I was thinking the other day about the foods my kids actually eat and those they’ll happily leave on their plate.  At home we do a lot of homemade treats, breakfast items, and lunchbox entrees.  But, put them in a social setting with a homemade treat versus a beautifully packaged piece of junk food and they’ll likely choose the pre-packaged one (especially if they know I’m not looking).

As a Culinary Nutrition Instructor, sometimes I find it an oddly satisfying challenge to write a “copycat” recipe for a pre-packaged food my kids have asked for and doctor it up with healthier ingredients.  This recipe is just that.

Even though it’s titled “Pie Cookies”, this recipe is really inspired by Pop Tarts – truly a household name!  What is a Pop Tart, really?  A toaster pastry…or, a hand pie.  Hand pies are great because they are “grab and go” and less messy.  They can be savory like an empanada or sweet like the ones from Nick’s Fried Pies at the Hernando Farmer’s Market.

Putting on my “nutrition hat” for a moment, I wanted to create a recipe that would give my kids a treat like a Pop Tart, without the nasty ingredients like red dye #40, loads of sugar, gluten and seed oils.  It was pretty easy!  Pie Crust, filling, glaze, done.  

Notes:  As a Culinary Nutrition Instructor, I aim to make ingredient swaps that are healthy and accessible.  For this recipe I used monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar and Einkorn flour.  Organic is a good choice, as would be a gluten-free flour blend or Spelt flour.  I also used a “no sugar added” seedless raspberry jam.  If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can use your favorite store bought pie crust (not the kind already in the pie pan).  You can adapt this recipe to use any jam you like – or even Nutella or Biscoff spread!

I love hearing when readers try my recipes, and I’d love to hear from YOU!  Drop me a line anytime you want to dish about cooking or nutrition.  shannonfeol@gmail.com

Raspberry Pie Cookies

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting countertop
• ¾ tsp salt
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 12 Tbsp. cold butter cut into small cubes
• ¼ cup ice water
• 1 cup jelly or jam like seedless raspberry
• 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

 

• Make the crust: In a food processor combine the flour, salt and sugar and pulse to combine. Add
• cubed butter and pulse several times. Then mix on low for about 15 seconds. The mixture
• should be crumbly with no large pieces of butter. With the food processor on low, gradually add
• the water and mix until a dough JUST comes together. It should not be very sticky or wet, but
• hold together just enough to form a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 15
• Minutes.
• Lightly flour your countertop and roll out the dough to about an eighth of an inch thick.  Dust with flour anytime it gets too sticky.  With a scalloped square cutter (or any 2-3” cutter you like) cut out as many “cookies” as you can, re-rolling out the scraps each time.  Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Spoon a small amount of jam or jelly onto the middle of each cutout.  Dab a very small amount of water onto the corner of each square, fold over the other corner and gently press to seal making a little open-ended pocket. Lightly brush the top of each cookie with the egg/milk mixture.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they become slightly golden brown.  Cool for at least 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla until you get a smooth glaze.  Drizzle over the cookies and allow to set.
• Feel free to share with friends and ENJOY!