Strawberry hand pie

 We all  loved the Mushroom and caramelized onion Galette that I made a few days back ...The crust was so flaky and crispy  and left a wonderful buttery flavor on the palate....This time, I wanted to use the same crust for some thing sweet....We got a big box of strawberries and I could sneak out a few before Bhavye finished them all....So it was strawberry hand pies for the dessert today...It was very easy to make and the crust was a winner again...So here is the recipe...

All you need is

For the crust

All purpose flour-1 and 1\4 cup
Sugar-2 tbsp
Butter-120 gms ( cold and cut into 2 inch cubes ...Cut the butter and then refrigerate for at least  an hour before using it in the recipe....)
Salt-1\2 tsp
Ice cold water-5-6 table spoon

For the filling

Strawberries-1 cup ( chopped )
Lemon juice-2 tbsp
Sugar-1\3 cup

For the topping

Milk-1\2 cup
Sugar-1 tbsp

Method of preparation

For the crust

Add all purpose flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and whisk
Add cold butter cubes to the bowl, and with the help of a pastry cutter mix till the mixture appears crumbly ( Butter should be coarsely cut and some should be size of oats and some should be size of peas... If you don't have a pastry cutter, you can use your food processor...I have never used it , but a lot of people finds it equally good....Do not over mix...Do not use your your hands to mix, as the heat from your hands will melt the butter and the crust will not be flaky )
Add ice cold water to the bowl ( one table spoon at a time ) and mix until the flour just comes together ( Do not add more water and do not over mix...The flour should just come together...It is not important for the dough to be smooth....I used 5 tbsp of water )
Divide the dough into 2 parts and cover them with a plastic wrap
Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours or overnight

For the filling

Add strawberries in a pan and cover and cook for 5 minutes
Add sugar and lemon juice and cook until it is thick
Remove from heat and cool
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Take out one of the dough balls
Lightly flour the work surface
Roll the dough to 1\8 inch rectangle
Cut 2x2.5 inch rectangles from the dough
Refrigerate for another 15 minutes
Pre heat the oven to375 degrees
Take the pieces from the refrigerator
Keep 1\2 tsp of filling in the center of one piece and cover with another piece
Press gently around the edges to seal
Press with fork tines,all around the corners
Brush with milk and sprinkle sugar on the pies
Prick each pie 2-3 times with a tooth pick
Bake for 15-17 minutes

These are wonderful to have for breakfast with a glass of milk....Although we kept munching them throughout the day...They were so good....