Rachel Wharton - Handheld Pies: Dozens of Pint-Size Sweets and Savories

Thinking about why we wrote this book, and committing those intentions to the page, we both looked back over lives rich with pies. We could have told the story here of the rambling white farmhouse where Sarahs great-grandmother baked a dozen pies a day for her family, pies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that fueled the work on a Pennsylvania dairy farm. Or of Rachels quest for the perfect spicy beef patty, a flaky golden-crusted turnover carried to Jamaica by the British and from Jamaica to the Caribbean neighborhoods of Brooklyn, where she now lives.

But instead, we implore you: Bake pie.

We know that crust gets a bad rap. Bakers who end up with overbrowned edges and soggy bottoms routinely lament that making pastry is too difficult, too messy. Friends have confessed that they fear their rolling pin, that they nurture a special loathing of wiping up flour with a wet sponge, that their thick, clumsy fingers will never be able to handle dough. To these people, we respond softly, encouragingly: all you need is a wee bit of patience and a little time and youll be rolling, folding, and fluting like a bake-off champion. You can do it! The folks at , now a Michigan empire, started with nothing: no farm, no family pie history, no pie-making lessons. In fact, they may have never even made a pie before they started down the pie-making path. Today, their cherry creations are ranked number-one statewide in a state that knows something about cherry pies.

There is little in this revved-up, complex, ultra-connected world that is more satisfying than pie. And we dont mean just eating it. We mean baking it, too. Making a pie can be as simple as a mix of butter and flour wrapped around a bit of sweetened fruit that gives up its juices, which thicken and caramelize in the heat of the oven. The rewards are bountiful and immediate. Your kitchen smells amazing. Your friends and family feel cared for. You earn the pride of a job well done. And, served warm, drizzled with a bit of cold cream and paired with a cup of steaming coffee, a slice of pie makes the world feel safe, warm, and complete.

Although we like pie in all forms, we believe our focus here, handheld pies, fulfills two more elemental pleasures: both small things and eating with your hands make you happy. Take them to a picnic or a bake sale. Stick them in your freezer and pull them out for lunch, a snack, or dessert. Carry a batch to a friend who has just had a baby and wait for her grateful call.

We want to teach you, or at least to inspire you, with tales of yumminess. In the spirit of encouragement, we have arranged this book for ultimate usability and convenience. The first three chapters are technique-driven, outlining a few different ways to bake small pies, with some specific recipes for our favorites. We provide you step-by-step instructions on how to make .

The fourth chapter, Nuts and Bolts, is devoted to our favorite crusts and everyday fillings. These are perfect for mixing and matching; any of the crusts can be combined with any of the fillings to make a fabulous pie. But if you decide you want to master just one crust, go ahead and make it your staple, using it over and over with different fillings until youre ready for a change. You can also buy a top-notch ready-made pie crust (see and contribute a homemade filling. And, yes, you can still call it a homemade pie.

The pie universe is immense, creative, and delicious, so we had to think long and hard about what to include here. Sarah is obsessed with cream pies and cant quite decide if the , too.

We also had to make room for some of the great recipes from our friends the pie experts: the irresistible from sisters Emily and Melissa Elsen of Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn, New York, who learned their pie-making skills from their South Dakota grandmother. Redolent of thyme and honey, these little cheese packages may become your go-to appetizer.

Before we go any further, we want to explain how this book got written: We met in New York City and bonded over our curiosity about the world of food, whose magnetic pull weve both felt throughout our lives. Even though we live on different coasts nowSarah in California, Rachel in New Yorkwe share a love for small pies, and we knew our complementary talents made us natural partners for a book about them that strives not only to teach, but also to inspire. Sarah is the baker; Rachel is the journalist. Rachel researched and contacted some of the best small-pie makers in the United States and wrote the profiles of these fascinating folks that youll find throughout this book. The recipes were all developed by Sarah, who also wrote their headnotes and all of the instructive text, in which she shares what she has learned over two decades of baking. Going forward, the I in the headnotes and text in the recipe chapters refers to Sarah.

This brings us to the ultimate truth about pies: they take time. All of the stepspreparing the dough, chilling it properly, making the filling, and shaping and baking your piesadd up to several hours. That said, you will spend these hours engaged in a sensual, delicious process with a rich, edible finish. A food processor produces excellent dough quickly, but you should give yourself time to make it by hand, working the firm butter into the silky flour with your warm fingers. The textures of the ingredients feel good. The movement is meditative. And there is no better way to develop a true feel for pie and to experience the satisfaction of handmade food.

So pick a pie and get baking! The sooner you do, the sooner youll have pie in hand, pie in mouth. And in our experience, theres no better way to be.

Handheld pies are surprisingly easy to make.

But you will need some tools, ingredients, and techniques to smooth the way.

You need only the basics to turn out little pies: measuring cups and spoons, a rolling pin, a large bowl, a spatula, and a baking sheet (a few are even better). It is hard to make pies without these everyday tools (though, in a pinchread dorm roomSarah has rolled out dough with a wine bottle). Other pieces of equipment that simplify or prettify your pies are listed here, along with advice on choosing some of the basics.

When your pies come out of the oven, youll want to transfer them to a wire baking rack so air can circulate around them, cooling them evenly.