Tartan and Cherry Hand Pies
There is just something about tartan that makes me feel like fall. This skirt is not overly thick or very warm, but I never pull it out until fall because it just feels too wintery and festive for summer time. Patterns are one of my favorite things and I especially love this kind of pattern because you can easily wear a black top and be done, or you can mix it up with other colors and try and emphasize certain colors from the pattern. Normally with this, I try and emphasize the red either through my jewelry or a bold lip color. Today though, I really wanted to emphasize the green so I went with a relatively neutral color palette and dark green jewelry. Dark green jewelry is always an unexpected pop of color, but I love wearing it against neon or something light like this chambray.
When I’m not coming up with new outfits, I’m typically baking and this week I made cherry hand pies for a friend at work’s birthday. Hand pies might seem a little daunting, but they are so easy, especially if you use pre-made puff pastry. Normally I’m not a proponent of pre-made things, but this puff pastry is the real deal, it is as good as the homemade stuff, and it will safe you two hours of rolling and kneading. These are a great fall treat and I would highly recommend them! If you aren’t in the mood to bake, donate to my Go Fund and I will mail you some right away 🙂 Until next time, XO
Ingredients:
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh cheeries, stemmed and pitted
⅔ cups dried cheeries
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice,
1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅛ teaspoon salt
14 ounce package Dufour puff pastry
egg white
coarse sugar
Directions:
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl combine 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water and cornstarch. In a saucepan, combine fresh and dried cherries with sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sherry juices are released, about 5 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture and bring to boil. Remove from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally.
Roll out pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 rectangles. In a small bowl, whisk egg white with 1 tablespoon of water.
Place each rectangle on a floured surface and brush edges with egg white. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of cherry mixture onto one side and fold the dough over the filling, making a packet. Crimp edges with a fork to seal. Cut a couple of slits in the top and brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375º. Bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool.
Can substitute frozen 16 ounces frozen cherries
