Cane Syrup Roasted Sweet Potato Hand Pies

My friend and I have some of the best conversations, mostly by phone as she still lives in Louisiana. We talk about everything from vodka pie crust to the unavoidable topic of aging. Having experienced adolescents back when dinosaurs roamed the earth; we're both very grateful to have grown up pre Instagram, snapchat and all the other shit that is recording peoples antics while simultaneously making it so none of these kids will ever be able to delete the drunk stupor they experienced during freshman year. My employers, colleagues, strange relatives can never look up what occurred that night in the 11th grade hall.
We didn't do it..
There's no proof.. I swear.
I have the hardest time trying to make my daughter understand this, as she snapchats walking down the stairs.
Is that interesting? To watch someone walk down the stairs?
Perhaps I'm just too old to get it.. Perhaps it really is ridiculous.
While we are on the subject of social media, what do the 100 paragraphs of hashtags do? I can get down with hashtags- really I can, but I'm not sure I can understand the purpose of adding so many. How do you even know those hashtags exist?
What if they are linked to some government agency that is recording everything you do by the amount of hashtags you add to your post.
Paranoia is one of the many signs of aging..
Moving on..
This weekend while making these hand pies, my daughter decided to snapchat what I was doing. I didn't realize this until she turns to me and says.
"Sean thinks your pajamas are cute" 
 WHAT!!! I have enough problems as it is without having to worry about becoming some teen obsession a lifetime movie special is based off of.
Paranoia is one of the many signs of aging.
Nevertheless, I finally got her to put the phone down and we roasted these sweet potatoes in some Poirier's Cane Syrup which is seriously liquid gold in a bottle. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on some of Charles Poirier's magic, or know someone in Louisiana that can buy it and send it to you, then use that. If not, Steens is delicious also and they ship (#amazon). Neither of those options work, then try roasting the sweet potatoes in maple syrup or honey. The pastry dough is a little crumbly at first, that is ok. It will smooth out when rolling and give you buttery flaking crust in each bite.. #makethese
 

Cane Syrup Roasted Sweet Potato Hand Pies
Prep Time- 45mins + 1 hr rest Cook Time- 45mins total Yield- 1 dozen small hand pies 
Dough Recipe adapted from: The Joy Of Cooking and Hugh Acheson's The Broad Fork 

Ingredients:
For the filling-
2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled, and cut into about 1in pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup pure cane syrup

For the dough-
2 cups all purpose flour, plus additional flour for dusting
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
Turbinado Sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:
Make filing-
Preheat the oven to 375
Lay sweet potatoes out on a roasting tray (or baking sheet)
In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter and the cane syrup. Drizzle mixture over the potatoes. Roast for about 20-25 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once slightly cool, transfer to a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes using the back of a fork. Leaving some chunks in the mixture. Cover and set aside.
Make the dough- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter until dough resembles coarse sand.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 egg and milk. Add to the flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Once the dough comes together, shape into a ball using your hands. Divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten like a disc, then allow to chili in the refrigerator for 1 hour. (Or up to 2 days)
Assemble:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water and set aside. (This is the egg wash)
On a well floured surface, unwrap the first half of dough and roll out the dough with a rolling pin dusted with flour. Press down lightly and roll from the center out.
Cut out the dough using a large biscuit cutters (3in cutters were used for these). Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.
Spoon the filling evenly onto the center of each dough round, leaving enough room around the edges to seal in the pies with the top layer of dough.
Lightly brush the egg wash around the edges. Top each filling center dough round with a cut out circle round. Press the outer edge with the tongs of a fork or your fingers to seal. Brush the tops with more egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar (optional)
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.