October 31, 2021
It is with a bittersweet heart that we officially say goodbye to our home in Ohio. Kev has been offered a promotional opportunity within his company, which requires us to relocate to Massachusetts. My post today will be dedicated to Ohio-themed pastry pockets, a nod to a place we’ve called home for the last several years. Ohio was the first place Kev moved to shortly after college. I joined Kev in Ohio after stopping through Chicago to teach high school for a few years. Initially, when I moved to Ohio for work just over six years ago, I never thought I would grow to love life in Ohio. As time passed, I started to realize how much Ohio had to offer – wonderful people and even better cost of living. Everything cost a dollar or two less than what I was used to growing up in New York. In a few short years, Ohio became our home. We were very happy living in Ohio and thought it would be where we would land permanently. Of course, life doesn’t always work the way we imagine it. When May rolled around, Kev sat me down and let me know he was offered a promotion within his company with the caveat that the position was located in Boston. We had many discussions and sleepless nights discussing what relocating to Massachusetts would mean for us. By the end of summer, we had decided the move would be beneficial for both of us. It was located in the New England area, which meant my family was only a few hours away by car. We packed up all our belongings, said our goodbyes and moved to Massachusetts. The last recipe I developed in our home in Ohio was my take on pastry pockets. I wanted to make some Ohio-themed pastry pockets featuring one of my favorite ice cream flavors from my favorite ice cream shop in Ohio, Graeter’s. When I first visited Ohio, Kev tried to help me assimilate to a new area by taking me to some of the popular food shops in Ohio. One shop, an ice cream shop, was known for its amazing ice cream. The most popular flavor among our friends was the black raspberry chocolate chunk ice cream. The ice cream featured a beautiful purple hue and was flavored by the fruity and tart flavors of black raspberry. The black raspberry ice cream weaved in large chunks of chocolate chunks. I definitely had a moment of love at first bite when I tasted the ice cream. I loved the combination of a slightly tart, sweet fruity black raspberry ice cream paired with a bittersweet chocolate. The marriage of flavors struck my tastebuds in a familiar yet new way. I loved the ice cream so much, I just could not get myself to buy any other flavor of ice cream whenever I visited the ice cream shop. The flavors stayed on my mind for years after. When I came across a black raspberry jam sold at the local supermarket near our home in Ohio, I could not help myself but to buy a couple jars of black raspberry jam. The black raspberry jam led me to create my black raspberry hazelnut chocolate pastry pockets. My first exposure to pastry pockets was in the form of Pop Tarts, a treat I ate one too many times throughout my childhood. I loved trying new varieties and popping the tarts into my toaster oven to warm them up right before serving. When I got older, I stopped eating them and instead starting making my own version in the form of pastry pockets. There is no better way to say goodbye to our home in Ohio than to make Ohio-themed pastry pockets. My take on pastry pockets features my trusty pie dough recipe prepared in advance and chilled. The chilled pie dough is rolled out, cut into the state of Ohio shapes, and filled with melted chocolate, crushed hazelnuts, and black raspberry jam. I seal up the pastry pockets by crimping the edges with a fork, brushing on some egg wash, piercing some holes into the pastry pockets to allow for venting, and baking them to golden-brown perfection. When they are out of the oven, I let them cool slightly before topping them with a black raspberry glaze and colorful sprinkles. My black raspberry hazelnut chocolate pastry pockets taste best when served warm. Biting into one seems to seamlessly transport me back to moments of my childhood enjoying Pop Tarts and moments of my adulthood settling into Ohio life. Kev and I enjoyed the pastry pockets as we toasted to our time living in Ohio. Ohio will forever hold a special place in our hearts. For now, farewell to Ohio!
For the pastry pocket dough: (The pastry pocket dough is a double recipe of my pie dough recipe.)
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
· ½ cup cold water
For the filling:
· 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (see step 4)
· 10 whole hazelnuts, toasted and crushed (see step 4)
· 4 ounces black raspberry jam
For the egg wash:
· 1 large egg
· 1 tablespoon of water
For the glaze:
· 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
· 2 teaspoons black raspberry jam
· 2-3 teaspoons water
· Colorful sprinkles for topping
Directions:
1) Prepare the pastry pocket dough at least an hour before or the evening before. In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and granulated sugar. Pulse the ingredients for about 5-10 seconds. Add the cubed unsalted butter, and pulse for another 5-10 seconds. Pour in the cold water and pulse until a dough begins to form, about another 5-10 seconds. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a round disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to use the dough, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let the dough sit for about ten minutes before rolling out the dough.
2) Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
3) On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough disc into a flat square about ¼ inch in thickness. Use an Ohio-shaped cookie cutter to cut out four pieces of dough. Reshape and reroll the dough. Cut out two additional pieces of Ohio-shaped dough. Place the Ohio-shaped dough pieces onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and pop the baking sheet into the refrigerator to chill the dough. While the pieces of dough are chilling in the refrigerator, repeat this process with the second dough disc and cut out six additional Ohio-shaped dough pieces. Transfer the dough pieces onto the second parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill the pieces of dough in the refrigerator until ready to use.
4) Remove the first baking sheet with the Ohio-shaped dough pieces from the refrigerator. Fill each piece of dough with a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate. Top the melted bittersweet chocolate with a spoonful of crushed, toasted hazelnuts. Spoon some black raspberry jam onto the top of the crushed hazelnut pieces.
5) Make the egg wash by whisking together the large egg and tablespoon of water. Brush the edges of the filled dough pieces with egg wash. Remove the second baking sheet with the Ohio-shaped dough pieces from the refrigerator. Gently transfer the pieces of dough onto the top of the jam, hazelnut, and chocolate topped dough pieces. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the Ohio-shaped pastry pockets. Brush the egg wash all over the pastry pockets. Use a fork to pierce each of the pastry pockets a couple times.
6) Transfer the baking sheet with the Ohio-shaped pastry pockets into the preheated oven. Let the pastry pockets bake for about 23-25 minutes.
7) When the pastry pockets are done baking, set the baking sheet aside. Let the pastry pockets cool for about 20 minutes before applying the black raspberry glaze.
8) To make the black raspberry glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and two teaspoons of black raspberry jam in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the water, a teaspoon at a time, as needed, to help loosen up the glaze. When the glaze reaches a spreadable consistency, it is ready to use. Work quickly to spread a thin layer of black raspberry glaze onto the top of an Ohio-shaped pastry pocket. Top with sprinkles. Continue this process with the rest of the pastry pockets until they are all glazed and topped with sprinkles.
Takeaways: When making the glaze for the pastry pockets, I found microwaving the glaze for 15 seconds in between mixing helped the glaze achieve a smoother consistency. When glazing the pastry pockets, if the glaze starts to harden quicker than you can glaze the pastry pockets, pop the bowl of glaze back into the microwave and microwave on high heat for about 15 seconds to help the glaze return to its smooth consistency. Repeat the process as needed.