​​Pie-ce Cream Sandwiches

Directions

1. Make the pate brisee: In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add the cold butter and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
2. You can add the water to the food processor, and mix to combine. For folks that struggle with hydration, I recommend transferring the mixture to a medium bowl, and adding the water by hand. Either way, drizzle the water around the flour and pulse (or toss with your hands in the bowl) to combine.
3. Add more water 1 tablespoon (15 g) at a time and pulse (or mix by hand) until the dough comes together into a ball. The dough should not be dry or crumbly (if it is, add more water to bring it together). The dough also shouldn’t be wet or sticky to the touch.
4. Divide the dough into two even pieces, and form into disks about 1 inch / 2.5 cm thick. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 48 hours) before continuing.
5. Make the hand pies: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water to combine. Have ready a pastry brush.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one portion of the pie dough to about ¼ in / 6 mm thick (exact size/shape doesn’t matter, since you’ll be cutting out shapes with a cookie cutter). Use a 3 in / 8 cm round cookie cutter to cut circles out of the dough.
7. Transfer half of the circles to the parchment-lined baking sheets. Spoon (or pipe!) about 21 g / 1 heaping tablespoon jam into the center of each piece of dough on the baking sheet.
8. Brush the outer edge of each piece of dough lightly with egg wash, and place one of the remaining rounds of dough on top of it. Use a fork to crimp the outer edge of each pie to seal.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 with the remaining dough and jam. You can save the scrap dough from both rounds of rolling, combine it, and roll it out one more time – you’re aiming to get 20 sandwiches total.
10. Chill the sandwiches for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F/204°C with the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
11. Brush the center of the pies with egg wash (try to avoid brushing too much on the outside edges, which like to brown faster anyway), and sprinkle generously with sugar. Cut a small line or x shape into the surface of each pie with the tip of a paring knife.
12. Transfer to the oven and bake until deeply golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.
13. To build the sandwiches, flip half of the hand pies upside down so their base is facing upward. Remove one of the pints of ice cream from the freezer, and use a serrated knife to cut it into 4 even pieces. Transfer each slice on top of one of the upside down hand pies, and top with another cooled hand pie (sugared side up).
14. Freeze the assembled sandwiches immediately, then repeat with the remaining pint of ice cream and hand pies. Keep frozen until ready to serve.