Paleo Cranberry Hand Pies
Hello again!
So it is December 5th, which means that Christmas is only 20 days away!
Holy sweet baby Jesus I am not even CLOSE to being prepared this year for this holiday!
I am normally on top of things.
I normally have gifts already wrapped and under the tree by this point, I am doing poor. I haven’t even bought A THING yet.
Having a bit of a panic attack.
These holidays have crept up on me this year.
I feel like whenever Thanksgiving is a bit later in the month of November, Christmas always seems to come SO fast!
Feel very unprepared right now.
I am sure everything will work out and I will get things sorted.
For example, next week Patrick AND my Daddy are traveling. Patrick is going to Germany and my Dad is going to Korea. Traveling men.
Since all of us work at the same company, but different buildings, we carpool.
Which means I am a free lady next week to get some shopping potentially done.
This is a good thing.
*side note does anyone else ever think of Martha Stewart when they hear “It’s a good thing” ? , my Mom watched her for a bit when I was younger and I just always remember her saying that. end of side note*
Anyways, whenever I start freaking out about things…you know what I Do?
Bake.
I know it sounds stupid, but it calms me down!
Really!
My belly doesn’t appreciate the extra inches, but my heart & soul definitely is comforted when I am in the kitchen.
I wanted to try something new for Thanksgiving this year.
My Mom normally does all the cooking and I would love to help her, but it is her thing and I don’t want to try and mess with something that ain’t broke.
However, I saw this recipe a day or two prior to Thanksgiving and I really wanted to try it.
Don’t freak out because you see “Paleo” in the title.
I have not converted to Paleo. I just like trying different recipes that are from different genres. Why not right?
Patrick and I tend to eat pretty “clean” as they call it now, but every once in a while you need to branch out and try new things. Discover new recipes.
Paleo is the HOT thing right now. Everything is being turned Paleo and surprisingly I eat pretty much Paleo on a daily basis without even knowing I was doing it.
However, when it comes to baking. THAT is a whole different story. I try to keep it healthy with less oils, whole wheat flours and better sugars. But, when you start talking about Paleo baking, it is a WHOOOOLE different ball game.
I was intrigued when I saw this recipe. I immediately wanted to try it.
I had NO idea if it would be any good, but I knew I had what the recipe called for, or close to it, at home.
So I went for it.
And you know what?
They were good!
Like really good!
Who knew you could make pie crust without all purpose flour!?
I would highly recommend these to anyone if you are wanting a different spin on something for the holidays and the cranberry relish is to die for by itself, or in yogurt, or on pancakes, or in a smoothie…Ok, I have tried it in just a few things 😉
Anyway, I hope you try these and love them just as much as we did!
- For Filling:
- 12 oz fresh Cranberries
- 1 Orange, zest and juice
- 1 cup Water, filtered
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp ground Allspice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or maple sugar
- Rinse the cranberries under cold water, and place in a medium sized sauce pan.
- Add the zest and juice of one orange, along with 1 cup of filtered water, and turn the burner on to medium heat.
- Stir the cranberries until they start to pop, and bubble. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and allow the cranberries to continue to cook until you have a mixture of softened, almost gelled cranberries, and some that are still whole.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, maple sugar, and allspice, and allow to cook for another 5 minutes or so, and then turn the heat down to low.
- If you want a thicker sauce, you can either allow the sauce to continue to reduce, or you can add the tablespoon of tapioca powder/cornstarch. Typically you want to whisk starch into a hot liquid, so that it dissolves properly, but that’s not possible for this relish, so you just need to stir vigorously and the starch will dissolve just fine.
- Once the starch is added, remove the relish from the heat and allow to cool before filling the hand pies.
- For Pies:
- 12 oz Spiced Cranberry Relish
- 1/2 cup Maple Sugar or Brown Sugar
- 1 1/2 cup Blanched Almond Flour
- 1 1/2 cup Tapioca flour , plus additional for dusting
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 3 Tbsp ghee
- 2 Egg Whites, yolks reserved
- 1 Egg, whisked
- Preheat your oven to 350°, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, almond flour, tapioca flour, sea salt, and baking soda.
- Using your hands, add the ghee/butter to the dough. Once it is added to the flours, you will have a crumbly dough.
- Lightly whisk the egg whites, and add them to the dough, using your hands again to incorporate, until you have a nicely formed ball of dough.
- Add about 1-2 tablespoons of tapioca flour to the outside of the dough if it’s a touch too sticky.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cooking surface large enough to roll the dough, and dust with tapioca flour.
- Add half of the dough to the parchment, and place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough.
- Roll the dough into a 1/8 inch thick sheet, and using the rim of a large wide mouth mason jar lid, or an English muffin ring, cut circles in the dough, and remove the extra dough around the outside.
- Gently move the circles to your parchment lined baking sheet, and place them about an inch or two apart.
- Repeat to create the tops of the pies.
- Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the Cranberry Relish onto each circle of dough, and just using your finger, run a rim of the remaining egg yolk around the outer area of the crust, so that the top layer sticks well.
- Gently place the top layer of crust over the bottom layer with the cranberry relish, and press the edges together with your fingers. Using a paring knife, create 3 slits on the top of the pies, and using a fork, press the edges again to create texture on the outside rim.
- Lightly brush the top of the pies with the whisked egg, and place in the oven to bake for 17 minutes on the middle rack.
- After 17 minutes, remove the pies from the oven, and turn the oven temperature up to 375, and move the oven rack up one notch. Brush the pies once more with the egg wash, and sprinkle with maple sugar, and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Repeat with all steps with a second batch of pies if needed.
- (Yield will depend on the size of the circle cutter you use)
5 Comments
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Your hand pies look really GOOD! I am in love with that cranberry filling.
RavieNomNoms
It is to die for!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table
Baking is calming for me too – you don’t sound crazy at all!
Oddly, for the first time ever, I actually have everything purchsed. Go figure.
Liz
Mmmm….both your relish and hand pies look terrific! Perfect for BOTH Thanksgiving and Christmas 🙂
Brooks
Raven, so nice to catch up with you. Baking is my zone too, and while I’m not well-versed in Paleo baking, alternative flours intrigue me. You’ve put together these terrific-looking pies so now I’m hungry for one. The relish is a gem too…I’m off to pin this for future reference. Good tidings and joy to the newlyweds, and all the best for 2015!