Today I bring you two recipes, the last ones of the summer. They’re reiterations of a dish I ate in church basements and birthday parties. At a beach in New Jersey once and at a middle school graduation. The strawberry pretzel salad. My mother made it the night my sister said she was pregnant; it’s always been her favorite. It’s a dish that’s as economical as it is regional, as chimeric as it is delicious. A hodgepodge of flavors, strawberry Jell-O and crushed pretzels, a layer of sweetened cream cheese and set in a casserole dish. Salad in the loosest sense of the word. And here it is as a galette and as a handpie. For a different take on the dessert I ate by the bowlful, the taste of chlorine still on my lips from the three lazy months I could sit by the pool with no responsibility to keep me up at night.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad: as Handpies and Galettes
If you are unfamiliar with this dish, here is a pretty good version of it. The below two recipes are two sides of the same coin and can be made for any time of year. Frozen strawberries, while a good substitute, seem to yield a slightly thinner filling.
For the Crust: Use this recipe for either of the below recipes
Ingredients:
- 4 TB unsalted butter, very cold
- 3 TB shortening, very cold
- 1 ½ cup AP flour
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ TB pure vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 TB ice water
Directions:
- In a food processor, pulse together butter, shortening, flour, almond meal, and white sugar until fats are pea-sized
- Add vanilla extract and pulse once or twice
- With motor running, pour water into feeding tube in a gradual stream until a dough forms. You may need additional couple teaspoon or two of ice water until dough clumps and begins to pull away from edges of the bowl
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and divide into two discs
- Wrap both discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to rest
Ingredients for the Handpie/Galette filling: Use this recipe for either of the below recipes
- 3 cups strawberries, roughly chopped and hulled
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1/8 cup dark beer (I used Yuengling)
- 2 TB water
- Pinch of salt
- 1 TB orange juice
- A slurry of cornstarch (1 TB cornstarch whisked in 1 TB water) – do not make until cherries are reduced by half
Directions for the Handpie/Galette filling:
- In a medium sauce pan, combine strawberries, sugar, beer, salt, water, and juice, stir with a spoon to ensure liquid is covering everything
- On medium heat, allow for strawberries to release their juices and for sugar to dissolve
- Continue heating until juices simmer and reduce by half (during this time, whisk together your slurry)
- Reduce heat to low and vigorously whisk in the slurry
- Mixture will begin to thicken and continue thickening as it coo
Assembly of Handpies:
- Preheat your oven to 400*F
- Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper
- Take one disc of dough out of the fridge and roll out onto a heavily-floured work surface into a rough rectangle that is about 8” by 10” (this will vary slightly, so don’t stress it too much)
- Using a sharp knife, cut your dough into rectangles. For a guide, I used a 3”x4” index card, but you can measure with a ruler if you so choose
- With each rectangle, carefully place onto your prepared baking sheets. You should have 9 rectangles total (if using the very scientific Index Card Method)
- Now, re-flour your board and roll out your second disc of dough
- Measure and cut your rectangles out again, but do not immediately place on your sheets
- At this point, you will have to do three things in succession: make an egg wash to brush edges of the dough, spoon in some of your strawberry filling onto each rectangle (I’d say about 2 TB per pie, but this is based on preference mostly), and place second top dough layer on top
- Do this for each pie
- Crimp the edges of each pie with a fork, pressing slightly to seal
- Brush tops of pies with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar
- Using a paring knife, cut a couple small nicks in the top crust to vent dough
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and tops
- Allow to cool completely before adding your topping
- Make a glaze of 4 oz softened cream cheese, 1 ½ cup confectioner’s sugar, and 3 TB milk – whisk until pourable but viscous. Pour over your handpies. Top each pie with crushed pretzel chunks
- Enjoy within 2 days for best taste and qualit
Assembly of Galette:
- Preheat your oven to 400*F
- Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- Take disc of dough out of fridge and roll onto a heavily-floured work surface into a large circle about ¼ inch in thickness
- Spoon half of your strawberry into center and spread around the surface of your dough, leaving about a two-inch margin
- Make an egg wash and brush along your margin, crimp edges inward
- Repeat with second disc of dough
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until edges are golden brown
- Allow to cool completely before topping with your glaze (4 oz softened cream cheese, 1 ½ cup confectioner’s sugar, and 3 TB milk) and crushed pretzels
- Cut and serve immediately. Leftovers can be saved for up to two days.