Strawberry Heart Beet Hand Pies

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

Add the cold butter and working quickly with your hands, break up the butter into the flour until the largest pieces are about the size of a pea.

One tablespoon at a time, dribble in the iced beet juice, combining with a fork or your hands each time, until the dough holds together when pinched with your fingers (add beet juice until it just holds together, but is not sticky. If you need more, add a teaspoon at a time). Knead the dough until it just comes together.

Dust your work surface lightly with flour and roll the dough out into a ¾-inch thick rectangle. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour and fold the dough into thirds like a letter and then in thirds once again to form a square. Repeat 2x until you do not see any large bits of butter in the pink dough. Press the dough into a 1-inch thick disc, wrap in plastic, and chill for an hour or up to overnight.

Meanwhile, prepare your strawberry filling. In a medium saucepan, toss together the strawberries sugar, corn starch, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce to a simmer, mashing the berries with a wooden spoon against the edge of the pot as it cooks. Cook for about 10 minutes until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon and the berries are well broken down. Transfer to a clean bowl and chill until cold, at least 1 hour.

Once everything has chilled, dust your work surface lightly with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit for 5-10 minutes to soften. Carefully roll until 1/8-inch thick, dusting with flour and flipping to keep it from sticking. Repair any cracks as you roll.

Cut into hearts with a 2 to 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat.

Place half of the cut-outs on a parchment-lined baking sheet, 1 inch apart.

Place 1 heaping tablespoon chilled strawberry jam in the middle. Brush the edges with the egg wash. Carefully place a second heart cut-out on top and press the edges to seal, being careful not to press the jam out of the sides. Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.

Use a small knife to cut a small x in the top of the pastry.to vent out the steam. Chill the hand pies for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. When the oven is done preheating, brush the top of each hand pie with heavy cream or milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown and crisp. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.