I had the pleasure of catering an event for a fantastic fundraiser for the amazing group The Movement Party. I made the most delicious and adorable hand pies. I bought the molds online (an apple, pumpkin, heart and lattice) and filled them with apples, peaches, strawberry rhubarb and blueberry. As you may remember from a previous post I did for my favorite pie strawberry rhubarb, making pie is easy and better than any store bought version. Follow the recipe I used for the strawberry rhubarb pie and substitute the fruit or fruit combination to your desire.

One pie recipe yields 5-6 hand pies. You will need to re-roll the dough scraps at least twice to use all it offers, you don't want to do this too much because it will begin to change the flavor of the dough. Be sure to cover with an egg wash and sugar. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes until they are golden brown.

I also whipped up a delicious and easy crostini, ricotta, honey and lemon zest. This crostini almost tastes like cheesecake it is that delicious. Simply combine

2 cups of ricotta, add 1 tsp of salt

Spread onto prepared bread, drizzle honey on top and sprinkle with fresh lemon zest

I toasted the event with a corn dog, a manhattan and my dear friend Katie who was my hand pie maiden and helper extraordinaire for the two day process. Special thanks to Lane and Corinne for all of their hard work making pies too! The event was a lovely success!

My remaining fruit mixtures I had from the pie fillings I turned into jams, such a delightful treat! Share with me your favorite combinations!

Above are photos of the remaining fruit I turned into preserves, my pies on display at the event and a sweet honey comb stick my sweet friend brought back with him from Prague to honor my honey launch.

In honor of the first few days of Spring I offer up my favorite pie recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb. This has been a favorite pie of mine since I was a little girl and I was over the moon to see the first bits of rhubarb appear in the market this past week. Depending on where you live delicious and sweet strawberries may be already available. If not, wait a couple more weeks and your combination will be perfect. This is a perfect pie combination for me, sweet & tart and of course a lovely buttery crust to compliment the flavors.

Pie crust;

Yields two 9" circles

2 1/2 cups a.p. flour

2 sticks of chilled unsalted butter cut into cubes

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp of salt

6-8 tbsp of cold water

Sift together flour, sugars and salt. Add the cubed butter into the mixture either using a pastry cutter to incorporate or your hands. Working quickly, mix all ingredients together until the butter starts to become pearl sized as it gets combined with the dry ingredients. Slowly add a few tbsp of cold water and mix together. Add more water till the mixture begins to be moistened through but not overly wet. Separate the dough into equal parts, wrap in plastic and refrigerate each disk for at least a half hour. If making your own crust is too time consuming store bought works just fine.

While the dough rests make the filling.

1 quart of strawberries cleaned, stemmed and quartered

3 stalks of rhubarb cleaned and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

1/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of brown sugar

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge for a half hour to allow the fruit to macerate.

Preheat your oven to 375º. Take one disk of dough out of the fridge. Flour a clean, flat surface and roll the dough out. Starting from the center with a floured rolling pin, you want to work out towards the corners. Once you get the dough to a desired thinness (a little less than a 1/4 inch) place in a buttered 9" pie dish. If the dough hangs over the sides a bit don't worry you can trim it back later.

Add the filling to the bottom crust pouring it in evenly. Take out the 2nd disk of dough and roll out as you did with the first. Place on top of filling. Pinch the top and bottom layers together in whatever preferred way, I find using the prong end of a fork to be easiest. If you have excess crust, easily trim with kitchen scissors. With a very sharp knife create four slits around the top crust equally apart from each other, starting from the center and moving back towards the crust.

Make a quick egg wash if you prefer with one egg and a splash of milk. Whisk together and brush over the top. Sprinkle crust with a little extra white sugar.

I love to use my little pie bird to help funnel liquid from the juices of the filling!

Place pie on an aluminum lined cookie sheet, bake for 25 minutes. Lower temperature to 325º and continue to bake for another 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least an hour. Slice and enjoy!

Hand Pies For A Cause

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie