Sweet Potato Hand Pies

Pasties and hand pies give me such happy thoughts. Small and warm, they fit right in your hand and they are filled with vegetable/meat goodness. Plus, they remind me of drizzling London days, and pasty shops at the London Tube entrances. This recipe was made spontaneously, because I hadn't gone grocery shopping, and had to use what I had on hand, but I am really glad I ended up making them, because they were very good! Simple, wholesome and tasty.

Sweet Potato Hand Pies:
by Landen

Crust: (from Annie's Eats)
1 1/4 cup flour
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tbs butter
3 Tbs water

Filling:
1 peeled, cooked sweet potato, hollowed out (cooked mine in the microwave and then scooped out the soft middle with a spoon).
1/2 cup fresh or thawed, frozen green beens cut into 1" segments
1/2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Make the crust first. Take flour, sugar and salt and mix together in a stand mixer (or you can mix it in a medium sized bowl). Cut the butter into small 1/2" cubes and put into the stand mixer. Blend until you have a decently fine powdered mixture. If you don't have a stand mixer, use two forks or a pastry blender. Once you have a fine powder, add 1 Tbs of water at a time until you have a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic, or put in a tupperware and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Put the cooked sweet potato middle in a medium sized bowl with the green beans, sage, salt and pepper. Mix together, mashing the sweet potato.

Roll the crust out on a flour-dusted counter to 1/8" thick or so, and with a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass, cut out as many circles as you can get out of the dough. Place in each circle about 1 Tbs of the sweet potato mixture, fold the dough in half to complete encompass the mixture, and with a fork, smoosh the edges of the dough together to seal it. Then poke the fork through the top of the handpie to let out steam in the oven.

Cook for 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 350°F, or until the edges of the dough are turning a golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes or so and then serve. They are also delicious warmed again the next day. Enjoy!