.
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:
-
2 tablespoons raw hazelnuts
1/4 cup Nutella
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash
METHOD :
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Grease or line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 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)
- In a food processor, pulse the sugar and hazelnuts until ground. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat oven to 180 C.
- 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)
- 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!!