Chocolate Almond Hand Pies Recipes

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Beat on low speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack., For filling, combine sugar and eggs in a small saucepan until well blended. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon and reaches 160°. Remove from the heat. Stir in chocolate and almond extract until smooth. Cool to lukewarm (90°), stirring occasionally., In a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add cooled egg mixture; beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Pour into cooled pie shell. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and almonds if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Make the pies: In a medium heatproof bowl, combine the unsweetened chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and butter. Fill a pot (relatively the same size as the bowl) about 1/3 full with water and place it over medium heat. When the water simmers, place the bowl of chocolate and butter over the simmering water and lower the heat. You want to melt the chocolate and butter gently together, stirring and scraping the sides (to avoid scorching).
• In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon zest. Set aside.
• Separately, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
• When the chocolate and butter is melted, remove the bowl from the heat; stir to assure it's completely mixed and transfer to another medium bowl. This will accelerate cooling. Allow the chocolate to cool a few minutes. Whisk in the egg mixture. Whisk in the flour mixture. Only whisk until blended, over-mixing can affect the texture of the pies.
• Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray (alternatively, use a piece of fitted parchment sprayed with nonstick spray). Drop the batter in large spoonfuls (keeping the shapes as round as possible) on the baking sheet. You are aiming for rounds that are about 2 inches in diameter. Take care to leave some room (about 2 inches) between each one to allow for spreading that will occur as they bake.
• Place the tray in the hot oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Check the pies. Leave in the oven an additional minute or two if they seem under baked. The dough will lose some of its shiney-ness and no longer look wet but will still feel soft. Remove the tray from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before gingerly lifting them off the baking sheet and onto a flat surface.
• Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to a simmer and add about 3/4 of the cup of the toasted almonds. Reserve the remaining almonds. Shut off the heat and allow the almonds to "steep" in the milk, for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the milk and pour it back into the same pan, discarding the almonds from the milk.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat together the sugar, flour, cornstarch and egg yolks until thick and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour some of the hot milk mixture over the eggs and whisk to blend. Pour the egg mixture back into the milk; turn on a low to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the almond extract. Continue to cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn't cling to the bottom of the pan and burn, until very thick. Pour the cream into a clean bowl. Stir in the remaining almonds. Cover tightly with a layer of plastic so the cream doesn't form a skin. Allow to cool.
• Assemble: "Sandwich" some of the cream in between two of the chocolate rounds. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll out one pie crust on a work surface lightly dusted with flour and cut into 4 equal wedges with a pizza cutter or knife. Spread 2 teaspoons of cream cheese over each piece, leaving about 1/2 inch bare around the edges. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons chocolate chips over the cream cheese and gently fold the crust over, creating a triangular hand pie. Using a fork, press the edges to seal, and place the pies on a large ungreased baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining crust.
• Brush the butter over each hand pie and lightly press the sliced almonds into the tops of the hand pies in a single layer. Brush the almonds with a little bit of melted butter and lightly sprinkle the turbinado sugar over each hand pie.
• Bake until the tops are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes. Let rest a couple of minutes and serve warm or at room temperature