Drawer Full of Snacks - Cranberry Orange Hand Pies

Everyone has been freaking out about "The Great Twinkie Shortage of 2012" but honestly, Twinkies weren't my favorite Hostess treat back when I use to eat full powered (ie regular sugary) sweets. My favorites were the fruit or pudding pies. You know the ones I'm talking about. They're the ones with the "fruit" in the bright mystery gel encrusted in a white sugar flaked crust? My favorite were the lemon ones. Those didn't even have fruit...just the dayglo yellow gel!

 

Hm, now that I think about, that doesn't sound as appetizing as it did when I was ten. Yet, the idea of having a homemade hand pie does sound appealing. Those Hostess pies are also known as hand pies...pies that fit conveniently in your hand with no utensils required. Especially with it being Thanksgiving week, what better drawer snack to share with you than a cranberry orange hand pie.

 

Cranberry Orange Hand Pies

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup stevia sugar blend

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 cup fresh cranberries, cut in halves

1 package of ready pie crust (usually comes with 2-9in rounds)

egg wash (1 egg, 1 tablespoon water)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 350*F.

In a medium saucepan, heat orange juice, sugar, orange zest, and cornstarch over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add cranberries and coat with sugar glaze. Heat until the cranberries soften but remain whole, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Unroll the pie crust rounds. With a cookie or biscuit cutter, cut shapes front crust and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon cranberry orange filling onto half of the crust cutouts, leaving enough edge to seal. Top the pie filling with another crust cutout. Seal along the edges with a fork.

Lightly brush the top of the crust with the egg wash. Poke small holes or cut a tiny slit in the middle of the pie to vent.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool before serving.

Have fun with the cookie cutters. I used a maple leaf cutter for the season but they were rather large and only made 4 pies. I ended up with lots of crust scraps so I took one of my mini cutters and made bite size pies so not to waste all the flaky goodness. The very next day, I placed two of them in a plastic baggie and took them to work. They sat in my desk drawer until snack time and I have to confess how my weird mind works sometimes: The image of a whole pie...or even a slice of pie...sitting in my desk drawer just made me smirk. Anyways, I tore myself away from my work computer, took a break to eat my pies. The tart cranberries and sweet orange flavor went nicely with a cup of hot tea in my Little Miss Sunshine mug. They were delicious and perfect for a Fall afternoon. So if you aren't completely tired of pie or cranberries after Thanksgiving, take the time to make these super easy hand pies which I'm positive are more appealing (and healthier) then the neon gel pies.

Prescription for Pie & Mama's Pie in the Sky 2011

"With Thanksgiving coming up, don't deny yourself a piece of pie. Just don't keep going back for more and you'll be fine." -Dr. K

Me to my husband: "My doctor prescribe that I can have pie!

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Okay, well not exactly. Of course, the husband didn't buy it so just like so many things that I REALLY want, I had to make it. I scoured the Internet for an easy pie recipe because this was going be the first time I had ever baked a pie from scratch. When I found a recipe for pecan pie, I was surprised to find that it didn't call for corn syrup because it's what gives pecan pie that sticky texture and sweetness that makes your jaw ache. I made a few adjustments to the recipe and this is what I came up with.

No Corn Syrup Pecan Pie

1 cup light brown sugar substitute

1/4 cup white sugar substitute

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 eggs

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

1 ready made 9-inch, deep dish pie shell (by all means, make your own pie crust if you know how! I'm still taking baby steps with pie making)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and nuts. Pour into an unbaked 9-in pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Tent the pie edges loosely with foil then reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until done. The center will move slightly but will firm up as it cools.

Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

I had a tough group of judges that Thanksgiving. A few of my family members grew up in the South and I wasn't sure if they were going to like this version of pecan pie. Initially, I only told my mom that I hadn't used real sugar or corn syrup. I tend to do that some times....not tell people that its "reduced sugar" or that I used sugar substitutes because they instantly give me that face that reads: "there is no way this is going to be good." I quietly sat as everyone ate my pie. I think they noticed that it didn't have the texture of a regular pecan pie. Unfortunately, I had over baked it. It was a little dry and turned out to be more like pralines but they still complimented it. When the pie tin was almost empty, that's when my mom let everyone know how I had made the pie and everyone was surprised. I've been getting requests all year to make the pie again for Thanksgiving. On Sunday afternoon, I made it again as a practice run for this Thanksgiving and it turned out much better...more like a traditional pie. Too bad my family knows my secret now.

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Are you in need of a pie for Thanksgiving but don't have time to make one from scratch? Why not order a pie from Mama's Kitchen (http://www.mamaskitchen.org/) for $20? Mama's Kitchen is holding their annual event, Mama's Pie in the Sky. They hope to sell more than 6,250 pies before Nov. 20, which will raise $125,000 and fund nearly 40,000 meals delivered to San Diegans who have HIV/AIDS or cancer.

Here's how Mama's Pie in the Sky works:

1. Visit www.mamaspies.org to purchase the Thanksgiving pies of your choice: apple, pumpkin, pecan, or no sugar added apple pies. If you have a friend or colleague selling pies, choose their name. Otherwise you can just purchase from Mama's Kitchen directly.

2. Select a convenient pick-up location. The pies will be available for pick-up at one of 19 Wells Fargo Bank branches throughout San Diego County or at Mama's Kitchen, located at 3960 Home Avenue, San Diego, Calif. 92115.

3. Go to the location you selected on Wed., Nov. 23 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to pick up your pie(s) from one of our volunteers. When you open your pie, you'll discover what baker prepared your pie.

4. To purchase a pie that will be hand-delivered to Mama's Kitchen's clients on Thanksgiving morning, select the "Love-A-Client" option. For every "Love-A-Client" pie purchased, the donor will receive an entry to win a 64MB iPad2.

There's even something for us diabetics with the no sugar added option. How awesome is that? So many great companies, caterers, bakeries, and individual bakers, including the San Diego Food Blogger's very own Jenny Williams from http://www.jennywennycakes.com/ (maybe you'll get one of her pies!) are participating in this amazing event. You too can participate by purchasing a pie for a great cause. Hurry because the last day to place your order is November 20th. What are you waiting for? Thanksgiving just wouldn't be complete without pie.

Thanks to Scatena Daniels Communications for providing the press release from Mama's Pie in the Sky 2011.