Strawberry Heart Pies
Hold a sweet heart in your hand this Valentine's Day with these tasty strawberry heart pies.
These cute strawberry heart pies are easy to make and will put a big smile on any Valentine's lips. Within a crisp and flaky puff pasty shell hides a centre of sweet berries. Not only tasty, but your sweetheart will be tickled by the romantic gesture.
If there are allergy concerns with the strawberries, they can easily be swapped with another berry, like raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries. Apples are also another excellent option.
I call for frozen strawberries in this recipe as fresh
strawberries are not in season here in February. Frozen also have the benefit of being cheaper and they will have been picked and frozen when ripe and sweet. If fresh local strawberries are available where you are, feel free to use those instead. However, it will take a little longer for them to cook down. If you have a lot of fresh berries, dice them up and add them on top of the saucy filling for a burst of fresh fruit.
Any leftover strawberry sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days. I love using it on toast or as a sauce over ice cream.
HACK: This recipe can be reduced to 3 ingredients (plus egg wash) if you have fresh strawberries. 1 - frozen, store-bought puff pastry, 2 - strawberry jam, 3 - fresh strawberries, hulled and diced. Use the jam in place of the cooked strawberry sauce in this recipe and include some fresh diced strawberries in each pie. Baking time is the same.
Ingredients
(Makes 8 servings | Serving size = 1 pie)
1 sheet puff pastry dough, store-bought and thawed
3 cups frozen strawberries, chopped and thawed
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
1 tablespoon chia seeds
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon water
flour for dusting
Directions
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the thawed strawberries, maple syrup, tapioca flour, chia seeds, and lemon juice. While cooking, mash or use an immersion blender to puree the strawberries. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In a small mixing bowl, add the egg with the water and beat to combine into an egg wash. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°F / 205°C and prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
Lightly flour a flat worksurface and roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry dough until it measures approximately 8 x 12 inches. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 16 pastry hearts. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut additional hearts to be used as decoration.
In the centre of 8 of the large hearts, add about a tablespoon of the thickened strawberry sauce, keeping it away from the edges. Wet the edges of the hearts with the egg wash then top with another large heart. Using a fork or pastry crimper, seal the edged of the hearts together. Cut slits into the top faces of the heart pies and decorate with the smaller hearts using the egg wash to attach them. Brush all over the heart pies with the remaining egg wash.
Transfer the heart pies to the sheet pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Remove from the heat and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature and enjoy. If you wish to serve while still hot, eat with caution and serve with a scoop of ice cream topped with any leftover strawberry sauce.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 186 | total fat = 8.4g | saturated fat = 4.05g | cholesterol = 0mg | sodium = 111.25mg | net carbohydrates = 21.09g | dietary fibre = 3.88g | sugars = 8.6g | protein = 2.63g
