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Heart Shaped Blueberry Hand Pies for Your Valentine, or Anytime

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These heart shaped blueberry hand pies are cute, delicious, and easy to make.

Updated January 2018

I don’t know about you, but Valentine’s Day is a ho hum holiday for me.

Ever since grade school, when the teacher made us give Valentine’s to EVERYONE, the holiday has paled in comparison to, say Easter.  By middle school everyone was getting flowers, and I was not a girl that got flowers.

These heart shaped blueberry hand pies are easy to make, and feature our easy homemade flaky buttery pie crust.
These heart shaped blueberry hand pies are easy to make, and feature our easy homemade flaky buttery pie crust.

Now that I’m married, though, Valentine’s has been reinstated.

My husband and I cook each other special treats to celebrate our love for food, I mean, each other.  Definitely each other.

This means that I am always on the lookout for something special I can prepare around the holiday.

This year, though, I am just back to work full time after having our son.

I don’t have the oodles of free time I used to have – which means the pear, fig, and goat cheese tart I had planned just isn’t going to happen.

Yet.

He DOES have a birthday coming up!  And its a big one.  I am starting to plan now, but I’m in that oo many ideas phase.  But that’s for another blog post I think!

I wanted something easy that I could make with things I have around the house usually.

These heart shaped blueberry hand pies more than fit the bill.

There are also endless variations.

I made these with a simple five minute blueberry jam recipe from Vegetarian Times, and my go to crust.  But you could use any traditional pie filling, and even a savory filling like roasted mushrooms, or pierogi style with potatoes and cheese.

Wait – what?  Potato and cheese hand pies?

Oh my.

That may be dinner tonight, she says, her hips getting bigger at just the thought.

This version, though, uses my easy flaky butter pie crust.

I don’t sweat the crust calories (much), because the filling has NO added sugar.  The Vegetarian Times Blueberry Chia jam is sweetened with just a bit of maple syrup (or honey), so it isn’t too sweet.

Honestly, though, you can’t tell the difference!

I recommend making these at most the day before you serve them.  You can dust with powdered sugar, drizzle with honey, ice them – or, if you’re like me, eat them hot and fresh right out of the oven.

I don’t think they need much enhancement, but a little frosting never hurt anything, it’s true!

Well, almost right out of the oven.

I tried to wait JUST long enough they wouldn’t burn my tongue ya know?  Also known as just long enough to scoop some vanilla ice cream next to them!

Tools

I used a larger cookie cutter for this, that I’ve had for years.  But this one is very similar, and available right now.

What’s your go-to Valentine’s treat?

Let me know in the comments! I’m always looking for new ideas for both kids and adults.

These heart shaped blueberry hand pies are easy to make, and feature our easy homemade flaky buttery pie crust.

Heart Shaped Blueberry Hand Pies

These blueberry hand pies are easy to make, and you can substitute any traditional pie filling.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 4 pies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Pie Crusts Prepared from our Easy Flaky Buttery Pie Crust You may also use store bought crust to cut down on time.
  • 4-8 Tablespoons Blueberry Chia Jam, Prepared according to recipe from Vegetarian Times
  • 1 egg beaten

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil.
  • Roll out your crusts as if you were going to make a pie.
  • Take your cookie cutter and cut out 8 heart shapes from the prepared crust.
  • Place 1-2 tablespoons of jam on 4 of the heart cut outs.
  • Using a pastry brush, brush the sides of the heart cut outs with the jam lightly.
  • Place the remaining four hearts over the top of the hearts with the jam.
  • Seal the sides with a fork.
  • Brush the tops of your hearts with your egg wash.
  • Place pies on baking sheet, and slide into the oven.
  • Bake 12-15 minutes, or until crusts are golden brown and filling is hot.
  • Serve warm.

 

 

Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream Recipe

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This easy to make at home Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream recipe is creamy, sweet, tangy, and basically summer in a bowl.  Bonus – it’s super easy to make!

Tea Time

The first time I had lemon curd was in England, where my husband is from, though it was long before we met.  I was studying abroad at Cambridge University, and they had a little reception – a fancy tea! – for some of us in a beautiful, quintessentially English garden.

The gardens were full of hyacinth and lavender.

Everywhere you looked there were blooms dripping to the lush green ground, and the air smelled of purple and blue and budding roses.

For a girl who grew up reading Victorian novels, it was heaven.

And then there was the tea.  At which I drank no tea.

Because it was a fancy tea!  And there was champagne!

And I was the romantic girl, you see, who loved the idea of clinking a crystal glass in a garden while wearing a semi-fancy dress. And eating dainty things.

And oh my, the dainty things were delicious!  Little sandwiches with fillings like cucumber and cream cheese, egg salad and watercress.  Shortbread and scones with clotted cream.  And then there were these tarts, stacked on a little tiered silver tray and beaming like sunny smiles.

I adored these tarts.  A little bite size pastry cup filled with lemon curd and topped with blueberries and glazed and oh so pretty and oh so tasty and I was hooked.

They tasted like the garden party itself.  Pretty, feminine, sweet, tart, sunny, and a dream come true.

You are welcome to find me hilarious.  I find my younger self hilarious sometimes too!

A SUPER quick, easy, and DELICIOUS homemade ice cream recipe for Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream! Like summer in a bowl! www.biscuitsandbooze.com
A SUPER quick, easy, and DELICIOUS homemade ice cream recipe for Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream! Like summer in a bowl! www.biscuitsandbooze.com

What is Lemon Curd Anyway?

To me it seems strange that something as delicious as lemon curd has such a horrible name.  Curd! Like curds and whey in the nursery rhyme.  Nobody eats curds and whey anymore!

I mean, what even ARE curds and whey?

 Lemon curd, though, is similar to jam, except made with fruit juice.  And it’s easy to make, as it is basically just lemon juice, butter, and egg yolk heated together into what is quite literally awesome sauce.

Because I am a food geek, I thought you might also be interested in this post, which traces lemon curd back to when it was really and truly a curd – or curdled, and separated using a cheese cloth.  The post also talks about how sugar – which we take for granted in it’s granulated form these days – used to be in a big block, or loaf.

It makes you grateful for the modern kitchen doesn’t it?

Where do I get Lemon Curd?

When I make a citrus curd I use this tutorial from The Kitchn.  This tutorial is my favorite because I can use any citrus here – and honestly, Blood Orange Curd? That stuff is AMAZING and you are certain to see it here on the blog in a future post!

If you don’t want to make your own lemon curd, though, store bought or ready prepared curd is easy to find.

Homemade Ice Cream

My husband and I are ALL about homemade ice cream these days.  I got him an ice cream maker attachment for our Kitchen Aid Mixer for his birthday a couple weeks ago, and now we are making all of our own ice cream.

I honestly hadn’t had homemade ice cream since I was a kid.  We had an ice cream maker then, and it was that old fashioned kind with a crank.  It took forever to make, and was more icy than creamy.  And we only ever made vanilla.  Not to knock vanilla, but it can be ho hum you know?

But folks, things have come a long way since then.  This Kitchen Aid attachment we bought is so easy to use.  It does have to be frozen overnight.  The models that don’t require overnight freezing, where you can make multiple batches at once, are a bit more expensive.  I thought we’d start with the attachment, as it seemed a good value.  If we’re still making ice cream all the time in a couple of months we can upgrade.

If you’d like a more affordable option, though, check this one out.  This one will make a slightly icier batch, but its still good, quick homemade ice cream, and what’s not to love about that?

Ice Cream Recipe Testing

This was the first ice cream recipe I tried, though, because I had the lemon curd already ready, and it was hot that weekend, and, I had lemon curd on the brain.  I’ve got a ton of ice cream recipes on the brain now, though, so stay tuned.  You might see another homemade ice cream recipe or two as the summer unfolds!

To me, this ice cream is tangy, sweet, delicious, and summery.

It always reminds me of that garden party when I eat it.  And that was a happy, happy place to be.

I hope you enjoy this ice cream as much as we do!

Do you ever make homemade ice cream? What’s your favorite ice cream flavor combo? Let me know in the comments!

A SUPER quick, easy, and DELICIOUS homemade ice cream recipe for Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream! Like summer in a bowl! www.biscuitsandbooze.com

Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream Recipe

This easy homemade lemon curd and goat cheese ice cream is refreshing, creamy, tart, and as delicious as summer in a bowl.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 2 Pints

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Teaspoons Corn Starch
  • 1 Cup Whole Milk
  • 2 Cups Heavy Cream
  • 1/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt I like French Grey Sea Salt.
  • 3 Tablespoons Goat Cheese Crumbles
  • 1/2 Cup Lemon Curd Prepared

Instructions
 

  • Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and setting a medium bowl inside it.
  • In a small bowl combine the lemon curd, goat cheese, and salt and mix until the cheese has thinned out and little to no lumps remain.  Place in ice bath.
  • In a separate small bowl, whisk 1-2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch until it has dissolved, and set aside.
  • In a medium sauce pan, combine cream, milk, and sugar and bring to a gentle boil.  Boil for 3-5 minutes.
  • Remove the mixture from heat and whisk in the milk/cornstarch mixture, and then return to heat.
  • Whisk on medium heat until the mixture begins to boil.  Let the mixture thicken slightly, but be careful not to scald your cream.
  • Slowly stir the cream mixture into the lemon curd mixture, and stir well to combine.
  • Place the combined mixture in the ice bath, and set the ice bath in your refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours, and up to overnight.
  • Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
A SUPER quick, easy, and DELICIOUS homemade ice cream recipe for Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream! Like summer in a bowl! www.biscuitsandbooze.com
A SUPER quick, easy, and DELICIOUS homemade ice cream recipe for Lemon Curd and Goat Cheese Ice Cream! Like summer in a bowl! www.biscuitsandbooze.com

 

How to Make Quick Homemade Whipped Cream Three Ways in 10 Minutes or Less

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I used to think whipped cream was a huge waste of time and calories.

 My mom has always been the same way I was – give me a brownie fudge sundae please – but hold the whipped cream!  In fact, this past Easter weekend I made her the citrus version featured below served over my Berry Brioche Baked French Toast.  It’s pretty safe to say she’s a convert – she had three helpings!

My mother used to be afraid to try anything that was a new food or flavor to her.  She seemed to think she wouldn’t like anything, which to me, well, sometimes I struggle with the thought that that attitude is frankly childish.  Food is food! And food all over the world tastes good.

But then I remember that I was equally stubborn and staid in my younger days. But I have to admit I was equally stubborn in my younger days.  For me, it was travel that opened my mind and my palate (if you’ll forgive such a pretentious word).

To be honest, it was sushi that did it for me, and in Madrid of all places.  I was studying abroad, it was a friend’s birthday, and she chose a sushi restaurant.

I’d never eaten sushi before, which I timidly stated.  All I could think was – raw fish? Ugh!  Which shows my ignorance.  Sushi is not even always raw – but frankly the raw sushi (sashimi) is now my favorite!

They promised I would love it, and nervously I went along.  I tried everything.  Which was in and of itself a breakthrough for me, but I was afraid the new friends I’d made would think I was horribly provincial if I didn’t!

And frankly, I fell in love with sushi, and learned my lesson.  Each person gave me a taste of their sushi roll, so I tried at least 14 different kinds of sushi that night. And they showed me how to use chopsticks, how to mix the quick green heat of wasabi in with my soy sauce, and how to eat the pickled ginger in between different kinds of sushi.

They told me to just try what they gave me, and they’d tell me what it was after it was all over.  I was game for the game, and at the end of the night, the thing I liked best floored me.

Eel!  Slimy squishy eel!  Except, of course, this eel was delicious.  Barbecued, tender, and delicious.

I’ll try anything now, because you never know what you may like!  And I’ve slowly been able to convince my mother of this now too.

Now she’ll try anything I make at home, whether it’s falafel, or a simple familiar pasta.  She says frequently that she’s learned to never tell me that she doesn’t like something, because I’ve introduced her to so many things she LOVES that she never would have expected.

It warms my heart, you know?  And I’m pretty sure that if I can get something to pass muster with my Mom, that my readers out there like you will like it too!

But how on earth did I get from whipped cream to sushi?  Oh yes – I just wasn’t into whipped cream.  The stuff that comes out of a can? Bleh.  The stuff that comes out of the plastic tub? Even worse.

Why bother?

Let’s Get Real – Real, Quick Homemade Whipped Cream

My first introduction to REAL homemade whipped cream was from a lady whose children I babysat for years ago.  She made a coconut cake with layers of real whipped cream, and let me tell you, it was divine.

So of course, I thought it had to be difficult to make.

She assured me it wasn’t, told me how to make it, and the next weekend I tried it.  In ten minutes I had made whipped cream.  Luscious, creamy, sweet, homemade whipped cream that I used on a similar coconut cake.  And also on ice cream.  And also in my coffee (seriously YUM – try it!)

But I completely understand that it can be intimidating to try new things, and there’s a lot to be said for how things are prepared.  Bad food happens all over the world too 😉

 

How to Make Quick Homemade Whipped Cream Three Ways www.biscuitsandbooze.com
How to Make Quick Homemade Whipped Cream Three Ways www.biscuitsandbooze.com

Of course, whipped cream is pretty decadent, so there’s probably not much worry about anyone not liking it.  Choosing not to eat it, or not to eat it on the regular anyhow, is another thing!

Now for the nitty gritty of making it.  It is basically this – add cream, sugar, and flavoring to a bowl and whisk until it looks like whipped cream.

No secret.  Nothing hard.

Well – it WOULD be hard, and a workout – if you had to hand whisk  it like they used to.  That would take ages!  Sometimes I’m super grateful for technology.

But these days you can use either an inexpensive hand blender like this one, or a Kitchen Aid stand mixer like this one.  The benefit of the Kitchen Aid is that you can set it to whisk and walk away to do other things.  But either works, and the whipped cream is ready in minutes either way.

Pro Tip!

After I lived in New Orleans, a friend introduced me to the frozen bowl trick, which helps your cream whip faster.  Basically you stick the bowl you plan on whipping the cream in into the freezer for 20 minutes or so to get it nice and chilled before you whip your cream.  It helps with a smoother and faster whip.

New Orleans also introduced me to many variations, including using bourbon in the whipped cream, which is amazing on top of or along side bananas foster or bread pudding.

The ten minute recipe below will teach you how to make quick homemade whipped cream three ways in 10 minutes or less.  It will make a basic whipped cream, a citrus whipped cream, and a whiskey (or bourbon) whipped cream.  I make all three often!

How to Use the Three Variations

  • Suggestions for citrus whipped cream:  I use Grand Marnier in the cream when I have it, and simple orange flavoring when I don’t.  The citrus whipped cream is great on anything with berries, the aforementioned coconut cake, and most fruit pies.  In the photo above it is served over my Berry Brioche Baked French Toast!
  • Suggestions for a whiskey or bourbon whipped cream: I typically use Bulleit Rye when I have it on hand.  It’s a favorite of my husband’s, so it is almost always on hand!  I like a bourbon or whiskey whipped cream on things like apple pie, nutella crepes, bread pudding, and maybe even  most especially pecan pie!
  • Suggestions for a basic vanilla whipped cream: classic ice cream sundaes, pancakes, waffles – honestly anything you want whipped cream for. This one is subtle, so it’s very versatile.

Tell me – what’s your favorite dish that incorporates whipped cream?

Make homemade whipped cream 3 different ways at home in 10 minutes or less! Includes a whiskey whipped cream, a citrus, and vanilla version. www.biscuitsandbooze.com

Quick Homemade Whipped Cream 3 Ways

This basic whipped cream recipe provides for three different variations: a Bourbon Whipped Cream, a Citrus Whipped Cream, and a Basic Vanilla Whipped Cream.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Total Time 10 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 8 Ounces Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Flavoring (use either Bourbon or Whiskey, Grand Marnier or Orange Flavoring, or Vanilla) Use only one flavoring per batch! MAy use more or less flavoring to taste.

Instructions
 

  • Set a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes.
  • Once your bowl is chilled, pour heavy cream into bowl of stand mixer or mixing bowl.
  • Add the powdered sugar.  
  • Add the flavoring you've chosen.  EITHER Bourbon or Whiskey, or Grand Marnier or Orange Flavoring, or vanilla, depending on which kind of whipped cream you want.
  • Using the whisk attachment for your stand mixer or hand blender, and whisk on medium to medium high speed until whipped cream stiffens, but is still light and fluffy.  This time amount will vary from mixer to mixer, and even from batch to batch.  It depends a little bit on the cream and how chilled your bowl is.  However, a safe bet is 4 - 6 minutes.
  • When you see the cream stiffen to your desired consistency, stop whisking, and it is ready to serve.  May also be stored int he refigerator for up to one week.

 

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