Heart Shaped Chocolate Cherry Hand Pies
As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, it’s time to bake from the heart. I tend to get bit carried away with this occasion. What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic sap.
The good thing is, my husband Steve is also into the hearts and flowers shtick so we really are a good match. Each year we exchange some type of gift and card. Steve usually spends more on my gift than I do for his and that’s the way it should be right?.
He also has this “thing” with cards. He tends to lean towards the ones that POP and I’m not referring to colour, I’m talking about the ones that flip open and something obnoxious unfolds from inside and BOOM something EXPLODES into your face. Ya. Those are fun.
I have been trying to figure out what to buy him for months. I do have something in mind however it isn’t the least bit romantic at all. All I can is say is this….his gift will alleviate a job that I hate doing on a yearly basis. So technically this gift is more for me than for him. Gawd, I’m awful.
Oh. Can I just swing over to another subject for a sec? A few weeks ago, Steve installed a new system in the house to allow us to see who is at our front door when we are not home. It’s incorporated into the doorbell and acts like a two way intercom which includes a video recording device and a camera. Here’s how it works…..
- Someone arrives at our front porch/door.
- My cellphone starts making a sound like Peter Pan is flying into the room – It’s not a jingle or a jangle, it’s something like fairy dust is being sprinkled on my head.
- By the time I figure out how to answer the jingle-ringle-dingle, the person who was at the front door has already left the premises.
- Whenever I exit the house or come to the front door my husband talks to me through the doorbell and scares the sh*%t out of me (It goes like this: I’m trying to put the key in the door and I hear – HELLOOOOOO HELLOOOOO and then he laughs which in my opinion is funny and sad at the same time because I’m wasting time talking to a DOORBELL)
- The first week, I thought I would be a joker and literally do a full song and dance in front of this gizmo. I would also have a full conversation with myself through the doorbell and watch it on my phone later for my own skewed entertainment purposes. Then I discovered that my neighbours could see me across the street. So that ended.
I decided to outsmart this device by doing what I needed to do. DELETE the app off my phone.
BEST.
IDEA.
EVER.
The other day when I was in the shower, my husband called me and this was our conversation as I stood soaking wet in the bathroom:
Steve: “Helloooooo, didn’t you hear the doorbell”?
Me: “NO, I was in the shower”.
Steve: Hmmmm…..someone was at the front door”.
Me: “Okay, who?”
Steve: “I don’t know, there wasn’t anyone there”.
Me: “There was no one there yet the doorbell rang”?
Steve: “No, the doorbell didn’t ring, I received a notification that there was motion at the front door“.
Me: “It was clearly a moth that was causing this commotion on your phone, my suggestion is to delete the app like I did and that way, when I’m in the SHOWER and can’t answer the door AND you are 25 miles away, the moth will leave his calling card and you can get back to him when he comes near the door again”.
Now.
This dessert.
Well?
You know what’s in my freezer at all times. Yep. Puff pastry.
And you also know that puff pastry is my best friend AND there is no way on earth I would EVER make my own dough because really? The butter, the rolling, the butter, the rolling, the butter and more rolling (I think I may have missed a few rollings) is just too much for me to even comprehend. So….ready made puff pastry it is!
And these cherries? Which are clearly NOT IN SEASON AND STUPIDLY EXPENSIVE? Another story. I had them leftover from the shoot I did for the previous post so what was I going to do with them?
Chocolate cherry hand pies. That’s what. These are cute, romantic, super delish and you can eat as many as your heart desires.
Happy Valentine’s Day !
- 2 rolls of puff pastry, thawed
- Filling
- 2 cups fresh, pitted and chopped fresh cherries (not frozen)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup chopped 70% dark chocolate or chocolate chips
- 1 large egg beaten – for egg wash
- coarse sugar
- powdered sugar - for dusting
- heart shaped cookie cutter
- Place the cherries and sugar in a bowl and stir to coat. Add flour and stir until the cherries are evenly coated and place into fridge for one hour.
- On a lightly floured wood board, roll out your puff pastry slightly, you don't want it too thin.
- Cut out as many heart shaped pieces as you can - you will need two per hand pie - one for the bottom and one for the top.
- When ready to assemble, preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Transfer one set of hearts to the prepared baking sheets.
- Spoon cherry filling into the center of each heart, keeping a ¼ inch border on the outer edge. Top with chopped chocolate or chips. Brush the edges with the egg wash. Place a second heart shaped pastry on top the first filled piece, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the pastry well on all sides.
- Press the tines of a fork all around the edges of the hearts. Repeat with remaining hearts.
- Brush the top of the tarts with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
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