The air over the Hood River area finally cleared and our fridge was in need of a seasonal fruit infusion. This week’s trip sent us north to the Fruit Loop.
The devastation of recent fires scarred the hills along Hwy 26 and 35. Mop-up efforts were still underway as we descended the eastside of Mt. Hood.
But Kiyokawa Orchards was open for the season, and while not overflowing with varieties, there was plenty to choose from.
The boxes of fruit set out on their shelves included some late season peaches and a wide range of small stone fruit . . . plums and plumcots.
Also on the wood racks was an early harvest of apples and pears. We loaded a basket with something from nearly every box.
We were looking for a tart apple to turn into pie. Pies are wonderful treats but lousy picnic fare. The easiest way to change that is to bake individual servings.
Hand pies are no more trouble to make than a whole pie and so much easier to have on the road.
America’s Test Kitchen “Baking For Two” has an excellent pie crust recipe, see attached. Rest in the fridge a few hours (or freeze for later), rolled out a quarter of an inch thick and cut into 5 inch rounds.
You load these disks with pie filling, although the fruit needs to be chopped into smaller pieces.
With peach or apple filling, start by chopping the fruit in small chunks, about a cup will fill the eight to ten disks that a single recipe of pie dough will make.
Toss these cubes of fruit in a tablespoon of lemon juice, to discourage browning. Add one tablespoon each of brown and white sugar and AP flour. To this we also put in ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg, though spices are a personal matter.
Pie Dough (American Test Kitchen "Baking for Two")
Ingredients
- 9 Tbsp unsalted butter chilled and divided
- 1 1/4 cups AP flour divided
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup ice water
Instructions
- Grate 2 tablespoons butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 7 tablespoons butter into ½ inch cubes.
- Pulse ¾ cup flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds. Using your hands carefully break dough ball into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade.
- Add remaining ½ cup flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle 2 more tablespoons of ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
- Transfer to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of the plastic over the dough and press firmly on the sides and top to form a compact, fissure-free disk. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Allow to sit on counter top for about 10 minutes to soften before rolling out.