilarious. How can you possibly resist commentary like this? "Single serving pastries. The stuff dreams are made of. They prevent a hog situation from arising yet still satisfy everyone." I tweaked the recipe ever so slightly by adding 1/4 cup granulated sugar to the dough; I knew I wasn't going to be putting the glaze on the pies, so I wanted to inject a little extra sweetness. Though Kate and I both agreed that the real hero in this dough recipe was the cream cheese.
PIE DOUGH 2 cups all purpose flour ¼ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes ¼ cup cold cream cheese, cut into cubes 2 Tablespoons buttermilk FILLING 3 cups cherries, pitted and quartered 2/3 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons minute tapioca 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons almond extract EGG WASH 1 egg 1 tablespoon heavy cream CHERRY ICING (not shown in these photos) ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted 2 tablespoons Kirshwasser 1 tablespoon heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 2. In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. 3. Add the cold cubs of butter and cream cheese and cut in with a pastry knife or your fingers until a fine crumble is made. 4. Add the buttermilk and gently work together, until a dough just comes together. 5. Form the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. 6. While the dough chills prepare the filling. Place the filling ingredients into a bowl and mix together until well combined. Set aside and allow the mixture to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. 7. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until ¼ inch thick. 8. Cut twelve 4 inch circles from the dough and fill each with a small amount of cherry filling. 9. Whisk together the egg and cream. 10. Brush the perimeter of each hand pie with the egg wash and fold/pinch together, creating ½ circles. 11. Press the ends with the back of a fork to seal and brush the tops with the egg wash. 12. Using a pairing knife, cut 3 small slits on the tops of each hand pie. 13. Place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. 14. Allow the hand pies to cool completely on a cooling rack. 15. While the hand pies cool, place the powdered sugar, Kirshwasser, cream, and vanilla extract into a small bowl and gently stir together with a fork until fully incorporated and smooth. 16. Drizzle the icing over the hand pies and serve.
And big thanks to Edyta Szyszlo for the beautiful photos in this post!