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sweet ricotta pastry with chocolate chips
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5 from 2 votes

Sweet Ricotta Hand Pies

You'll love this old world homestyle Italian pastry.  The easy to make pie crust will make my Sweet Ricotta Hand Pies a family favorite for years to come.
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian - American
Servings: 16
Calories: 405kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley

Ingredients

Sweet Cheese Filling

  • 1 cup Mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup Ricotta cheese
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips

Sweet Pastry

  • 4 cups flour
  • cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 8 oz unsalted butter very cold cut into pieces (2 Sticks)
  • 2 oz ice water
  • 4 large eggs

Instructions

Sweet Cheese Filling

  • In a mixing bowl add ricotta, mascarpone, sugar, flour, egg, lime zest, vanilla powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend together
  • Add in chocolate chips
  • Refrigerate for two hours*

Sweet Pastry

  • In the bowl of your food processor, add 4 cups of flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and pulse a few times to mix.
  • Add the very cold butter slices to the food processor and pulse until all the butter has been incorporated
  • Add the eggs and pulse until it begins to ball up on the blade of the food processor.
  • If your dough looks too dry and a ice water a little at a time until it starts to come together.
  • Place dough on floured surface and roll into two logs.
  • wrap in plastic and refrigerate until you are ready to use them.

Assembly

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • remove dough from refrigerator for at least ½ hour.
  • Cut logs into 8 pieces each and roll them into small circles, on a floured surface, using a rolling pin.*
  • Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough and close to make a half moon.
  • use a fork to seal the edges, cutting off any excess dough.
  • repeat until all the pies are made.*
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the dough is a golden brown.

Notes

*I put my mixture into the freezer for about an hour to get it to firm up
*use a french knife to go under the pastry to lift it off the work table
*If dough is too soft, refrigerate for about 30 minutes until its firms back up.

Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 237mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 705IU | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 1.9mg