Heirloom Pear Hand Pies With Brown Sugar And Brandy

Total Time: 1 hr 32 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 32 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 -3 tablespoons butter (no amount given, but i would start with 2-3 t.)
• 2 1/2 lbs ripe bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (17 1/3 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed for 30 minutes (2 sheets)
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten with
• 1 teaspoon cold water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, for serving

Recipe

• 1 in a big skillet melt the butter over high heat; add in pears; cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden around the edges, about 5 minutes.
• 2 add in brown sugar, lemon juice, and the brandy; cook until the pears are tender and the liquid in the skillet has reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 4-5 minutes.
• 3 stir in vanilla.
• 4 spread the diced pears on a baking sheet and let cool, about 25 minutes.
• 5 on a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 of the puff pastry sheets to a 9 x 14 inch rectangle.
• 6 using a plate as a template, carefully cut out two 7 inch rounds.
• 7 transfer the rounds to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper; repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
• 8 spoon ¼ of the filling over half of a pastry round, leaving a ½ inch border at the edge.
• 9 brush the border lightly with the egg wash.
• 10 fold the top half of the round over and press the edges together firmly to seal.
• 11 repeat with the remaining pear filling and pastry rounds.
• 12 refrigerate the hand pies for 30 minutes; reserve the remaining egg- wash.
• 13 preheat oven to 425°. brush the tops of the hand pies lightly with the remaining egg wash; sprinkle the tops all over with the sugar.
• 14 bake the hand pies for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven, then decrease oven temperature to 400° and bake pies for about 14-17 minutes, until they are a deep golden brown color.
• 15 let the pies cool for 20 minutes; serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.