Personal Pear Pot Pies Recipes

INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN POT PIES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large saucepan heat chicken broth and bouillon cube over medium heat until hot.
• In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, chives and garlic, and saute until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the flour and stir together until it becomes pasty and lump-free, about 2 minutes. Stir in the hot broth, heavy cream, sherry, chicken and frozen onions and peas. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
• With a ladle, fill 6ovenproof ramekins or bowls with the filling. Place on baking sheet.
• Sprinkle flour on countertop. Roll out dough an extra inch. Using a biscuit round or mold, cut out dough to cover the tops of your oven-proof bowls, with about 1/2-inch hangover, depending on their size. Crimp the dough over the edge of the ramekin. Brush with the egg wash and make 4 small slits on the top. Sprinkle with kosher salt and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN POTPIES

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring the vegetables around, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to combine. Cook the flour-coated veggies for 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth (and wine, if using!) and stir to combine. Let it heat up and start to bubble and thicken, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the chicken, then add the turmeric and thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Add the half-and-half, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. If it seems overly thick, splash in a little more broth. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, roll out the pie crusts slightly and cut out 8 dough circles just a bit larger than the pie pans (if using a muffin tin, you'll need sixteen 3 3/4-inch circles). Press a dough circle into each pie pan (or 8 muffin cups), making sure the dough comes almost to the top of each pan. Fill the pies with the chicken mixture. Lay a second round of dough over the top of each pie. Press the dough so that the edges meet, then use a fork to seal the edges. Mix the egg with 2 teaspoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crust. (Discard any extra egg wash.) Cut small vents in the surface of the crusts.
• If you're baking the pies right away, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the pies on a baking sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Serve them straight out of the pie pans or turn them out of the pan and serve them upside down!
• Find this recipe and more in Ree's new book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime ($30, William Morrow Cookbooks).

HOMEMADE PEAR PIE FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt together in a food processor. Add cold butter and vegetable shortening; process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in water 1 tablespoon at a time until a thick and sticky dough forms. Continue processing until dough forms a firm ball, about 15 minutes.
• Place dough in a bowl. Cover with a wet towel and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Combine pears, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons flour and continue mixing until filling is thick and glossy.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly spray a pie plate with cooking spray.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough about 4 times. Separate into 2 even pieces. Flatten 1 piece for the bottom crust. Place in the pie dish with excess dough hanging over the sides. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over the crust. Add pear mixture to just below the rim of the pie plate.
• Roll out second piece of dough and cut into thin strips. Lay 1/2 of the strips vertically over the pie. Place remaining strips horizontally on top. Fold overhanging dough over the edges of the strips to cover them. Press to seal with your fingers. Use the back of a fork to crimp the edge.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush over the pie. Continue baking until top and edges are golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

FRESH PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack.
• Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest in mixing bowl. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie pan.
• Arrange pear slices in layers in the pastry-lined pan, sprinkling the sugar mixture over each layer. Dot with butter and sprinkle with lemon juice.
• Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Use your finger dipped in a small bowl of water to moisten the rim of the bottom crust. Place top crust over filling, and trim edge using kitchen shears or a sharp paring knife. Fold edge under bottom crust, pressing to seal. Flute edge. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Allow to cool several hours before serving.