cherry hand pies

I grated a granny smith apple into the jam for the natural pectin, so it thickens nicely without using obtuse ingredients to create the perfect texture. it lends an amazing subtle apple flavour, bulks up the mixture and gives a great jammy consistency, I learnt this trick from someone I worked with.

pastry 

200g flour

1tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

140g frozen butter, grated

6-8tbsp cold water 

jam    

300g fresh or frozen cherries 

1 granny smith apple, grated 

100g sugar

pinch of salt 

20g lemon juice 

for the pastry, stir together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then stir in the frozen butter, using a wooden spoon gently stir in the water to create a rough dough, then using your hands gently knead the dough together, the dough will be dry in some places but, that's okay it will hydrate in the fridge. try not to overwork the dough, shape into a disc, wrap in cling film chill for 1 hour. 

while the dough is chilling make the jam, combine all the jam ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat, cover with a lid and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, remove the lid and let reduce for another 10 minutes until you get a thick jammy consistency and the liquid has turned into a syrup. set aside to cool.

divide the pastry disc into two equal parts, on a lightly floured surface, roll them out into similarly sized rectangles, out of each rectangle cut out 6 small rectangles, you should have 12 pieces total (mine were about 2 1/2”x51/2“, but you can make any size that you like). 

spoon 1-2tbsp of the jam into the middle of the pastry rectangles leaving a border, brush the border with egg was and place the other piece of pastry over top, crimping the edges with a fork to seal the edges, slit the top three times, repeat until you have 6 hand pies, chill for 30 minutes. 

preheat the oven to 400F, brush the pies with egg wash and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and crisp:)