4th of July Pies {Strawberry}

You know when you need to bake?  When you need something sweet?  When you feel like Weight Watchers is getting the best of you?  Le sigh.  I’m at that point again.  Double sigh.  After two strong weeks of doing WW (and 8lbs lost!), the time has come to succumb to the baking itch.

You know the one.

Luckily, I joined Project Pastry Queen at the right time and these perfect petite pies were my project for this afternoon.  I would have loved to have fried them but my conscious got the best of me and I baked them instead.  I have no complaints about the baked version though since they were simply delicious and oozing with strawberry goodness.   The pie dough couldn’t be any easier to put together and I made one 1/4 of the recipe (my changes are below – the full recipe makes about 12) and still came out with 6 pies…not that I’m complaining.  I definitely plan to whip up more of these as the summer lingers on and the blueberries and peaches start coming into season here in CT.

{I’ve joined Shawnda from Confections of a Foodie Bride and Ashley of Delish on Project Pastry Queen, an ode to Rebecca Rather.  Over the past 3+ years of blogging, it seems like recipes from The Pastry Queen show up everywhere and I’m not sure what’s hindered me from purchasing it but the time has finally come.  Look for a new recipe every Sunday and check out the project’s page if you’re interested in joining us.}

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4th of July Pies
source: adapted from Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen

For the Pie Dough:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter, very cold, diced and chilled
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 – 1/2 cup ice water

For the Filling:
1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced into 1/2″ pieces
1 tbsp strawberry preserves

1 egg plus 1 tbsp water, whisked together
Glaze (optional, recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 375 if baking the pies.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the strawberries with preserves in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Work in the butter pieces with your fingers, two knifes, or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like the texture of cornmeal.  Add the water and mix only until the mixture forms a soft ball.

Roll the dough to 1/16-inch thick (“just thicker than a tortilla”) and cut into about 5″ rounds (the lid of a yogurt container works well).  Re-roll the scraps and cut additional rounds. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of strawberry filling into the center. Dip your finger into the egg/water mixture and wet the outside edge of half of each circle then fold the dough into a half-circle, pressing around the edges. Use a fork dipped in flour to crimp the edges and seal the pies.

Brush the tops with the egg/water mixture. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

If making the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together and brush over the warm pies.

For the Glaze:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Yields 6 pies.

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