Peach Hand Pies

I've never made pie...by myself.  My mom makes incredible pies.  I live a mile away from my mom, so I've had no need to make my own pies.  I grew up making pies with her.  I remember asking to roll the dough and pinching the edges to seal the pie or mixing the filling, but I never made a pie start-to-finish by myself.  After harvesting fresh peaches, apples and plums this fall, I was determined I'd make a pie!

Here is how I mixed the pie dough using a mini-prep food processor:

1 1/4 cup of flour, 8 T cold butter, 1 t. sugar, 1/4 t. salt.  Pulse to blend in a food processor.

Add to a stainless steel bowl.  Repeat.

Now I have two batches combined and I'm ready to add 1/4 cup of ice cold water.

Mix the dough with your hands.  Add in another 1/4 cup of ice cold water.  Don't over mix and don't add too much water.  Dough should be flaky, not sticky.

Knead the dough smooth and divide in two round discs.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30min or overnight, if needed.

For the peach filling, I started with 4 ripe peaches ready for blanching.  Score the bottom of the peach by slicing an X on the bottom of the peach.

Bring water to a boil and submerge the peaches in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes

Remove the peaches and immediately submerge them into a bowl with ice cold water.  The skins will peel right off the peach.

Dice the peaches:

Add 1/4 c sugar, 1/4c brown sugar, 2 T of corn starch, 1 t. lemon juice, 1/2 T. ground cinnamon.  Stir & set aside.

Grab your pie dough from the fridge and roll out to desired thickness.  Use a cookie cutter, lid, knife, etc. to cut your desired pie shape.  I used a round cookie cutter for these peach pies.

Whisk 1 egg with 1 T of water and brush around the edge of the bottom crust.

Spoon your filling in the center of the bottom crust.  I added pomegranate seeds to some of the pies.  For your top crust, make a cutout for ventilation while baking.  You can make an X or use a small cookie cutter design.

Using a fork, press down along the edge to seal the pie.  Then brush the top of the pie with the egg wash.  Sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Bake 375F for appoximately 30min or until the top is golden brown.

I delivered three to my parents to have for dessert that night.  There's something really special about having your own little pie in a single serving.  I love that my kids were involved all the way from picking the peaches from the tree to pulling the pies out of the oven.  We'll definitely be making these individual pies again and again.