Chocolate Banana Hand Pies
Text and Photo by Jac Kyles Baker
Makes 4 hand pies
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 TB granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 TB vegetable oil
2 TB unsalted butter, softened
3 TB sour cream
1 cup chocolate banana jam (recipe below)
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour and baking powder together. Make a well in the center.
In a small mixing bowl: beat the oil, butter, salt, sugar and sour cream.
Pour into the well. Stir in flour until a soft dough forms.
Divide dough in half. Press into disks on two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.*
Roll dough half into a 1/4 inch disk. Cut out four 6 inch circles and spread 1/4 cup of jam on half of each circle. Fold over the other half of the dough to form a semi circle. Fold seam over. Press seam closed with a fork.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.**
Place 2 pies on parchment paper or a microwave safe plate. Microwave on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes (times vary by microwave).
Crust should be dry and puffed. Cool pies on a wire rack.
Dust cooled pies with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar if desired.
Repeat with the 2 remaining pies.
Cook's Notes
*If dough is too cold to roll easily, allow it to warm up at room temperature until easy to roll. Dough should remain cold to the touch.
Check the dough frequently while doing so. There's a fine line between warm enough to roll easily and too warm to roll easily.
**Pies can be frozen, perhaps up to a month. I know they can be frozen for two weeks without any ill effects.
Don't thaw frozen pies. Just increase the cook time by a minute or so.
Banana Jam
Makes 1 1/2 cup of jam
Ingredients
4 ripe bananas (not overripe or with black peels), diced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
juice of 1 small lime
Preparation
In a large microwave safe bowl (ceramic or pyrex glass), toss lime juice with diced bananas . Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute.
Drain bananas of water. Microwave on HIGH until little water remains. About a cup of banana water will be extracted.
Stir in sugar. Microwave in two 1 minute intervals until thickened. Stir after each minute.
Spoon jam into a clean, dry jar. Cool jam to room temperature. Cover with lid. Keep refrigerated.
Chocolate Banana Jam
Warm 1 cup of refrigerated banana jam in the microwave for 1 minute.
Add 2 TB semi sweet chocolate chips to banana jam. Stir until chocolate chips until are melted.
