Ingredients

• For the pastry:
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 sticks of butter (or 1 cup)
• ½ cup sour cream
• For the filling:
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and finely chopped
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Optional:
• ½ cup crumbled goat’s cheese
• For the egg wash:
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• Garnish:
• a sprinkle granulated or cane sugar
• a dusting of icing sugar

Directions

1. Prepare the pastry: Place dry ingredients and lemon zest into a medium-sized bowl and whisk together. Add the butter, rubbing it into the dry ingredients to form small, pea-sized clumps. Add in sour cream and bring the mixture together by hand to form a dough. Place dough onto a floured surface and roll it out into a rectangular shape. Fold the dough over onto itself in thirds, rotate by 90° and roll out into a rectangular shape again. Repeat, two additional times. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
2. Prepare the filling:Place the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract into a bowl and stir together. Sprinkle with cornstarch and stir gently until all of the ingredients are well combined. Set aside until use.
3. Prepare the egg wash: Place egg and milk into a small bowl and lightly beat with a fork.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
5. To assemble smaller hand pies: Roll the chilled dough out into a rectangular shape on a floured surface to about 1/8-inch thickness. Use a 2- or 3-inch cookie or biscuit cutter to create uniform circular shapes. Set the rounds of dough to the side. Gather the remaining dough, roll it out and repeat until it has all been used. Then place a disc of dough onto your work surface, add a dollop of filling (about 1 to 2 tablespoons depending on the size of the disc) onto the centre of each disc. Brush the edge of the dough with egg wash and then place a second disc of dough on top, pressing firmly together along the edge. Crimp the edge using a fork. Repeat process until all of the discs have been filled. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. To assemble larger hand pies: On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough out into a rectangular shape about 1/8-inch thickness. Invert a bowl about 5- to 6-inches in diameter into the dough and trace the outline with a sharp pairing knife. Set the rounds of dough to the side. Gather the remaining dough, roll it out and repeat until all of the dough has been used. Then place a disc of dough onto your work surface, add a dollop of filling (about 3 to 4 tablespoons) slightly off-centre in the round. Sprinkle the top of the filling with 1 or 2 tablespoons of the crumbled goat’s cheese. Brush the edge of the dough with egg wash, then fold over to create a half-moon shaped hand pie, pressing the edge firmly together and crimping with a fork. Repeat process until all of the discs have been filled. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
7. Cut small slits into the top of each pie using a sharp pairing knife. Brush the top and edges of the pies with the egg wash. Sprinkle with either granulated or cane sugar.
8. Transfer pies to oven and bake for 18 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving, sprinkled with a light dusting of icing sugar.