Lemon Raspberry Pie Crust Hearts

Lemon Raspberry Pie Crust Hearts

makes about 16 hearts

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For the Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

For the Filling:
2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed and thoroughly drained
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 large egg, beaten
turbinado sugar, for topping

To make the crust:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture. Some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes; some will be the size of peas. Create a well in the mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring the dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator will help rechill the butter and distribute the moisture.

To make the filling:
In a medium bowl, gently stir together thawed and drained berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, spices, and salt. Stir until just combined.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and set aside. In another small bowl place about 1/3 cup of turbinado sugar.

To roll out the pie crust and make the hearts:
On a well-floured surface, roll one of the disks out to a 1/8″-thickness. Use a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut about 10 to 12 hearts out of the rolled crust. Place the hearts on a plate and place in the refrigerator while you roll out and cut heart shapes from of the second pie crust disk.

You can re-roll the scraps of pie crust if you’d like. The more you work the crust the tougher it will become.

After rolling and cutting all of the hearts, you should have 28 to 32 hearts. Brush half (14 to 16) of the hearts lightly with the beaten egg. Place about 1 heaping teaspoon of raspberry filling in the center of each heart. Get as much fruit and go easy on the juice.

Lightly stretch the remaining hearts with your fingers. Place the slightly stretched hearts over the fruit-studded hearts. Press the ends together with your fingers. A bit of raspberry juice might seep out of the sides. That’s ok! Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Use a small knife to create a few small vent holes on the top heart.

Lightly brush the the tops of each heart pairing with beaten egg. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Allow cookies to chill in the refrigerator while the oven preheats.

Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place prepared hearts on a parchment lined baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies are best served within 3 days of baking.