Star Hand Pies

I can't really think of anything more American than pie, can you?

So when we were invited to a BBQ this Independence Day weekend we knew whatever we brought had to involve pie.  So we spent an evening making these:

Mmmm...Peach Pie Bars - they look good, don't they?

Problem was that they weren't.  They were bland.  They didn't pack any punch, and on a holiday where exploding things are the main attraction, we wanted whatever we brought to generate at least one or two oooo's and aahhhh's.  It's only right.

I'd been wanting to try Bakerella's Pie Pops for some time; I even had all the ingredients on hand.  Star-shaped pies on a stick - sounds fabulous, doesn't it?

Problem was that they weren't.  Or, better said, they might have been, had I been able to get them to stay on the sticks.

But no matter.  I pulled the sticks out of the first two sheets, and for the last sheet, just baked them without the sticks.  And off to the BBQ we went.

I'm not sure they got oooo's and aahhh's exactly, but in their defense, they had some stiff competition in the form of blueberry pavlova and lemon-lime cheesecake.  What can we say? We love to bake, and so do all our friends.  It's a rough life.

You can make these from scratch, or if you're in a pinch like we were, all you need is a box of refrigerated pie crust, a can of pie filling, an egg, and some sprinkling sugar (or even just regular sugar).

Happy Fourth, everyone!

-Katie

Star Hand Pies
inspired by Bakerella's Pie Pops
1 box double-crust pie dough makes approximately 20 hand pies

Dough for one double-crust pie (our favorite recipe here)
-or-
1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (the kind that's rolled up, not already in a pie tin)

Homemade pie filling
-or-
1 can pie filling, any flavor

1 egg white, lightly beaten
Sparkling sugar

1.  If pie crust is frozen, remove from freezer and allow to thaw for 15-20 minutes.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Sprinkle flour on your work surface and roll out pie crust to 1/8 inch thick.  Flip dough, sprinkling with more flour as needed.

3.  Use star cookie cutter to cut shapes and place on cookie sheets*.  They can be fairly close together since these don't spread much.  Feel free to re-roll the scraps to make your dough go further, though re-rolling more than once may make the crust a little tough.

4.  Place 1 teaspoon filling in the middle of each star.  Place second star cutout on top.

5.  Using a fork, gently press around edges to seal top and bottom stars together.  Don't sweat it if pie filling oozes out a bit.

6.  With a pastry brush, gently brush each star with beaten egg white, then sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until tops begin to brown.   If filling oozed out, take a toothpick or knife and run along edges of star to separate from oozed-out filling. 

7.  Remove stars from parchment and allow to cool on wire racks, or slide entire sheet of parchment onto cooling rack (you should change parchment for each batch anyway, otherwise later batches will stick to the melted sugar from previous batches).

*We used the second-smallest cookie cutter in this set.