For the past month I have been competing in the Saucy Mama “Sliced” Recipe Contest. I was sent three different Saucy Mama mustards and had to choose one to use in the appetizer round. If I wasn’t “sliced” I moved on to the entree portion of the contest using another mustard.
Well, I’m happy to say I have made it to the third and final round with 10 other food bloggers (we started with 25). Our final challenge was to use the last of the trio of Saucy Mama mustards in a dessert. That’s right, dessert. When is the last time you had mustard for dessert? Tricky. Our secret ingredient for this round was “booze”. Which was perfect!
I had purposely left the Hatch Chili mustard for the dessert competition. Even though I didn’t know I would make it this far, I did not want to have to use creamy garlic or dill mustard in a dessert recipe. My brain couldn’t make sense of that! Sweet and spicy was what I was after and that’s what I got.
And here’s the thing, I wanted to “taste” the mustard in a subtle way. I hoped it would enhance the other flavors of the dish, creating a synergistic nuance of tastes. It’s amazing how well the mustard got this done! It was incredible. I never expected it all to work so well together.
With the flaky crust, brown sugar, tart apples, brandy soaked raisins, heat from the cayenne and the chili mustard…wow, what a home run. And then we had it with some vanilla ice cream….heaven.
Making the filling is very simple. A few little chops and stirs and you are well on your way to a fabulous dessert!!
Puff Pastry Apple-Hatch Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 cups chopped Granny Smith apple (peeled) (2-3 apples)
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup Saucy Mama Hatch Chili Mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- pinch of cayenne*
- 1 lb puff pastry, thawed**
- 1 large egg white
- sugar for sprinkling
Directions
- In a small bowl, soak raisins with brandy while preparing other ingredients (15 minutes). Drain.
- In a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat add butter. Once melted add apples, sugars, Hatch Chili Mustard, apple pie spice and cayenne. Saute until apples are softened and others ingredients start to thicken (about 10 minutes). Cool.
- Make an egg wash with one large egg white and 1 Tablespoon of water by whisking them together. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one sheet of puff pastry into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Cut the dough into four equal rectangles measuring 5 x 6 -inches each. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of cooled apple filling on one side of the rectangle and brush edges with egg wash. Fold the dough over the filling to make a 5 x 3-inch rectangle. Press to seal the edges and use the tines of a fork to crimp and seal the edges. Use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of each hand pie for ventilation. When the first four pies are made, remove the second sheet of puffed pastry from the fridge and repeat.
- Brush pies with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place on your baking tray in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbling through the steam vents you made on the top of the pies. Let cool for 15 minutes before trying a bite!
- *A pinch of cayenne (for me) is half of my 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon (essentially 1/16 teaspoon).
- **The best way to thaw puff pastry is overnight in the fridge. Each sheet needs to be cold when you are working with it otherwise it becomes gummy and impossible to roll out.
For the Giveaway! ~ CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Lucky for us Saucy Mama is in a very generous mood. They want you to try all three mustards used in this contest: Creamy Garlic, Dill and Hatch Chili. I have a feeling you will love them all!
To enter the contest, use the Rafflecopter widget below, this is where one random winner will be chosen from. It might take a few seconds to load but is worth the wait with so many chances to win! Open to U.S. residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
DISCOUNT
Maybe you want your mustard no matter what?! Saucy Mama is offering a WHOPPING 25{5396afcf7ebcb011d88226d96591fa60d0bb5a6cac0179c8121d60c005c366a8} off all Saucy Mama products on their site with the magical discount code DON25 through July 17. Have fun shopping!
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