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1
For the cheddar crust: Combine the flour, salt, cayenne, cheese and half the butter in the bowl of a food processor and process for approximately 10 seconds.
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2
Add the remaining butter, and pulse 2-3 times, until the butter is in pea-sized lumps.
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3
Sprinkle the water and lemon juice over the top and pulse 4 or 5 times until the dough holds together when pinched.
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4
Pour the mixture onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, gather and flatten it into a disc, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.
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5
For the meatloaf: Pulse the onion, carrot and celery in the food processor until finely minced, but not yet liquid.
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6
Combine this mixture with the remaining meatloaf ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix well with your hands.
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7
Divide into 6 equal portions.
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8
Store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
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9
Assemble the hand pies: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to soften, if necessary, for 10 minutes.
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10
On a lightly floured board, roll out the pastry into a rough circle about 1/8 thick.
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11
Slide a pastry scraper under the dough periodically as you roll it out to prevent sticking.
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12
Cut six 6 circles from the dough, then roll each circle to lengthen it into a slight oblong.
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13
Pile 1 portion of meatloaf onto the bottom half of each oblong, leaving a 1/2 border to seal.
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14
Wet the bottom edge of the pastry with water, and fold the top half of the dough over to make a pie.
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15
Press, then crimp the edges to seal well, and with a sharp knife make a slit or hole on the top of each pie to vent the steam.
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16
Repeat with remaining pastry and meatloaf.
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17
Chill the filled pies for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
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18
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), and move the oven rack to the middle position.
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19
Put the hand pies onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
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20
Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water.
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Brush the tops of the hand pies with the egg wash, then bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown, turning and rotating the pans halfway through.
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22
Serve them hot with a salad for dinner.
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23
They also make great cold lunches or snacks.
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24
Addictive, actually.
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25
Notes: To crimp the pie shut, you basically roll the edge of the dough under itself as you work left to right.
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26
See my blog for a video that gives the best angle of all the how-to crimp a pasty videos I watched.
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27
Theres no audio, but its clear what the cook is doing, even if it is a little trickier than her old hands make it look.
