Cranberry Hand Pies Are a Fresher Alternative to Pumpkin Pie

To make the dough, combine 3 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Then add the butter and mix to incorporate everything until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Use a mixer and slowly drizzle 1/2 cup ice water into the bowl. Mix and knead until dough begins to form. If dough is too slimy to the touch, add more flour.

Divide the finished dough in half and flatten each half into disks if two batches are desired. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator so it can chill for at least 2 hours.

While the dough is chilling, start on the filling. Combine cranberries, 1 1/2 cups sugar, orange zest, juice, and tapioca in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add to sauce mixture.

Let stand for 10 minutes, then cook over medium heat until the cranberry mixture simmers and begins to thicken, 5-6 minutes. Take off heat and let filling cool completely.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a rolling pin, roll one dough disk out on a lightly floured surface until about 1/16u0022 thick. Using cookie cutter of desired size, cut out as many circles as the dough allows (about 16).

Brush edges of half of the dough circles with egg wash. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each egg-washed circle. Place the rest of the dough circles on top to form whole mini-pies.

To seal edges, use a fork to crimp. One finished, chill unbaked pies in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Cut a small ‘x’ into each pie center for ventilation. Brush tops of pies with egg wash and sprinkle lightly with raw sugar and cinnamon.

Bake pies for 17-20 minutes until crust is golden brown and some excess filling escapes from the ‘x’s. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Carefully remove pies from baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack until they get to a cooler, ready-to-eat temperature.