Fresh Peach Hand Pies

It is peach season in Georgia.  My BIL brought me peaches the other day and I was so excited. There is just something so delicious and tasty about Georgia peaches.

I am always torn about what to make first. Of course I eat one first, that's a given, next bake with them.  Up first was some peach hand pies.  I few of the peaches were ripe and needed to be used,  so hand pies came to mind. Little pockets of "yumminess".  

There is something about holding a warm little pie in your hand and tasting that sweet yumminess. Especially when it is filled with yummy peach filling.

I had all of these peaches that needed some attention.

Not to mention, 2 crates of peaches in boxes. They went in the fridge. 

You start with peach pie filling made from scratch. It is easy to make your own and it only takes about 20 minutes and so worth it.  You can use fresh, frozen or canned peaches. I prefer fresh myself.

Recipe                                                       Print

For the pie filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder, optional
5 cups peaches, cut into slices or chopped (I chopped mine small)
- If making hand pies, cut into pieces; if making a pie, cut into slices.

Directions:
1. In a large nonstick saucepan, add water, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and cook at medium-high heat until mixture becomes thick. (About 5-8 minutes)
2. Stir Consistently to prevent clumps from forming or burning the mixture.
3. Turn off heat and add vanilla extract, cinnamon, peaches and mix everything together. 
4. Allow the filling to cool down completely and then use it in hand pies, regular pies or you can freeze it for later or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

- This filling will make one 9 inch pie.

For the crust:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks) cut into small cubes
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
1 egg, lightly beaten
sanding sugar (or regular sugar)

Directions:

1. Add 2 1/2 cups of flour, salt, 1 tsp sugar and butter in the bowl of a processor. Whirl until mixture resembles coarse meals, about 8-10 seconds.
2. With the machine running, add the ice water in a slow stream through the feed tube. Pulse the dough just until it holds together. Do not add too much water or the dough will be sticky… and you don’t want sticky dough. Squeeze a small amount of dough together and if it is crumbly add just a little more water.
3. Divide the dough in two and form into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
5. Divide each plastic wrapped disc into 3 equal parts and roll each out. I cut each pie dough into 5 inches in diameter. You can use a bowl to score the dough. 

- You can use store bought pie crust if you want. I do that some times.
For the Hand Pies:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg white. beaten

Directions:
1. Roll out pie crust into circles. I made mine 5 inch circles. 
2. Using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop, drop peach pie filling into center of each pie crust circle. Fold in half and pinch edges completely. Press with the tines of a fork to seal. Poke hand pie with fork once, to prevent bursting.
3.Beat egg white in a small bowl until frothy. Brush over the tops of each hand pie. Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (1 inch apart) for about 15 minutes, until browned.
4. While pies are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Remove cooked pies from baking sheet and while warm, drizzle with glaze. Allow to set (about 5 minutes). ENJOY!

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