PBJ Hand Pies

So, I should have posted this a couple days ago, but I've been pretty busy. As in our master bedroom is finally finished, so we spent this past weekend and first half of the week moving in to it :) Yay for space! As you can see it's not anywhere near finished (as in decor), but definitely ready for sleeping in. Now, I just gotta get some art work framed, some throw pillows, a couple quirky chairs, a small desk, and a couple runner rugs for the bedroom to be complete. It's pretty exciting to have one room so close to where I want it. Now, onto the living room, since we're not sleeping in it anymore...

I mentioned I would hold off on any decadent sweets posts until February, but I still wanted to whip up something that could be considered a dessert. Or even a snack. Or if you really wanted to, you could consider this breakfast. Or part of breakfast at least. The toast and jam part.

And the beauty of these hand pies is that there are a ton of different variations! Crunchy or creamy peanut butter. Or maybe almond butter? And a bajillion different jams and preserves. Mmm, Oregon Blackberry is a fave at our house. Oooh and I have a Strawberry Balsamic Thyme jam recipe I've been wanting to try that would be awesome in these!

PBJ Hand Pies

Cream Cheese Pastry:
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cubed
2 oz cream cheese, cold
2 Tbsp buttermilk, cold

Hand Pies:
1 batch cream cheese pastry (from above)
12-15 tsp peanut butter
12-15 tsp jam/fruit preserves of your choice (I used these Spice Pear Preserves)
1 egg, beaten
Sugar for sprinkling, optional

For the pastry:
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender (or a couple butter knives or food processor), cut* cold butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles a fine meal texture. Stir in buttermilk until dough is just combined. Roll into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and use.

For the hand pies:
 Preheat oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide cream cheese pastry into thirds for easier rolling. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a third of the pastry dough to about 1/8" thick. The thinner, the better. If you leave the dough too thick, the proportions of filling to pastry are off. Using a 2 1/2"-3" biscuit cutter (or something of the like, a drinking glass maybe?), cut out circles of dough. Set aside and continue to roll out remaining dough (including the other two thirds) until all of the dough has been rolled and cut. Make sure you have an even number of circles.

On half of the circles, place 1/2 tsp of peanut butter. Spread out the peanut butter a little bit with a small spreader or your finger tip, leaving about a 1/4" edge all the way around. Place 1/2 tsp of jam on top of the peanut butter. Top with another circle of dough. Using a fork, press the edges of the filled dough circles together. With a small knife, pierce the top of each pie a couple of times to allow steam to escape during baking. Place on prepared baking sheet about 1 1/2" apart. Brush each pie with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake for 12-17 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

*Cutting in butter is a technique that "cuts" the butter into small pieces while coating the butter in flour. I personally prefer using a pastry blender for this process, but I know it can be achieved with two butter knives, a food processor, or even a hand mixer. 

Source: Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon