Spinach and Cheese Hand Pies – These delicious and flaky little hand pies are perfect for parties, breakfast, or an afternoon snack.
This Spinach and Cheese Hand Pies is one of the recipes that I do without any planning. I have eaten these little pies so many times before, and for some strange reason, I was craving them.
As I have mentioned before, in Venezuela, there are a vast array of bakeries.
They sell everything you can imagine. Empanadas and hand pies filled (pastelitos) with all sorts of fillings, cookies, pastries, desserts, etc. That is something that we don’t have in our city, possibly in big cities like New York I could find something similar, but not here.
One of my favorite hand pies is the one stuffed with spinach and cheese.
I love the combination of flavors.
My recipe turned out very good. They were flaky and buttery, as they suppose to be, and I felt – for a moment – that I was sitting in a Venezuelan bakery eating a delicious breakfast. I was only lacking my latte (café con leche) with LOTS of foam.
Spinach and Cheese Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 5 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed (half package)
- 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat add the olive oil. Sauté the onion for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for one more minute. Reserve.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, and pepper; mix well until smooth. Add onion mixture and spinach. NOTE: I did this step with the electric mixer, it's faster, less work, and the texture will be smoother.
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the puff pastry carefully. Using a cookie cutter (or a cup) cut 3.5-inch circles from the puff pastry. I got around 10 rounds out of each sheet.
- Brush lightly each pastry round with milk. Top each round with a spoonful of the spinach mixture. Cover it with another round of pastry then crimp the sides with a fork.
- Place the puffs on the baking sheet and brush with milk.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown and puffed.
- Remove from the oven and allow cooling slightly. Serve.
