Last week, when the Blue D. was eating a spinach and artichoke variation of my Spinach and Feta hand pies, he said to me, “You know, this crust would taste really good with a fruit filling inside…”
Coincidentally, I had been thinking about doing a soft crusted hand held fruit pie for a while.
Apple pie in the fall is a just must have.
Peel and dice some apples, then saute them in a little butter. Sprinkle on sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice.
Add some water and thicken with a cornstarch slurry.
Let it thicken and simmer for about ten more minutes, until the apples are tender.
Pour it into a pan and cool to room temperature.
Chill it for at least an hour. Having it gel up a bit makes it easier to spoon onto the dough.
We love peach pie too. Why not have apple pies and peach pies?
I used some frozen peaches, which I let thaw out first and then diced.
Surprisingly I saw some fresh California peaches at Costco just a couple of days ago. I didn’t think there were still fresh peaches available this time of year, but if you have a yearning for some fresh ones, they’re probably still available at the California Costco stores at least.
When frozen fruit is used, you never know exactly how much liquid will thaw out, and then cook out too.
I started by melting a couple of tablespoons of butter in the pot, then added the diced peaches with their juices, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.
Quite a bit of liquid came out before even adding any water.
The peaches were pretty soft, so not much cooking was needed.
I just brought it to a low boil and thickened it with a cornstarch slurry.
Cinnamon, apples, and peaches… what wonderful aromas wafted through my kitchen!
Here’s the peach pie filling, right before being put in the refrigerator to chill.
Mix up a quick cinnamon dough using either light sour cream, or nonfat Greek yogurt.
Cover and let it sit on the counter until the filling is done chilling.
Roll each portion of dough out into a circle 6-1/2″ to 7″ in diameter.
Spoon filling onto the center.
Now this is where you need to work fast.
Lift two opposite edges of dough up like a taco and pinch the dough edges together on each end. You’ll want to do this as quickly as possible before the filling has a chance to ooze out the ends.
Pinch the rest of the edges together to seal up, and you’ll have something that looks like a giant potsticker.
Now lay the pie down on one flat side, and use a curved hand to neaten up the edges.
It’s actually easier to do this right on your greased baking sheet.
Seal the dough edges again by pressing the tines of a fork through, all around. Prick the top a few times.
Brush the tops with some melted butter, and a sprinkle of sugar if you want.
Bake at 400 degrees, for about 30 minutes or until the crust is cooked through.
Take the pies out of the oven and let them cool down. The filling will be very hot!
These peach pies were made with a sour cream dough.
The dough for these apple pies was made with nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with a little applesauce (for a lower fat crust).
After these were done baking, I stuck them under the broiler for about 40 seconds to brown the tops.
The yogurt-applesauce dough resulted in a crust more bread-like.
Like warm cinnamon apples wrapped in warm cinnamon bread. Cinnamon roll bread?
Oh, you need vanilla frosting for cinnamon rolls.
Never mind about cutting down on the fat–you can just use what you saved to make some frosting.
Plain, Striped, and Frosted Soft Fruit Pies
I like them plain, just like this too.
These freeze well. Wrap each separately in foil, then put them all in a ziplock bag.
To heat one pie, unwrap and heat 1-1/2 to 2 minutes in the microwave, and you’ve got a warm, soft, fruit pie.
Needless to say, if you microwave a frosted pie, the frosting will melt and your pie will be wet and messy–but still delicious. It’s probably best to frost pies right before eating, so that if there are any leftovers, you can freeze them unfrosted.
I’m in love with this peach pie.
Here you go Blue D.– I’m in love with you too.
- DOUGH FOR THE CRUST:
- 2-1/4 c. unbleached flour
- ½ c. whole wheat flour
- ¼ c. sugar
- 1-1/2 T. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ c. melted butter
- 1-1/2 c. light sour cream or 1 c. nonfat Greek yogurt mixed w/1/2 c. applesauce
- APPLE FILLING:
- 6 c. peeled, diced (1/2") apples (approx. 2# before peeling and coring)
- 2 T. butter
- ½ c. sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 2 c. water mixed w/1 T. + 2 tsp. cornstarch
- TOPPING:
- 1 T. butter, melted
- 2 tsp. sugar
- FROSTING (optional):
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 2 T. butter,melted
- 1 T. hot water
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- For the filling: Melt butter on medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet. Add apples. Stir and cook until the apples are halfway cooked, about 10 minutes. Mix in cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice. Stir in cornstarch and water mixture. Cook uncovered another 10-13 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender and the filling is thick.
- Pour into a shallow pan and cool to room temperature. Chill for at least an hour.
- For the dough: Whisk together flours, salt, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with melted butter. Add sour cream and mix together until a smooth dough is formed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on counter until the filling is ready.
- To make the pies: Cut dough into 8 wedges. Sprinkle each piece with flour and roll out on a floured surface into a 6-1/2" to 7" circle. Sprinkle with extra flour as needed while rolling out pieces.
- For each circle of dough, spoon ⅛th of the filling onto the center. Lift two opposite edges of dough up like a taco and pinch the dough edges together on each end. You'll want to do this as quickly as possible before the filling has a chance to ooze out the ends. Pinch the rest of the edges together to completely seal up the pie, and you'll have something that looks like a giant potsticker.
- On a greased baking sheet, lay the pie down flat on one of its sides, and use a curved hand to neaten up the dough edges. Seal the dough edges again by pressing the tines of a fork through, all around. Prick the top of the pie a few times. Brush each top with some melted butter, then sprinkle with ¼ tsp. sugar.
- Bake at 400 degrees, for about 30 minutes or until the crust is cooked through. If you prefer the tops a little darker, place under the broiler for 30-40 seconds, but watch very closely so they don't burn. Remove from pans and cool on a rack.
- For PEACH FILLING VARIATION, follow the same filling directions using: 2lbs. frozen, sliced peaches, thawed (dice peaches and include the thawed juices); 2T. butter; ½ c. sugar; ½ tsp. cinnamon; 2T. lemon juice; and ⅓ c. water mixed w/1 T. + 2 tsp. cornstarch.
- OPTIONAL FROSTING: Blend all ingredients together. Frost cooled pies or pipe frosting onto pie tops.
Shared on Tea Rose Home.
