Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Hand Pies in a Pastry Shell

Set out Frank’s Red Hot sauce, butter melted, and Worcestershire sauce before you start Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Hand Pies in a Pastry Shell. The batch is written for 8 people.

Count on 30 minutes of prep, 15 minutes of cooking, 20 minutes of resting, about 1 hour from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the Filling

• ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• ¼ cup butter melted
• ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 chicken breasts cooked, shredded (or roast chicken)
• ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Egg Wash

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 double crust recipe for pâte brisée

• Blue Cheese or Ranch Salad Dressing
• Celery sliced thinly

How the cooking goes

To Make Egg Wash

1. Set all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. You can whisk with a whisk or a fork until homogenous, but it helps to use an immersion hand blender because it is faster and produces a smooth mixture that you just can’t get by hand.

To Make Hand Pies

1. Roll out pastry to 1/8 inch thick. Cut rounds with a 4-inch round cutter (Photo 1) and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
2. While your pastry chills, whisk together hot sauce, butter, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper in a mixing bowl. Add chicken to bowl and toss to coat.
3. Remove your rounds from the refrigerator and place about a heaping tablespoon of chicken filling in the center of each round; sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles (Photo 2). Brush a little egg wash onto the outer edge of half of the pastry circle. Add just enough to dampen; you don’t want it dripping down the sides or pooling on the pastry (Photo 3).
4. Gently fold the pastry circle in half. it helps to corral the filling with the thumbs while lifting the pastry over the chicken. This ensures that the filling stays inside where it belongs. Press down the edges to seal. You can also crimp the edges or press with the tines of a fork. Brush a light coating of egg wash over the top of the hand pie. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. Pre-heat oven to 425°.
6. Cut several vents on the top of the cold pastry with a pairing knife. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes. If you chilled your pastry overnight, it might need an additional 5 minutes. The crust should be deep gold and the edges should be puffed with no visible unbaked dough.
7. Serve warm.

After it comes off the heat

Cool the pot before it goes into the refrigerator. It reheats gently on the stove the next day.

If you want another plate from Pies and tarts, open Key Lime Pie Cooled Before Slicing and Banana Cream Pie Cooled Before Slicing.