Ingredient: Egg wash: 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water

Everything Bagel Cheesy Pocket Pies

Dad’s are the ultimate snackers, so I made these hearty pocket pies for dads to enjoy on Father’s Day. They’re cheesy and buttery and the crust is super flaky and tender. There’s a combination of butter and shortening in the crust. The butter gives rich flavor and the shortening helps make them flaky. A bit of vinegar in the crust helps prevent gluten formation so the crust will be tender. When making smaller pies, I like to divide the dough into portions before chilling. This prevents having to re-roll the scraps since re-rolling pie dough tends to toughen it.

I used a combination of whole grain Dijon mustard and hot mustard. My dad loves horseradish mustard. German varieties of mustard are delicious too. Feel free to use your mustard of choice. These are also delicious drizzled with a touch of hot honey.

Print Recipe
 Everything Bagel Cheesy Pocket Pies
Pocket pies with ham and cheese wrapped in a golden, flaky crust topped with Everything Bagel Seasoning
Course Dinner
Keyword pastry, pocket pies
Servings
pocket pies
Ingredients
Pie Crust
Filling
Course Dinner
Keyword pastry, pocket pies
Servings
pocket pies
Ingredients
Pie Crust
Filling
Instructions
Pie Crust
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Work the shortening into the flour mixture with your fingertips until evenly dispersed. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, creating flat dime size pieces.
  2. Mix the ice water and vinegar together in a glass measuring cup. Sprinkle over the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the liquid depending on your climate.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a few times. Do not over work the dough. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions, about 2 ounces (57g) each. Form the portions into disks, wrap them individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Assembly
  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough portions to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out six rounds, about 4 1/2-5-inches each. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon of mustard on each round. Top each one with ham (or veggies) and cheese. Brush the perimeter edges with egg wash. Fold the rounds over and press the edges to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the pies with egg wash and sprinkle with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Cut a 1/2-inch ventilation slit into the top of each pie. Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. Transfer the pies to a cooling rack. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes

*Chopped fresh spinach leaves or blanched broccoli make delicious vegetarian substitutions.

**To find Everything But the Bagel Seasoning, click here.  

Easy Apricot Pastries

Easy Apricot Pastries

These cheerful apricot pastries are guaranteed to bring you some sunshine. They’re so cute and easy to make! They remind me of sunny-side-up-eggs. They’re perfect for a summer breakfast or brunch.

Print Recipe
 Easy Apricot Pastries
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword apricot, pastry
Servings
pastries
Ingredients
Icing
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Keyword apricot, pastry
Servings
pastries
Ingredients
Icing
Instructions
Apricot Pastries
  1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, heavy cream and vanilla together until smooth.
  2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place a puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut out for 4 1/2-inch rounds using a cookie cutter or trace a bowl using a paring knife. Score a border about 1/2 inch from the edge, making sure not to cut all the way through. I used a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter for the border. Transfer the cut pastry to the baking sheets. Repeat with the 2nd pastry sheet. Refrigerate the dough rounds for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
  3. Spoon or pipe the cream cheese filling within the border of each pastry round. Top each one with an apricot half. Brush the borders with egg wash. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 17-20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the apricot preserves with 1 tablespoon (15ml) of water Brush this mixture over the warm pastries. Once the pastries are cool, drizzle them with icing.
Icing
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and 1 tablespoon (15ml) of milk until smooth. Add additional milk as needed to achieve your desired consistency. Add the almond extract and whisk until smooth.

Blueberry Galette with Lavender Cream

Blueberry Galette with Lavender Cream

This rustic Blueberry Galette is so much easier to make than blueberry pie, but it’s equally delicious. It’s bursting with fresh blueberries on a tender, flaky crust. it’s heavenly served with a cloud of lavender cream.

Print Recipe
 Blueberry Galette with Lavender Cream
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword blueberry, galette, pastry
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Lavender Whipped Cream
Blueberry Filling
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword blueberry, galette, pastry
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Lavender Whipped Cream
Blueberry Filling
Instructions
Crust
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Work the shortening into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it's evenly dispersed throughout. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, creating flat dime size pieces.
  2. Mix the ice water and vinegar together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until dough comes together. You may not need all of the liquid depending on your climate.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a few times. Do not over work the dough! Form the dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour or up to overnight.
Lavender Whipped Cream
  1. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream and lavender over medium heat, just until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the heat down to low and simmer gently for 1 minute. Strain the lavender cream into a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
  2. Whip the lavender cream until thickened. Add the powdered sugar and food coloring, if using. Whip until medium peaks form, being careful not to over beat. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Blueberry Filling and Assembly
  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400ºF (205ºC).
  2. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt. Mix until well combined.
  3. Brush a 2-inch border of egg wash on the surface of the pie dough. Spoon the blueberries onto the dough within the border. Fold the dough border over the blueberries, towards the center, pleating the edges about every 2-inches. Brush the edges with egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  4. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 28-35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lavender cream.
Recipe Notes

*To find culinary lavender, click here.