Mushroom, Goat Cheese & Mint Hand Pies

Choose and prepare the Basic Savory Pie Pastry recipe. Divide dough in half, shape it into 2 evenly-sized squares about 5-inches wide and 3/4-inch thick. Wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days), or freeze for up to 1 month.On a lightly floured surface, roll out both squares of cold, but un-frozen dough separately, one at a time, into approximately 11-inch squares. Then trim them cleanly into a 10-inch square.

Cut each 10-inch square into quarters, giving you eight, 5-inch square pieces of pastry.

Transfer them to 2 parchment lined baking sheets, 4 to a sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated while you make the filling.

Heat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds.Melt the butter in a medium-sized skillet set over medium-high heat.

Add the sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have given up their moisture, about 5 minutes.

Add the shallots and cook until the they have softened and the mushrooms are quite tender, about 5 more minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the mint and the goat cheese until the mushrooms are well coated in a thick creamy sauce. Set aside.Get the pastry squares from the refrigerator. Working with the pastry square in place, pile the mozzarella cubes, evenly distributed, onto the center of each square leaving about a 1-inch border all around.

Place about ¼ cup of the mushroom filling on top of the mozzarella on each of the squares. Working one at a time fold up all four corners around the filling, so that the points meet near the center but do not touch (leave about ¼ inch of space between them). Press lightly to distribute the filling somewhat, being careful not to let any escape. Repeat with the remaining squares of filled dough.

Brush the exposed tops and edges of the dough of each hand pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until pies are golden brown and filling is set, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly on a wire rack.

Serve warm.