Page 100 - Pie It Forward: Pies, Tarts, Tortes, Galettes, and Other Pastries Reinvented

Option 2 Custard
Pastry cream that’s been sitting in the fridge for a few days can be
added and baked for a glorious custard hot pocket.

Option 3 Meat treats
Seasoned ground pork or beef or any minced meat filling is perfect
for these little pockets of dough. Instead of sprinkling with sanding
sugar, try large-grain sea salt.

Option 4 Fry it up
If you’ve sealed your hand pies really well, I suggest you fill a

stockpot with 3 inches (7.5 cm) of vegetable oil and heat it to 350°F
(175°C). Fry the hand pies on each side until they are a deep
golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Insanely delicious.

A NOTE FROM THE SWEETIE PIE
You can make a pie without a pie plate—you’ve noticed this

already, I assume, considering that you’ve just perused a hand-
pie recipe. But apart from the world of hand pies, there are tart
pans, flan rings, and even cake rings that can stand in for run-of-
the-mill pie plates. Rings, whether flan or cake, do not have
bottoms, they are simply—well, rings. The benefit of going
bottomless with your pan is that the bottom crust browns evenly
along with the sides and top, since the heat doesn’t have to

penetrate both a sheet pan and a cake bottom to get to the crust.
Cake rings come in many diameters and depths, so keep your
mind open to various sizes and shapes for all pies. Just because
my recipe says 9 or 10 inches (23 or 25 cm) doesn’t mean you
can’t finagle the crust and filling to accommodate your own

miniature-pie desires when you get your hands on a group of ten
2-inch (5-cm) tart pans. Just play accordingly with the amounts of
dough and filling. You will find a bevy of tart pans and flan- and
cake-ring choices at online restaurant-supply shops such as
bakedeco.com, jbprince.com, and pastrychef.com.