Blueberry Basil Hand Pies

Living the Gourmet is proud to be partnering up with Bob’s Red Mill. All opinions expressed are my own.

Baked into a delicate, buttery crust, these Blueberry Basil Hand Pies are bursting with the flavors of summer.

We’ve all heard the trope about “Too much of a good thing.” As proof of this ‘conventionally wise truth,’ I’m sure we’ve all experienced, at one point or another, an instance where so many of these dreaded ‘good things’ accumulated around us that we were left pleading “This great situation is just too good, I really can’t handle it. If we could dial things back to one notch above miserable, that’d be great.”

Doesn’t sound familiar? I didn’t think so.

Take for example a luncheon hosted late in the summer. You’ve mixed together your flavors for the late afternoon, complimented by all the right atmospheric seasonings, perhaps set the table outside on the porch, or seaside for a healthy dose of salt air. Yet, the hands of the clock marched on, you and your guest have finished the lunch. Now, at the risk of having ‘too much good’ you could of course skip the sweet side of the meal, but if you’re a regular reader of Living the Gourmet, you’re likely interested in ending things off with yet another layer of ‘seasonal,’ or very-nearly-post-seasonal, flavor.

“Too much of a good thing,” after all, is a risk well worth taking in the pursuit of flavor.

Naturally, that brings us to today’s recipe – Blueberry Basil Hand Pies.

We start things off by preparing the dough, which you can do a couple of days ahead of time. We start off with Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White Fine Pastry Flour, which I do prefer for this recipe since it’s a quality soft white wheat flour with a very low protein content, which makes it ideal for tender-textured pastries and baked goods – such as today’s hand pies. It goes without saying that it is a premium enriched and unbleached flour. You’re going to want to combine the dough with salt, sugar, and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is irrevocably combined. Once that’s done, add water and pulse until the dough comes together in ‘workable’ clumps. Then form the dough into a disk and store it in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

Once the dough is firm, roll it out on a large flat surface with flour. For this sort of work I prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour, which is a super versatile staple for all your baking needs. It is produced from freshly milled hard red wheat and isn’t adulterated with any additives, making it an ideal all-purpose flour to keep on hand. I also use this flour for the blueberry filling which acts like a thickener for the pies.

Roll the dough into a roughly 15×12-inch rectangle, and then cut the rectangle into about six smaller rectangles. You can of course cut smaller or larger portions depending on preference. After that’s done, you’re going to want to prep the blueberry filling with the ingredients listed below.

After that, brush the dough portions with a beaten egg, and portion out the mixture into each of the rectangles. Fold the dough over and pinch the edges together with a fork to seal them. After that, brush them with the rest of the beaten egg, and sprinkle generously with raw sugar.

Then assemble them onto a baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake at 375 degrees for about thirty to forty-five minutes, rotating the baking sheet about halfway through the baking process.

To finish off the pies before serving, I prepared a simple vanilla icing. However, if you wish, these would be delicious with whipped cream too!

Living the Gourmet

Yields 16 hand pies

Blueberry Basil Hand Pies

15 minPrep Time

35 minCook Time

50 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

Sweet Buttery Crust:
• 1½ cup Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White Fine Pastry Flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• ¼ cup ice water
Blueberry Basil Filling:
• 1 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Raw sugar for sprinkling
Simple Pastry Icing:
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

Sweet Buttery Crust:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine pastry flour, sugar, salt, and butter. Pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing between each addition until the dough comes together.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap in clingfilm or wax paper and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Blueberry Basil Filling:
3. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the egg and raw sugar. Toss the blueberries together and set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. On a well floured surface, roll out dough into a 15x12-inch rectangle. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut out into rectangles (you should get 6-8).
6. Brush edges of rectangles with beaten egg then spoon some blueberries in the center of each rectangle. Fold the dough over, and pinch the edges with a fork to seal.
7. Place the pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, gently pierce each pie with a knife, brush with the egg, and sprinkle with raw sugar.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the juices have run from the pies and the pastry shells are golden.
9. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
10. Combine the ingredients for the icing in a small bowl and whisk until thick and smooth. If you need more milk, add ½ teaspoon more at a time. Drizzle the icing over each pie before serving.

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Enjoy with Love!