Nutella Hand Pies with a Bonus recipe of Perfect Shortcrust Pastry!!

Now make perfect pies with your choice of filling anytime you want. Like I made Nutella/ chocolate pies..Ramsay's flaky buttery crust with a generous amount of Nutella in it. Instant hit and best for summer and cinco de mayo.


Instant joy.

Some things just make us happy...without any rhyme or reason. For me it has always been the little things that do the trick.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things".

 

and chocolate is right there (read: top of the list) along with these beautiful little things coz after all "my hand and my  mouth agreed many years ago that, as far as chocolate is concerned, there is no need to involve my brain."

 

When we talk chocolate I am sure you guys know how much I love Nutella right?? Do you remember me sharing an amazing Nutella and strawberry French toast roll ups with you?? That was simply fabulous! If you haven't tried it, you don't know what you are missing out on..Go on, show your love for someone special with these delicious breakfast French toasts..

 

As for these...delicious isn't enough!! These were just sheer perfection, along with a cup of dark espresso with just a splash of light cream. YUM. 

 

 

 

Think buttery flaky crusts and goeey molten NUTELLA..and hazelnut sugar sprinkling on top!! What more could I ask for?? The little chocolate loving girl in me was so so happy while making these..I was literally dreaming of biting into its flaky crusts and feeling the nutella burst upon my tongue in a pool of liquid gold,  priceless chocolatey gold. Sheer bliss I tell you guys! 

 

I followed Gordon Ramsay's shortcrust pastry recipe and needless to say it was absolutely spot on, just the casing Nutella needed..and the sprinkling of hazelnut sugar added a little something in terms of texture to the hand pies.

Make these..I promise you won't regret it. EVER.

 

PS: Although I chose to go with only nutella for the filling, you can try various combinations. Banana and Nutella or Strawberry nutella get a complete YES from me! Feel free to try various combinations with the same pastry dough and surprise people this Cinco de mayo with chocolatey empanadas that are bursting with everyone's favorite Nutella.

RECIPE:
Ingredients for Gordon Ramsay's Shortcrust pastry:

• 200 grams of cold unsalted butter, cut into smaller cubes
• 400 grams of flour
• pinch of salt
• 100 ml cold water
• Cold Bowl. (I usually put mine in freezer for 15 minutes before I start making the dough)

For the Nutella hand pies:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons raw hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash

METHOD :

To make shortcrust pastry

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour and pinch of salt. Mix to combine. Then add the cold butter and rub it between your fingers until mixture resembles fine breadcrumb texture. Transfer to a cold bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle and incorporate 2/3 of cold water. Using your hands, whisk the mixture around, mopping up the flour and butter together. Add the remaining water and twist into a dough.
3. Lightly flour surface and gently but quickly knead the pastry dough. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and put in the fridge until ready to use.

For making the pies:

1. Grease or line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. When ready to make the pies, remove the dough from the fridge 5 minutes before rolling it out. This make sough more malleable and it rolls out easily. Lightly flour the counter and roll out the dough into a rectangle till its about 1/8th inch thick. You can go even thinner. Using a round object as guide, (I used the Nutella jar cap ;)) cut out rounds as many as you can. Reform a dough with the remaining edges of the dough and make circles again till the dough is finished. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Store in the fridge while you make the filling (this will prevent the butter in the dough from melting)
3. In a food processor, pulse the sugar and hazelnuts until ground. Set aside.
4. Bring out the rolled out dough. Spoon 1 tablespoon of  nutella equally onto the lower half of each dough round, leaving an inch border along the bottom. Brush the border with egg wash and then fold the top half of the circle over the lower half, creating a half-moon shape. Gently press the edges with a fork to seal.
5. Use a small knife to cut a 1/2 inch slit on the top of each pie to release steam while baking. Brush each pie with egg wash and sprinkle with hazelnut sugar.
6. Preheat oven to 180 C.
7. Chill the pies in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. This will firm up the dough and prevent the crust from shrinking.( always ,always do this)
8. Bake the pies until they are golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet and serve slightly warm. Store in an airtight jar. Just reheat the next day in a 180C oven for 5 to 8 minutes.

Enjoy!!