Recipes

Savoury Pop Tarts

These itty-bitty savoury hand pies are the perfect two-bite cocktail snack

By Angie Quaale /

We’ve found the perfect snack for cocktail hour

These itty-bitty savoury hand pies from Chef Lee Murphy are the perfect two-bite cocktail snack. They are a great make-ahead treat that freeze beautifully. Chef Lee recommends you make a double batch and keep a couple dozen on hand for last-minute BYOA (appies) invitations. This recipe can really be a lot of fun to play around with; try mixing and matching different herbs, cheeses, and, of course, preserves. You are limited only by your imagination!

Pastry Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup finely grated Parmesan + more for sprinkling
  • 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup cold unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup cold vegetable shortening
  • 2 whole eggs
  • ¼ cup ice water
  • 2 eggs, beaten with 2 tbsp water for the egg wash

Filling Ingredients

Instructions

  1. For the pastry, combine the flour, Parmesan, thyme and salt. Using a cheese grater, grate in the cold butter and shortening and, with your fingers, rub the mixture together to create coarse crumbs. Whisk the two whole eggs and ice water together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir just to combine. Gather into a ball, knead two to three times only, and press into a flat disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Roll out the chilled dough to about ?-inch thickness and cut it into 4- × 2-inch rectangles. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet and brush the edges with egg wash. Place a generous pinch of grated Gruyère on one end of each rectangle, top with ¼ tsp preserves, and fold the pastry in half to seal into square pouches, using a fork to press the edges together to seal tightly. Brush egg wash on top of each and sprinkle with a pinch of Parmesan. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. If you’re making extra, fill them, pinch them and freeze them on a sheet pan until frozen solid. Transfer them back to the freezer in a sealed plastic bag so you can take them out, thaw them, and bake them off anytime you need a fix!

 Makes about 3 dozen pop-tarts.

 

Excerpted from Eating Local in the Fraser Valley by Angie Quaale. Copyright © 2018 Angie Quaale. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.