I'm sick of cupcakes.  There's a new shop opening up 'round every corner, 'round here, all the time but who wants to spend near $5 a cupcake?  

I have been craving a good old fashioned hand pie, like the kind you find in some rural convenience store when you stop for gas going from point A to point B.  I finally found the right recipe.

Alton Brown of Food Network fame can do no wrong in the kitchen and I found this recipe for Hand Pies amongst his arsenal.  

Today, even when it's 100 degrees outside, I tried my first batch of the Chocolate Filling Hand Pies.  

The crust was near perfection and the filling was sweet but not overwhelming.  

I have ingredients to experiment for the rest of the week including:  peach, apple and coconut.  Can't hardly wait.

PS:  yeah I know here in South Texas one would normally find empanadas but I wanted something that wasn't deep-fried.

PPS:  now accepting offers as a silent partner in my hand pie venture and shop.  Imagine it now:  MICHAEL'S PIES (In the House of Love).  

PPPS:  remember you heard it here first.  HAND PIES.  I'm a trendsetter.