4 months ago

Heart-Shaped Cherry, Chocolate, and Almond Ricotta Hand Pies
[Vegan]

AO By: Annie Oliverio

Author Bio

Annie Oliverio's recipes are all plant-based, and many are free of oil and refined products... Read More

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Heart-Shaped Cherry, Chocolate, and Almond Ricotta Hand Pies [Vegan]

Dairy Free

Vegan

Valentine’s Day recipe number two! To my mind, mouth, and tummy there isn’t much better than juicy fruit wrapped up in a buttery, crumbly, flaky crust. Especially when half of that crust has chocolate in it. There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but everything can be made ahead... Read More

Ingredients You Need for Heart-Shaped Cherry, Chocolate, and Almond Ricotta Hand Pies [Vegan]

For the Chocolate Crust:

1/2 cup raw walnuts
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 teaspoon powdered stevia
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick vegan butter
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

For the Vanilla Crust:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
A pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 stick vegan butter, cut into pieces
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

For the Almond Ricotta:

2 cups blanched almonds, soaked overnight, rinsed, and drained
1 cup water
A pinch of salt

For the Cherry-Chocolate Filling:

1/2 of a 14.5-ounce can of tart cherries, drained and chopped
1 heaping tablespoon vegan mini chocolate chips

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How to Prepare Heart-Shaped Cherry, Chocolate, and Almond Ricotta Hand Pies [Vegan]

Make the chocolate crust

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts a few times to break them down. Add the flour, cacao, stevia, and salt and pulse to combine.
Add the vegan butter and pulse until the texture of the mixture looks like coarse meal.
With the processor running, pour the ice water in through the chute and process until the dough comes together.
Remove the dough and knead it a few times to form a smooth ball; flatten it and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill the dough for a few hours.

Make the vanilla crust

In a food processor, add the flour and salt and pulse to combine.
Add the vegan butter and pulse until the texture of the mixture looks like coarse meal.
With the processor running, pour the vanilla extract, vanilla stevia and the ice water in through the chute and process until the dough comes together.
Remove the dough and knead it a few times to form a smooth ball; flatten it and cover with plastic wrap.
Chill the dough for a few hours.

Make the almond ricotta

In a food processor or blender, process the drained almonds with the 1 cup water and salt until the mixture is very smooth. Add some vanilla extract if you want a more pronounced vanilla flavor.
Set aside until ready to assemble the hand pies.

Make the cherry-chocolate filling

Combine the chopped cherries with the chocolate chips.
Set aside until ready to assemble the hand pies.

Make the hand pies

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375F.
Roll out one of the rounds of dough until it’s about 1/4″ thick. Using a large heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut as many hearts as you can, placing them on the baking sheets.
Knead the remaining dough, roll out, and cut as many additional hearts as you can.
Place about 1 tbsp. of ricotta in the middle of each heart, spreading it out a bit. (You’ll have leftover ricotta.)
Divide the cherry mixture between the hearts, spreading it on top of the ricotta.
Roll out the other dough round and repeat the process of cutting out hearts, re-rolling and cutting more hearts.
Place the hearts on top of the filled hearts, gently pressing the edges to seal. Seal completely using the tines of a fork. Prick the tops of the hearts with the fork.
If you like, melt some coconut oil or vegan butter and brush the tops of the hand pies. Then sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
Bake the hand pies for about 15 minutes. They should be browned on the edges. Let pies cool for a few minutes on the pans, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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