This is the perfect dessert for a picnic, and they can be made in advance! Flaky all butter pie crust enrobes a slightly tart but sweet rose colored filling. These rhubarb and apricot hand pies are such a treat!
A Day at The Beach-
July. Summer is in full swing here, in spite of the occasional overcast day. Its time for lavender fields, sandals, BBQ, and picnics. My favorite picnic spot? Take me to the beach anytime! Most of the beaches nearby are quite rocky, but we do have a few with sand. That’s where we went today. When packing a picnic, I always try to go for what will make minimal mess, like these Rhubarb and Apricot Hand Pies.
I really love the rhubarb and apricot combination here. The color of the filling is bright and rosy, sweet, and a little tart. Fortunately for me, both happen to be available from my local Farmers Market at the same time. There is a brief period in which you can get both, and I am always trying to find new uses for rhubarb, and new fruits to combine it with. This pastry is buttery and flaky, and holds up well while being eaten out of a picnic basket at the beach. I should know, because that is what I did this weekend.
Helpful Tips for The Pastry
This pastry can be made a few days ahead if needed and rolled out when ready. Due to its high butter content, you will find it gets a bit sticky as it warms but I think its well worth it. Just have a little extra flour on hand for dusting your board as well as the dough.
I made my pies about four or five inches across and was able to yield 7 pies, which in my world translates into 6 pies with one left for the chef, strictly for quality control purposes of course (wink wink). If you want a larger number of pies, simply cut your circles smaller and use a little less filling.
More Pastry Tips
This dough uses pastry flour, which will make for a more tender crust than one made with all purpose flour because of its lower protein content. If you don’t have any pastry flour it will still come out just fine.
You may find you need to use a little more water to get the dough to come together if using all purpose. I use unsalted butter here, as I don’t want my dough coming out with a salty flavor.
This dough comes together seamlessly in the food processor, meaning very little cleanup, and none of that cutting the butter into the flour by hand business unless that’s your thing, then by all means go for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use only rhubarb if you like, and simply use 4 cups instead of 2 cups, or the same thing with the apricot, use 4 cups rather than 2 cups. You could even replace the apricot with an equal amount of strawberries, they go quite well with rhubarb.
You certainly could if you are short on time or if making pie crust is not your forte (it took me a bit of practice to master it) or if you have a tried and true recipe you’d like to use instead that’s great as well!
I have not tested this recipe with either one, but I would imagine that a good quality shortening would work ok here. You might try using a bit less of it than the amount of butter that is called for. Coconut oil is worth a try also!
A gluten free flour that is cup for cup should work fine!
Serving Suggestions
These Rhubarb and Apricot Hand Pies will keep in the fridge for up to a week wrapped tightly in aluminum foil. I prefer to serve them at room temperature. They go great with Chicken Salad with Bacon and Caramelized Onions! They will be ready to eat when you are after all that fun at the beach. As long as they survive the trip there, that is.
I made my pies about four or five inches across and was able to yield 7 pies, which in my world translates into 6 pies with one left for the chef, strictly for quality control purposes of course (wink wink). If you want a larger number of pies, simply cut your circles smaller and use a little less filling.
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Rhubarb and Apricot Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 2 cups pastry flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Pinch salt
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
- 4 tbsp unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 5-6 tbsp cold water
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp milk
For the Filling
- 2 cups chopped Rhubarb, about 1 1/2 stalks
- 2 cups chopped Apricot
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 Tbsp of Water
- 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the 2 cups flour, 2 tbsp sugar, and pinch of salt until combined.
- cut the 14 tbsp of butter into slices and place in the food processor, and pulse until the butter is incorporated into the flour and the mixture resembles a course meal.
- Add the 4 tbsp of unfiltered apple cider vinegar, and pulse a few times to combine. Then add the cold water, 1 tbsp at a time until a soft dough forms inside the bowl of the food processor.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board or counter top, and knead for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Shape into a flat disk, and allow it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
- Place the 2 cups of rhubarb, 2 cups of apricot, 3/4 cups of sugar, and another pinch of salt in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir using a wooden spoon, and after cooking for about 10 minutes, combine 2 tbsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsp water in a bowl, add to filling mixture, and cook another 5 minutes or until thickened. Refrigerate filling at least 30 minutes, or until cool and thickened.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pastry from the plastic wrap, and on a floured surface roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cut 12 4-5 inch rounds from the pastry, re-rolling scraps as needed.
- Place about 1/4 up of filling on 6 of the rounds, and then place an empty round on top of the rounds with the filling, sealing them closed with a fork. Place the pies on a large rimmed baking sheet.
- In a bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork and add 1 tbsp milk, and using a pastry brush, coat the tops of the pies.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until light golden brown, and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
6 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 807Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 379mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 4gSugar: 48gProtein: 11g
All information presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietitian and any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline. Statements within this site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is provided for recipes contained on this site. This information comes from online calculators. Although The Copper Table attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I like slow living too 🙂 Pies are definitely one of the things I associate with good old slow living 🙂 Will have to try these soon!
I’ve never had this flavor combination before, but it sounds delicious! Hand pies are one of my favorite treats for Summer!
I love hand pies too! This is such a nice flavor combination, and I hope you enjoy it!