Chicken cordon bleu hand pies

A fun new way to enjoy a classic dish!

I just love the phrase ‘hand pie’ (literally, a pie that you pick up and eat) – it just sounds more appealing to me than the word commonly used in England, which is ‘pasty’. Whatever you call them, these little bundles are easy to assemble and super delicious. If you have a medium sized  dumpling, pierogi or empanada maker, the job will be even quicker.

Ingredients

• single pastry crust, thawed if frozen (but still cold)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) shaved or thinly sliced ham, chopped
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Swiss cheese
• 2 teaspoons Dijon
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) minced fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) each salt and pepper
• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Method

• Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Roll out pastry as thinly as possible (ideally 1/8 inch or 3 mm). This is easiest if you place the pastry between two sheets of parchment paper, lightly flouring the top and bottom of the pastry disc.
• Cut rolled pastry into 7 or 8, 4 1/4 inch (11 cm) circles (or whatever size your dumpling maker is), rerolling scraps as needed.
• Prepare filling ingredients (chicken, ham, cheese) and set aside.
• In a small bowl, make the sauce by combining Dijon, cream, garlic, thyme and salt & pepper. Set aside.
• If using a dumpling press, place the circle of dough in the centre, then sprinkle 1 tablespoon (15 mL) each of chicken and ham in a line in the middle of a pastry circle. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of sauce and cover with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of grated cheese.

• Brush edge of pastry circle with water (dip a fingertip in a little bowl of water) then fold the dumpling press over, allowing it to press the pastry edges together to seal. Remove the completed hand pie and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry.
• Alternatively, place a pastry circle on a piece of parchment, add the filling, wet the edges and crimp with your fingers or a fork, then place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry.
• Brush the tops of each pie with the beaten egg.
• Bake 25 – 30 minutes in the preheated oven until pastry is golden and filling is just beginning to bubble out of the pies.
• Serve warm with salad. Leftover pies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months. Reheat gently in a 350F oven until warm.

Makes 7 – 8 hand pies (depending upon how thinly you roll the pastry). Recipe can easily be multiplied.