Mini Chocolate Hand Pies
Mini chocolate pies with fudgy filling and a tender chocolate crust.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ⅛ cup (142g) all purpose flour, sifted plus more for your work surface
- 3 tablespoons (17g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup (113g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 ounces (85g) cold cream cheese, cubed
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) cold water, divided
- ½ of 1 whisked egg
Filling
- ½ cup (85g) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips *see notes
- ⅓ cup (107ml) sweetened condensed milk
Finishing Touches
- 2 tablespoons (15g) powdered sugar optional
- OR 2 tablespoons (22g) melted white chocolate optional
Instructions
Crust
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder until well blended.
- Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
- Add 2 tablespoons (30ml) of the cold water to the mixture. Stir gently just until the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Form the dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
Filling
- In a small microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk together in the microwave. Heat for 10-15 second bursts, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and remaining 1 tablespoon (15ml) water.
- On lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 20 rounds with a 2 3/4-inch circle cutter (or cut into desired shapes of your choice).
- Place 10 dough rounds about 1 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Top each with 1 tablespoon of filling.
- With a small pastry brush or your finger, brush the egg mixture around the perimeter of each of the filled dough circles.
- Top each with the 10 remaining dough circles. Crimp the edges together with a fork. Brush the pies with the remaining egg mixture.
- Bake until the crust is crisp and browned, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle the cooled pies with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted white chocolate.
Notes
*The chocolate chips you use depends on personal preference. Bittersweet chocolate chips give a more intense chocolate flavor, while semi-sweet chocolate chips yield a slightly sweeter finished product.
To find my favorite circle cutters click here. To find the polka-dot stencil click here.