Although I absolutely adore full-time blogging and working from home, it felt a little isolating when I first began. (Those of you with blogs of your own are probably nodding your heads right now!) Working on the internet, most of my readers and fellow bloggers were spread out across the country, if not the entire world, so the chances of bumping into another blogger “in real life,” especially a food blogger, and hanging out were almost zero.
But as luck would have it, I eventually discovered that there are seven other food bloggers that live within a 30-minute radius of my home! Two of them even share my same zip code. There’s also another sweet lady a little further away but incredibly close to my parents’ place. Even better, we all get along and laugh until our bellies ache every time we get together. It’s truly a miracle to find friends like that!
This past week, I headed over to Karen’s house to drop off a new ingredient, and she insisted that I stayed for dinner. She and her husband set another place at their table while I read books to their little daughter; then we all sat down for soup, toast, and conversation.
Yet the real reason I drove across town in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic was because Karen promised me two of her Cranberry Dulce de Leche Hand Pies she had just perfected. She knows I can’t resist dessert!
She fed me one before dinner, and even with a bowl of her butternut squash soup in front of me, full of my favorite sweet onions… I couldn’t stop thinking about that second pie! Karen packed it up and sent it home with me, and I immediately devoured every last flaky crumb as soon as I walked in my front door.
I really wish she had more!
Ironically enough, I had just baked these Easy Pecan Hand Pies the day before! (Great minds think alike Karen!) These rich nutty treats have only 5 ingredients, and they’re absolutely perfect for Thanksgiving.
Let’s start with the easy stuff first. The filling is just pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup. You could easily use all brown sugar instead, but I added the maple for that hint of sweet earthiness. It also turned the filling into a paste, which was much easier to fold into the pies!
For the crust, I turned to filo (phyllo) dough. I polled Facebook a little while ago, and it seemed as if most of you mainly used it for savory recipes, but it makes the perfect flaky crusts for these sweet treats!
Filo dough is tissue paper thin, so we’ll layer a couple of sheets together the build up the “crust” and help prevent tearing. Most recipes call for brushing on melted butter as the “glue” holding the sheets together, but we’re going to save lots of calories today and use cooking spray instead. It’s okay if one of the sheets tears a tiny bit; just continue on and try not to rip it any further.
Each sheet should be about 10×18”, so after “gluing” two together, we’ll cut the long edge into six 3”-wide pieces. Each strip forms a pie. You’ll put some of the filling in the bottom right corner; then start folding it up like a flag according to the diagram above. If any filling falls out, slip it back in just before the third fold. After sealing up all of the pies, mist them one last time with cooking spray and bake!
Although not the biggest fan of nuts in my desserts, I couldn’t keep my hands off of these Easy Pecan Hand Pies! They’re so easy, so cinnamony, so flaky… And they stayed that way for at least five days! That makes them an ideal make-ahead treat for Thanksgiving and Christmas… If you can keep yourself from sneaking them off the counter for that long!
These little hand pies are incredibly flaky, and the cinnamon-spiced nut filling is perfectly rich. Store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To prepare the filling, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup in a small bowl until a thick paste forms.
- Lay down 1 sheet of filo dough on your work surface. Coat with cooking spray, and top with another sheet. Gently smooth your palms across the surface to press the sheets together and remove any air bubbles.
- Cut the long side into six 3”-wide strips. Working with one strip at a time, lightly coat with cooking spray. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the filling and 1 teaspoon of pecans onto the bottom right corner.
- Fold the bottom right corner diagonally up and to the left to meet the opposite edge. Fold the newly formed triangle upwards; then fold the bottom left corner diagonally up and to the right to meet the opposite edge. (See the diagram in the blog post above.) Continue folding until you reach the top of the strip. Just before the last fold to seal, lightly coat the filo dough again with nonstick cooking spray. Fold and gently press down on the seams to seal. Set the pie on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining filo dough, filling, and pecans. Once all of the pies are on the baking sheet, lightly coat the tops with cooking spray again. Bake at 375°F for 17-20 minutes, or until the tops are light golden. Cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes: Leave the filo dough you aren’t working with covered with a lightly damp towel or plastic wrap at all times. It quickly dries out and cracks.
If you prefer a lighter cinnamon taste, decrease the amount to 2 teaspoons.
Do your best to tightly seal all of the filling inside of each pie. The pecans may try to escape, but simply slide them back into the center just before the third fold.
{low fat, low calorie}
That’s so great that you guys all live so close together! I don’t think I’ve every tried phylo dough.. but these sound amazing as always!
Thanks Julia! This was actually the first time I remember working with phyllo dough, but it was easier than I thought!
I’m a bit terrified of working with phyllo, but I may try it for this recipe… Sounds wonderful, as usual, and my husband is in total agreement with me that you’re one of the few healthier food bloggers that posts great recipes.
I’m not a professional blogger, but I do work from home. (I do have a food blog, but it’s not really that great; more a way for me to post updates and tweaked recipes for my friends and family.) Depending on how you look at it, I’m lucky that my job can go anywhere, but even if I lived close to an office for my company, I couldn’t drive there, anyway (health issues – I can’t really hold any physical position for more than 10 minutes, thanks to a combination of factors). My husband just wrapped up his PhD, and we just moved all the way across the country so that he could start his postdoc. My job thankfully understands, and while I have the occasional scheduling issue (everyone else is on the opposite coast, and I’m stuck here with winter in New York), it’s not bad once you get used to it. But it does get a bit lonely, even for an introvert like me.
You’re very lucky to live so close to so many other bloggers! I’m hoping that within the next couple of years, I can make a couple of friends. If I could have friends over occasionally, it would hopefully at least inspire me to finish putting away everything that’s been hanging out, leaving the apartment in disarray! 🙂
Can’t wait to try out this recipe. Sounds tasty!
Thank you so much for the sweet compliment from you and your husband! I’m really touched that you both like my recipes. 🙂 I actually hadn’t worked with phyllo dough before this recipe that I could recall, and it ended up being much easier than I expected. As long as you know the phyllo dough will probably rip once or twice, but it won’t be the end of the world, you’ll be fine. I’d love to hear what you think of the pies if you try them!
That sounds like a rough combination of health issues, but it sounds like you’re handling it beautifully! I can relate to PhD thing; my guy is wrapping up his right now. It must’ve been hard to move all the way across the country, especially to chilly NY, but it sounds like you’re handling it beautifully. And I’m sure your husband appreciates your support!
I’m so glad you came over to take those extra pies off my hands Amy! I needed LESS HAND PIES IN MY HANDS. lol. These ones look awesome though! Now I need more hand pies.
PS I love your adorable folding diagram. You’re so cute.
As soon as you make more hand pies, I’m coming over. If not before. 🙂 And thank you! It was easier to make a diagram than take step-by-step photos, so… Paint and powerpoint it was.
These are adorable and what a great idea to use philo dough as the crust! Blogging can definitely be isolating but I have been lucky to find other local bloggers too! Pinned!
Thanks for the sweet comment and pin Lindsey! I’m so glad you’ve found other bloggers nearby. It’s really nice to be able to talk to them in person and not just on the computer!
I LOVEEEE how blogging connects you with other bloggers that you probably would have NEVER met! Karen is a doll, too! Lucky that you live by her. Love this recipe. Can’t believe you only need 5 ingredients! #winning
Thanks Lee!! I wish you lived close to us too. It’d constantly be one big blogger party!
A. You are SO LUCKY you got to try those cranberry dulce de leche hand pies.
B. I wish I could be that lucky and get to try THESE pecan hand pies. I’m only sorry it took me this long to get over here to see them!
C. I think you’re a sweet lady *wink! Please come visit your brother (*cough*me*cough*) soon? I can entice you with hand pies….
A. MOVE UP HERE!!! We miss you and talk about how much we want you up here ALL the time!
B. If they made a GF version of phyllo dough, I’d totally make you some!
C. I may be back home the weekend after Thanksgiving! Will you be in town??
Hi,
My name is Alex, I love your writing style about pecans
Thanks Alex!