Spiced Pear Hand Pies

I was out shopping recently, minding my own business, not really looking for anything in particular, when I saw a big 4 1/2" copper pear shaped cookie cutter.  I had to have it.  It's possible I may have had a need for an apple shaped one, too.  And now I had to do something with it.

Sure, I could use it to make pear shaped cookies but with all the beautiful fall pears in the market right now, I really wanted to make something with actual pears in it.  Pear hand pies coming right up.

Of course, if you don't have a pear shaped cutter...you should go get one immediately.  Um, OK, I guess you could just make these round, too.  It's just not as much fun.  Enjoy!









Ingredients

Pastry:
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 Stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 Cup ice water

Filling:
2 Firm pears
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 Teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cream for brushing on top

To make the crust, combine the butter, flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor with a steel blade and pulse just until it resembles course crumbs. With the machine running, slowly pour in the ice water just until a dough ball forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

When the dough has chilled, roll it out on a well floured surface until it's about a 10" circle (doesn't have to be exact).  Using whatever cutter you have, cut out as many as you can and then re-roll the scraps to use up all the dough.  You should, ideally end up with an equal number of shapes. 

Peel and dice the pears, place them in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice.  Add the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Stir in the flour and drain off any excess liquid.  Place about a tablespoon of the filling into half the shaped dough pieces and top with the remaining dough pieces.  Using a fork, crimp the edges so that the filling doesn't run out and cut a small slit into each for steam to escape.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with the cream and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.  Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until the pies are a light golden brown.   The number of pies you get will depend on your size cutter but my 4 1/2" cutter got me 12 cut outs for a total of 6 hand pies.