Pie Popcorn

Aug 27

Written By Erin McDowell

MAKES

8 servings

TAKES

Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total: 3 hours 10 minutes

Print Recipe

✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE

If Cracker Jacks got pie-ified, it’d be this incredibly yummy recipe. Vanilla and cardamom–infused kettle corn is tossed with tiny, bite-size strawberry pies. This recipe is labeled “hard,” but mostly because the tiny pies are a bit tedious. While this recipe is not for the faint of heart, it is so much fun to serve and eat: Prepare for serious smiles.

INGREDIENTS

Bite Size Pies

595 g / 1 ¾ cups strawberry jam

1 recipe (300 g / 11 ounces) Rough Puff Pastry, prepared and well chilled

egg wash (see Note)

turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Kettle Corn

50 g / ¼ cup granulated sugar

seeds scraped from ½ vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

15 g / 1 tablespoon neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or safflower)

96 g / ½ cup popcorn kernels

4 g / 1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 g / ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom

Make the Flakiest Pie Dough:

METHOD

1. In a medium pot, bring the jam to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or scorching, until the jam has reduced to 340 g / 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool completely.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of the dough to ¼ inch / 6 mm thick and about 10 inch / 25 cm wide. Use a rolling pin to transfer the dough, unfurling it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dock the dough all over with a fork.

3. Spoon the cooled jam onto the dough and spread into an even layer—all the way to the edges of the dough. Transfer to the refrigerator while you roll out the second disk of dough.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second disk of dough to 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick, also about 10 inch / 25 cm wide. Dock the dough all over with a fork.

5. Remove the jammy pie dough from the fridge and use a rolling pin to transfer the second piece of dough, unfurling it on top of the jammy dough. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.

6. When the dough is well chilled, use a small (1 ½ inch / 4 cm) round cutter to punch out pies from the sandwiched dough. Use a small fork to press firmly around the outside edge of each pie to help seal it. It’s OK if there are small bits of exposed jam; if any totally won’t seal, you can discard them. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet—they can be quite close together, but should not be touching. Freeze the pies for 30 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C with racks toward the lower third of the oven. Egg-wash the pies and sprinkle them generously with turbinado sugar.

8. Bake the pies until evenly golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Some of them may pop open and/or jam may run out—that’s totally A-OK. Puncture the pies that popped open with a fork mid-bake. And for the pies with jam spillage—the jam gets a little caramelized and is really quite delicious. After baking, if there are burnt bits of jam on the baking sheet, use a paring knife to cut them away from the pies—they are easier to remove while still warm. Cool completely.

9. While the pies cool, make the kettle corn: In a small bowl, mix the sugar and vanilla bean seeds with your fingers to combine.

10. In a large pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat with 2 or 3 of the popcorn kernels. Once they pop, the oil is ready! Remove those kernels and enjoy as a pre-snack once they cool.

11. Add the remaining corn kernels to the pot, along with the vanilla sugar, stirring to combine. Cover the pot and cook, shaking the pan constantly, until the kernels pop. Shaking the pan helps keep everything in motion, ensuring even heat and even coverage of the sugar throughout the corn kernels. Once the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds, remove the pot from the heat and pour the kettle corn onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

12. Even with shaking, there may be a few rogue burnt bits or unpopped kernels when all is said and done—that’s OK, just separate them from the remainder of the kettle corn. While it’s still hot, sprinkle the salt and cardamom evenly over the popcorn, then toss gently to distribute.

13. To serve, combine the pies and popcorn—to do this in individual portions, divide the popcorn evenly into 8 portions, using 8 to 10 mini pies per serving.