BOGART LOVES: Summer Berry Hand Pies

These little pies are one of my new favorite things. They are the perfect size, they pack up beautifully for a picnic, they taste of summer and they are completely delicious. You can fill them with any fresh, summery berries, and the not-too-sweet pate brisee crust is perfectly flakey and buttery. They're rustic, simple to make and wonderfully old-fashioned. I used a mixture of tart cherries, raspberries and blackberries. A little lemon zest and vanilla for more flavor. A brush of egg wash over the dough and a sprinkling of sugar for a little more sweetness. So good. Take these along on your next picnic or enjoy them right at home. Wherever you eat them, these hand-held pies will surely become one of your new favorite summer desserts.

Summer Berry Hand Pies
Makes 6

for the pate brisee (only slightly adapted from this recipe):
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
1/2 cup ice water

Put flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the very cold butter (I put mine in the freezer for about 5 minutes before I use it) to the flour mixture and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. With the processor running, slowly pour the ice water through the feeding tube into the flour and butter mixture. Keep pouring only until the dough starts to clump together, being sure to not to add more water than necessary (the dough may still appear a bit crumbly). Dump the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap the dough up and mold into a flat disc. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

for the pies:
2-3 cups of berries (pitted cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries or any other berry you like)
zest of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2/3 cup sugar (more or less depending on how tart your berries are) + 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the berries, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla and cornstarch. Stir to combine and set aside while you roll out your dough.

Remove dough from the refrigerator, lightly flour your counter and roll the dough out to 1/16th inch to 1/8th of an inch thickness. Cut 5 inch circles in the dough, re-rolling the scraps until you have 6 circles (I used a bowl as a guide and cut the dough circles with a paring knife). Place the circles on your parchment lined baking sheet. Evenly divide the berries between the circles of dough, being sure to leave most of the accumulated juices in the bowl. Using a pastry brush, paint a bit of egg wash around one half of the edge of each dough circle. Fold the other half over, and seal the edges tightly with your fingers to form a pouch. If desired, use a pastry wheel to cut a decorative fluted edge. Brush the sealed pies liberally with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. With a paring knife, cut a few slits on the top of each pie.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before eating.