Looking for a delicious, impressive dessert that will wow your guests at your next party? This recipe for Pear and Plum Pocket Pies is sure to do the trick. With a limited number of ingredients, these pies are relatively quick and easy to make. The frozen fruit makes them perfect for cold winter nights when you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen baking up something complicated. These individual pies can be made ahead of time and then popped into the oven right before company arrives!
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The idea of this recipe came to me a few weeks ago when I was at the grocery store. I had a craving for something sweet, but all I could find on their shelves was fresh fruit. So instead of buying some cookies or cakes that would only last a day before they got eaten up, I decided to buy one bag each of peaches and plums from the produce section, and use them in our pies instead!
The recipe is insanely easy- so if you’re looking for an impressive dessert without spending hours in the kitchen (or just don’t have time), then these are perfect for you!
The flavor you get from mixing plums and pears together is amazing- it’s sweet, but not too sugary. And the swirls of cream cheese and lemon curd on top make them irresistible!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!
Pear & Plum Pocket Pies
Ingredients
- A large package of round pie crusts
- One pear, peeled and cored to be cut into ¼ inch slices
- Two plums, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise (to make four pieces)
- Four tablespoons butter or margarine at room temperature for the filling; chilled if you are going to prebake it first (optional). You can also use lard or shortening here instead.
- Optional extras: raisins, cinnamon sugar mix made with ½ cup white granulated sugar mixed with a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. This is optional but nice!
- The recipe yields two pocket pies total when completed. Enjoy them warm by wrapping in aluminum foil before serving–or eat them cold later
Instructions
Start by peeling the pears and plums. Cut them into ¾-inch cubes of fruit, using the seed core as your guide to make sure they are all about the same size.
In a large bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar with ¼ teaspoon salt; set aside for now. In another large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix ½ cup butter until it’s light and fluffy. Make sure there are no chunks of butter left before moving to next step!
Add eggs one at a time while mixing continuously (about 20 seconds). Scrape down sides of bowl while you’re working so that everything is mixed well without any egg clumps remaining in bottom or top corners of bowl. Mix in vanilla extract if desired.
In the bowl you used for eggs, add flour and baking powder. Whisk until well combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry in a slow but steady stream with mixer still on medium speed (about 30 seconds). Add chopped fruit to mixture while mixing on low-medium speed so that dough incorporates evenly without any of the fruit chunks being left untouched. The batter should be very thick–think brownie batter consistency! If it is too thin, mix in more flour by half tablespoonsfuls; if too thick, add small amounts of milk by teaspoonsfuls as needed to achieve desired thickness.
Mix ¼ teaspoon salt from your sugar/salt mixture into pie crust which has been cut into two halves, and then spoon in the fruit mixture on top of one half and fold over to create a pocket pie.
Cut each crust edge with knife for an even look, trimming off any excess dough or fruit that might be sticking up outside of pastry border.
With fingers dipped lightly in flour, gently press edges together until they’re sealed all around–don’t worry if it looks messy! Brush tops with melted butter (or egg wash) and sprinkle remaining sugar/salt mixture generously over surface. Cut three slits into tops so steam can escape while baking; this will also help pies stay folded when you take them out after being baked! Place pies onto parchment-lined cookie sheet about ½ inch apart from each other horizontally, not stacking vertically.
Fold a large piece of parchment paper in half lengthwise and stand it up vertically, making sure that the fold stays at the top so you can just unfold when needed.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden browned (or 30 if using whole wheat pastry flour). Remove from oven and cool on wire rack slightly before serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!