mini nutella & raspberry hand pies.

hubba hubba yum yum.

here’s an easy peasy crowd pleaser!!!

the first thing out of pete’s mouth after one bite of a pie was, “can you make these again?” 😂

why yes, i can and i will make these again.

and you can, too!

i used ye olde trusty alison roman pie dough recipe, same as i’d used in these blueberry basil hand pies. if you really wanna speed up this process, just use store bought, pre-rolled pie dough.

you could have these assembled & baked all in about 30 minutes if you went the pre-rolled route. lightning fast hand pies!

howeva… i’d recommend going the extra mile to make the homemade pie dough because it is so so flaky and buttery and perfectomundo.

the options are endless here with pie fillings, but i was wanting a super simple and somewhat refreshing little dessert pie that would let me use up a jar of nutella that’s been lingering around here a little toooo long (aka. frequent visits to the pantry for “just one more” little spoonful of the good stuff. that costco 2-pack is dangerzone, usa).

we found that the nutella + fresh raspberries were a lovely little balance between sweet and tart, and the pie crust adds so much buttery, flaky texture.

i wouldn’t even bother adding coarse sugar to the tops of the pies. the nutella is sweet enough.

it’s a truly simple dessert!

and. how freaking cute, anyway?

hand pies are such a dream. nothing has to be perfect about them, and they’ll turn out cute to boot every time.

i made several 3-inch (the tiny pies on the plate) and 4-inch pies (pies on the table).

the 4-inch rounds are definitely easier to work with as far as filling and creasing the pies. you have to be a little careful not to overfill the 3-inch rounds.

i forsee many repeats of these little delights in our homestead.

gotta keep extra discs of frozen homemade pie dough at the ready for a hand pie emergency!!

you won’t be sorry :)

and happy valentine’s day today!

Mini Nutella & Raspberry Hand Pies

Makes (12) 4-inch hand pies, or (24) 3-inch hand pies

Total Time: Using Pre-made dough = 30 minutes // Using Homemade Dough (+ 2 hr Chill Time) = 3 hours

Ingredients:

For the Dough: (Recipe from Alison Roman’s Dining In Cookbook, “The Only PIecrust”)

  • *I halved the following dough recipe to make the hand pies, but having extra discs of frozen pie dough stored is convenient!

    • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    • 2 TB. granulated sugar

    • 1 tsp. kosher salt

    • 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled & cubed

    • 1 TB. apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

    • 1/4 cup ice water

For the Filling:

  • 2/3 - 1 cup Nutella or Chocolate Hazelnut spread of choice

  • fresh raspberries

  • 1 egg + 1 tsp. water - egg wash for top of crust

Instructions-

For the dough:

You can make the pie dough way in advance and keep in the freezer. Or make 1-4 days in advance and store flat rounds in plastic wrap in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. OR just use store bought pie dough!

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar & salt. Add the chilled butter cubes and toss to coat in the flour mixture, then use your hands to smash the butter between your fingers. Incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until it appears shaggy and flaky.

Combine the vinegar and the ice water and drizzle it over the flour + butter mixture. Run your fingers through the mixture to evenly distribute the water through the flour until the dough starts coming together.

On a lightly floured work surface, knead the combined dough a few times to gather up and incorporate any dry bits. It will not be smooth or shiny. Knead the shaggy mass with your palms a few more times, then pat into a flat disk about 1 inch thick. Wrap the disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Assemble the hand pies:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment.

Roll out the pie crust on a well floured surface until it is 1/8 inch thick. Use 4” or 3” cookie cutters (or just the rim of a glass) to press circles into the dough, setting each round on the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll out the dough scraps to make as many 4-inch or 3-inch rounds as you can.

For 3” round pies, place about 1 teaspoon of Nutella and 1 raspberry into the center of the round.

For 4” round pies, place about 2 teaspoons of Nutella and 2 raspberries into the center of the round.

Gently fold one edge of the dough over the filling and adhere to the other side of the dough round, keeping at least 1/4” border around the outside edge. If there’s too much Nutella to close the pocket, scoop a little bit out using a spoon. Press the edges of the dough together firmly with your fingers, then use the tines of a fork to seal it up.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water to make the egg wash. Brush the tops of the pies with the egg wash. Cut 1/4 inch vents on top for steam to escape.

Bake the 3” pies for about 14 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Bake the 4” pies for about 18 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven and use a spatula to push away any burnt chocolate that oozed out of the pies. Transfer pies to a cooling rack. Cool at least 10 minutes before eating.

Store in a parchment lined airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

ENJOY!

qp

chocolate covered ice cream cups.

or: what to do what you have a ruddy old carton of ice cream that’s been 85% eaten but is still lurking in the freezer.

or: what to do when you have a plain ol’ ice cream flavor in your freezer that definitely needs a dose of chocolate.

you will probably never catch me eating a bowl of plain vanilla ice cream. nuh uhhhhh.

did costco really do away with the chocolate soft serve at the hot dog shack? they just have vanilla and acai now?? hogwash.

my best friend katie and i would frequent the walk-up dairy queen in high school and just sit in the parking lot eating blizzards and watch people to see what they ordered...(super fun small town activity in 2004 when you have your driver’s license and that’s about it).

she and i are both chocolate lovvahhhhs and would always get some sorta chocolatey chocked full (chunks-o-shit as we call it - give us all the chocolatey chunks o shit) chocolate extrEme maximo mayhem blizzard. with marshmallow sauce.

i laugh now thinking about kt giving the other punkass high schooler DQ employee her sweetest eyes and telling them to “lay on the mallow sauce” as if she was asking a HUGE favor of them. that’s all we wanted out of life, man.

it is truly shocking to observe how many people at dairy queen order PLAIN VANILLA CONES. what? have you seen the DQ menu, people? it’s brimming with hot eats & cool treats.

lots of dilly bars ordered, too. that’s funny to me. kt & i would just hang our heads in shame watching old person after old person walking away from the window licking their whhhhiiiite plain vanilla cones.

[my friend whitney will see this and yes whitney i’ve noticed your love of plain vanilla cones……. interesting life choice. 😂🍦]

SO GUESS WHAT.

i do love mint chocolate chip ice cream. but i wish it was more chocolatey, of course. we had a tub of it leftover from NYE and i wanted to make something with it.

enter these mini chocolate-covered mint chocolate chip ice cream bites.

can we assume that “mint chocolate chip” is green with chips, and “chocolate chip mint” is white with chips? this always confuses me.

i would definitely make these with vanilla ice cream since any plain vanilla ice cream that makes it into my house just burns in a sad ice shard covered, dented cardboard mess in the back of the freezer for ages.

strawberry ice cream would be YUMMO in a chocolate covered cup. i have a soft spot for strawberry ice cream even tho chocolate anything is my regular go-to.

these are so easy to make. the intervals of freezer wait time are the “hardest” part.

i usually make these rocky road bars at christmas time (whoa. classic recipe, but those photos need work, lol), but i didn’t get around to it this year. so i had some hershey bars in the freezer free for the using!

you can obviously use whatever type of chocolate you prefer, there’s something about classic hershey bars that just hit the spot for me in a nostalgic way.

the maldon sea salt flakes on top are SO delightful and really round out the flavors of the cup as a whole unit. and they look pretty, too.

the possibilities and combinations are endless here. put those sad old corners of your ice cream tubs to good use!

Chocolate Covered Ice Cream Cups

Makes 12 mini cups

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 regular sized Hershey bars or chocolate bar of choice

  • 1 TB coconut oil

  • ice cream of choice

  • maldon flaked sea salt

Instructions-

In a simmering double-boiler (I use a strong glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water), melt the coconut oil and break up the chocolate bars. Heat and stir frequently with a spatula until the chocolate is melted (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Line a mini muffin tin with mini cupcake/muffin liners and spray with cooking spray. Spoon a little melted chocolate into the bottom of the liners and brush the chocolate up the sides. Freeze for about 15 minutes.

After the bottom layer of chocolate is frozen, spoon a little scoop of ice cream on top and press down in the cup using the back of the spoon. Freeze again for 10 minutes.

Top the ice cream with another small layer of melted chocolate, spreading it to the edges and swirling it around with the back of a spoon. Top with Maldon sea salt flakes and freeze at least 30 minutes before eating.

Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

qp