Zucchini Cheddar Hand Pies

One can never have too many zucchini recipes at this time of year, can one? What are your favorites?

I could probably eat zucchini every day of my life without ever getting tired of it. My sister, on the other hand, is not a fan. But she surprised herself by loving it in these little hand pies. I made these for her because she just had her baby (Im an auntie!!!), and they are such an easy grab-and-go food. They were useful to have on hand in the lead-up to her labor, when we didn't have time to cook and needed something quick and easy to eat. You can also freeze them and just heat them up in the toaster oven whenever you need them.

These hand pies are very hard for anyone to resist: the dough is light and flaky as can be and the filling is cheesy and gooey. They are best when eaten warm so the dough is at its flakiest and the cheese is melted.

When making hand pies, the main challenge is a structural one: how to keep the filling from spilling out of the edges as it bakes. There are two main tips to follow to prevent this from happening. The first is to make sure the filling isn't too watery. Its therefore important to squeeze as much water as possible out of the grated zucchini. The second is to make sure the edges of the hand pie are well sealed together so the filling doesnt ooze out during baking. I will explain how to do both in more detail in the recipe directions.

Feel free to use your own favorite pie dough recipe. I adapted Bojon Gourmet's flakiest all-butter pie dough recipe, and though time-consuming, I went through all the additional but optional steps she recommends to achieve maximum flakiness. I was thrilled to wind up with a crust so flaky it bordered on puff pastry. Though I've also made these without going through those additional steps and the crust is still wonderfully flaky.

Let me know if you make these, I think you'll love them!

Aube is a passionate organic gardener and home cook who likes to share the stories of how food gets to our dinner plates. Her work has been shown on television and at international film festivals. Her web series was nominated for a 2014 James Beard Award. In 2012, she was the recipient of Saveur Magazine's Best Food Blog award in the video category.