Strawberry-Rhubarb Hand Pies with a Rye Crust

I'm back in the game people. My photography may have taken a bit of a hit, but I can still cook. Promise. It only took me six something months to get back into the blogging, just as I'm packing to move, going to Thailand and starting graduate school. This all happens in the next like month and half. Blogging is a good way for me to feel productive while I procrastinate. At a certain point I'm going to have to give in and pack up my kitchen.

I have about two weeks to pack up three years of crap. A lot of junk. I don't like to get rid of things. You just never know when you might shrink (I'm an pretty tall lady) a little bit and that dress you accidentally put in the drier might be appropriately long enough to wear again. These are the things I tell myself.

The kitchen is the easiest place for me to get rid of things. Lots of brilliant plans to clean out the pantry and liquor cabinet. Food and booze is what I am good at. And you can consume it and easily replace it again, unlike your dress that you can no longer even sit down in with out showing the world your business.

Today I decided I'm going to have a I'm moving less than two miles down the road party. There will be lots of rice, beans and punch. I have a ridiculous amount of liquor with maybe a few shots left in it. Some sort of punch will be delicious. I'm really proud of this idea, if you couldn't tell. You're all invited.

Now onto these hand pies. These are perfect for a picnic, pie on the go or when you are out of clean dishes. These come out being not to sweet. If you aren't into desserts, you may enjoy these. If you like your pie sweet, add more sugar. You will also have a little extra filling left, but that is okay. Put it on some ice cream or just eat it. It made me very happy to do that, so I can only imagine it will do the same for you.

The addition of rye flour adds a nice earthiness to the crust. You don't have to use rye, its just a fancy twist. This crust also is pretty amazing. Everything about its texture is perfect. All sorts of flaky goodness. The crust also is not overly sweet, again add more sugar or replace the rye flour with all-purpose. You will get a more sweet and less savory-esque crust. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and hopefully I will be back with another post before September!

xo
April

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, 1/4 inch cubes
3/4 cup water, cold, separated

Filling:
1 pound rhubarb, diced
2 cups strawberries, quartered
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:
1 large egg beaten with a splash of water (for the egg wash)
Granulated or turbinado sugar

Instructions:

1.  In a food processor, combine the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, rye flour, sugar, salt and cardamom, pulsing to combine. Add the butter cubes to the food processor and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed and resemble the size of small peas. Add 1/2 cup of water; pulse the dough together until it just begins to clump together. The dough will be shaggy. Add one tablespoon at a time until it starts to come together.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl of the food processor and place it on a lightly floured counter. Knead the dough a few times until it comes together and shape it into a mound. Shape the disc into 2 discs and wrap them in plastic wrap; transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour or overnight.
3. While the dough is chilling, make the filling! To a medium saucepan, add the strawberries, corn starch, sugar, salt, cardamom and nutmeg. Over medium heat cook the mixture for 5 minutes, until the fruit has softened. Depending on your fruit, there may be a bit of liquid and this is okay.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove one of the discs of dough from the refrigerator. Liberally flour your work surface and rolling pin. Begin to roll the dough, being sure to rotate it every so often to avoid sticking, to a 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut circles out. Repeat the process with the second disc of dough. You should end up with about 12 circles of dough.
5. Spoon a small amount of the fruit mixture into the center of the dough, leaving about 3/4-inch space around the edges. Brush egg wash along the edges of each of the dough circles. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges to seal. Using the tines of a fork, sealing the edges. Repeat the process until all of the hand pies are made. Transfer the pies to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Brush the tops of the hand pies with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake the pies for 15-17 minutes, until the tops and edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Eat warm or room temperature.