Rosie Makes Fruity Treats Four Ways.

We have strawberries and rhubarb and cherries

and they are plentiful now.

 Rosie is going to wing it today

 making fun filled hand pies and crescent moons 

for the little children playing outside,

a galette, something more rustic for crust-cracking on a screened-in porch

listening to the rain fall on a tin roof,

and finally, an adult version with a little Kirsch liqueur ignited

and poured over the fruit.

Well, that's the way it played out in my head.

Ingredients:

 Pie Crust

 2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp kosher salt 

2 sticks cold butter

1/2 cup ice cold water

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.

Grate butter into flour mixture.

I've found that grating is quicker than dicing.

Be sure grater is cold.  Works better.

Using a pastry blender,

work it until coarse crumbs form.

Pour in water and work into dough

with fork, wooden spoon, or pastry blender.

Divide the dough into two pieces, shape into discs, 

wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Begin work on the Pie Filling.

Pie Filling

1/2 cup rhubarb, diced

1 cup strawberries, sliced

1 cup cherries, pitted and sliced

3 TB cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 brown sugar

pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients.

Set aside.

Topping

 1 egg beaten with 1 TB water for brushing

turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350°.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the pie dough to 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured board,

using one disc of dough at a time.

For the Hand Held Pies:

Roll a disc out into an acceptable rectangle.

Take a sharp knife and even edges,

so that you actually have a rectangle.

Save scrapes with the other disc.

Now, evenly slice across

so that you have a whole bunch of little rectangles.

Place a little filling in the center.

Wet the edges.

Press to seal.

Crimp with a fork.

Brush with egg wash.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Give it a slice in the center to "breathe."

For the Crescents:
Roll out dough and cut out circles with a 3 inch biscuit cutter.

Refrigerate and save any leftover scraps of dough for the galette.

Spoon a little of the fruit filling

 in the center of the crescents.

Do not overfill.

Take a small brush (finger) to wet around the edges.

Press to seal.

Crimp with a fork.

Brush with egg wash.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

 Give a slice in the center.

For the galette:

Knead the scraps into a cohesive ball,

then roll out 1/4 - 1/8 inch thick.

Place the rest of the filling in the center,

leaving an inch or so border.

Drape edges over filling, working around the galette.

Remember, it's rustic.

Brush with egg wash.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake 25-30 minutes until tops are golden brown.

Berries and rhubarb. waiting to be mixed.

Berries soaking it up.

Dry mixture on right.

Try grating your butter next time you're make a pie dough.

Leave the grate in the freeze before working with it.

And the butter must be cold.

Work it with a pastry blender.
The heat from your fingers would melt the butter.

Fork in the ice cold water

Work with it.

It's fun!

Just a few times kneading and turning on a lightly floured board

and you have a lovely dough.

Press into disks and refrigerate for at least two hours.

 

On to the handheld pies:

Roll out the dough until 1/8 - 1/4 - inch thick.

Cut into rectangles.

Save strips.

Place a little filling in each center

and go around the edges with a wet brush.

Or finger.

Seal and crimp.
And give it a slash in the middle so it can expand.

For crescents:

Cut out with a biscuit and lightly fill.

Roll out dough and wet around the edges.

Turn dough over and press and seal.

You need to make little slits in them so they can "breathe."

For the galette:

Start out with some free-form dough.

Add filling, leaving an inch or two border.

Drape folds up and over.

Egg wash from one lightly beaten egg.

And sprinkle with the turbinado.

Bake until golden brown.

Galette is even better with ice cream,

but you probably already knew that.

My fruit wouldn't be complete without a flambé.

I've always had that arson/pyrotechnic flare.

I heated up some of the filling,

added Kirsch liqueur to it, then ignited it,

and poured it over my melting ice cream.

Good stuff!