Caramel-Pecan Hand Pies

By Wewah

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pecans
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• salt
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 5 large eggs, 1 egg beaten
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from thecafesucrefarine.com

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Cool, then coarsely chop the nuts.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of the sugar with ½ cup of water. Cook over moderate heat, swirling the pan gently every now and then, until the caramel is medium-amber, about 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, cream and vanilla. Transfer 1 cup of the caramel to a large bowl and let cool slightly. (Save any remaining caramel for drizzling over the finished pies.)

Whisk the remaining 1 cup of sugar and the corn syrup into the caramel/butter mixture in the bowl. Add the 4 unbeaten eggs and whisk until smooth. Add the pecans and a generous pinch of salt. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Pour the pecan filling into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until set. Let cool slightly, then scrape the pecan filling into a bowl and gently stir to recombine. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a floured work surface cut twelve 6" circles from the two packages of refrigerated pie crusts, gathering and re-rolling scraps as needed. (I cut three 5" circles from each disk of dough by folding two sides in towards the middle then rolling each piece of dough (from the center) into a 6" x 18" rectangle (I used a 6" plate as a template.) Cut out decorative shapes from leftover scraps if desired.

Brush the pastry surfaces lightly with some of the beaten egg. Scoop a scant ¼ cup of the pecan filling onto each round and fold the pastry over to make a turnover. Press the edges to seal and crimp with the tines of a floured fork. Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg and arrange the cut out shapes decoratively, if desired. Brush again with the egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Using a sharp knife, make a small slit in the top of each pie.

Place the pies on 2 sheet pans that have been lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown; shift the pans halfway through baking. Let the pies cool on the baking sheets before serving. Drizzle the reserved caramel sauce over the pies when serving, if desired.

Instructions