Apple and Pear with Chocolate Covered Cherry Hand Pies

Ingredients

• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 Royal Riviera Pear, peeled, cored and diced
• ½ small lemon, juiced
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half with seeds scraped
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• chocolate covered cherries, chopped
• Store bought or homemade pie crust
• 1 egg, whisked
• decorative or sanding sugar for sprinkling
• 2-3 dark chocolate cherry truffles

Instructions

1. Add the apple and pear to a small bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice and stir.
2. Add vanilla bean seeds, sugar and tapioca flour and stir to combine. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F.
4. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick and, using a 5-inch biscuit cutter, cut round discs for pies.
5. Add 1 or 2 heaping tablespoons of the apple and pear mixture to one side of the disc, leaving the edges clear. Add some of the chopped chocolate covered cherries.
6. Lightly brush edges of circles with egg, fold in half and crimp edges with the tines of a fork.
7. Prick the center of each pie with a knife to form a vent for the heat to escape from.
8. Alternately, add the apple and pear mixture to the center of one disc, lightly brush the edge of the circle with egg wash and top with another disc and crimp edges with the tines of a fork.
9. Place pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. Brush with egg wash and sprinkles of decorative sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden.
11. Melt the chocolate truffles in a microwave for 15-second increments, stirring in between cooking times, until chocolate is melted.
12. Drizzle chocolate on hand pies.
13. Serve immediately or eat at room temperature. Enjoy!