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.
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pocket pies
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- 1 1/3 cups (170g) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons (24g) vegetable shortening
- 6 tablespoons (85g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup (59ml) ice water
- 2 teaspoons white or cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard, hot mustard or any mustard of your choice I used a combination of both
- 1/2 cup (57g) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup (28g) shredded Gruyére cheese
- 3 ounces (85g) shaved ham or pastrami* See note for vegetarian options
- Egg wash: 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water
- Everything Bagel Seasoning I used Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
Ingredients
Pie Crust
Filling
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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 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.
*Chopped fresh spinach leaves or blanched broccoli make delicious vegetarian substitutions.
**To find Everything But the Bagel Seasoning, click here.