When Pies Fly: Handmade Pastries from Strudels to Stromboli, Empanadas to Knishes

by Cathy Barrow

Following up on PIE SQUARED's slab pies, food writer Cathy Barrow finds more ways to use pastry dough deliciously with crowd-pleasing (and easy to make) galettes and small tarts, as well as empanadas, strudels, and knishes. Barrow digs into a world of doughs for turnovers, fried pies, poppers, and Texas-by-way-of-Krakow kolaches, all offered in sweet and savory iterations.

WHEN PIES FLY guides the rolling pin novice and the experienced dough wrangler to dozens of shapes and styles of crusty, flaky, delicious treats. Barrow's well-tested, foolproof crust recipes means pie-making is fun, not scary, and her step-by-step techniques makes turning out a free-form pie practically foolproof.

WHEN PIES FLY includes many types of pastries (both homemade and store-bought), ready for the lunchbox, the dinner table, road trips, and picnics. These handy crusty offerings go from freezer to oven, and will win over everyone at the table. No one will be able to resist Sesame Chicken Hand Pies, Savory Nectarine Marscapone Tarts, Pork Pastor Empanadas, Spiced Apple Strudels, and much more. The perfect mix of nostalgic favorites and new pastry creations, WHEN PIES FLY is a wonderful dive into the world of pies in all of their forms.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Published September 17, 2019

About the author

Cathy Barrow an award-winning cookbook author, gardener, knitter, traveler, and teacher. She is the author of Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish (Chronicle Books, 2021), When Pies Fly (Grand Central, 2019 ), Pie Squared (Grand Central, 2018), and Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry (W.W. Norton, 2014). Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Serious Eats, Saveur, Food52, The Local Palate, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, NPR, and National Geographic. Her books have won the IACP Cookbook Award (Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry) and been nominated for the James Beard Award (Pie Squared). From her home outside Washington, DC, shared with husband Dennis and two irrascible terriers, Cathy cooks in a sun-filled kitchen just steps from the garden. Find her on Instagram (@cathybarrow), YouTube (Cathy Barrow), and her website, https://www.cathybarrow.com/

Reviews

[Pattie Tierney · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you start to drool (seriously, there was actual drool) while paging through a cookbook that you have a winner. Such is the case with Cathy Barrow’s new release, When Pies Fly. She has outdone herself with this one, doing the impossible, exceeding the fabulousness of her previous book Pie Squared, the definitive book on slab pies. This book has 75 mouthwatering creations for various pastry-wrapped international, as well as traditional specialties. Things such as empanadas (one of my favorite things) knishes (she really had me at knishes) stromboli (yep, love them too), as well as loads of other savory pie-like items. I am a savory more than a sweet person, so I have long been waiting for this book to arrive.

I haven’t been this excited since the Blues won the Stanley Cup. I nearly wept when I paged through, moaning and groaning to such an extent as to have, no doubt, raised an eyebrow or two in the neighborhood.

With cheeseburgers being my absolutely favorite food, the Cheeseburger Hand Pies turned my head. They are going to be the first recipe that I try from this book.

If you are uncomfortable making pies, Cathy is going to calm you down. Her rustic pies are perfect for the beginner, her snacking pies will have people flocking to your home for a quick nosh, the single-serve pies are perfect for the man or woman living alone, and there are plenty of delicious sweet pies for those of you who can’t do without dessert.

She offers up a wonderful introduction, has a great section on demystifying pie dough, offers a dairy free option, even quick puff pastry pies, as well as plenty of kolaches, both sweet and savory.

For the seasoned veteran, there are some pretty fancy crusts here; for pie rookies like me, there are comprehensive instructions, as well as beautiful pictures for every recipe in the book.

I cannot say enough about this book. Buy one for yourself, buy one for friends, and buy one for every member of your family. In this new book, When Pies Fly, Handmade Pastries from Strudels to Stromboli, Empanadas to Knishes, Cathy Barrow has presented pie making in a fun, doable, and mouthwatering way. Get a copy! I mean it. You will thank me later.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never review cookbooks; it's such an individual matter, as far as I'm concerned, and who cares what I think on this topic! BUT. This one forced my hand. If you love pie or know someone who loves pie, here you go. If you don't, what are you, a monster? :)

So far I see only one bad thing about this book: WHAT TO MAKE FIRST! The various categories of small pies are all so tempting: galettes, hand pies (single serving!!), pie poppers (snacking pies!), framed tarts, strudel puff and phyllo, empanadas, filled and fried, kolache, and knishes -- around the world with pies in your hand. With a great chapter offering recipes for a surely-complete listing of doughs and a discussion of equipment, what more could need besides time and an appetite? Since I live alone, mostly, I'll probably start with those single serving pies, although the poppers are mighty intriguing too....

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually found out about this book when Garden & Gun magazine had a Facebook post with Barrow's recipes for Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Hand Pies that looked like the poptarts of Heaven. After seeing that recipe I put the book on hold through my local library. I don't make pies all the time, but I'm comfortable making dough and this book seems like "next level" pie making - not that it's harder, but just different ways to make and use hand-held pies. Barrow does a good job in the introduction of explaining pie baking and the equipment needed. There are also lots of tips along the way of how to deal with common issues like filling bursting out of hand pies. Overall, it was a unique pie book and I'm looking forward to trying several of recipes.

[Pearse Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of portable pastries, but this will never rise to the highs of Pie Squared because it lacks the depth of substitutions/mixes & matches/author's notes that Pie Squared includes. The techniques here got much harder as well: phyllo sheets/deep fried pies/pie poppers, and I would have loved more information instead of a smaller cookbook. The breakfast hand pies an kolaches from this are amazing, though. Some wonderful recipes.

[Martha Trzepacz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pies, who doesn't like pies, the other dessert. Fabulous recipes, gorgeous pictures and all those pastry relatives, strudels, empanadas, knishes etc. The perfect primer for the pie perfectionist, eater, baker or both.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of wonderful recipes with photos and really good instructions on how to make them.
I originally checked the book out from the library and there were so many recipes I wanted to make so I ended up buying the book.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kolache dough recipe is a bunch of horsesh*t.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Lots of really interesting new ideas. Way too labor intensive for most folks.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a great title, but this book just didn't grab me. Too much work! Maybe it's time for me to face facts that there will be very few times in life that I will ever again make my own pie crust.

[Lisa Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous and full of delicious recipes.... will try to adapt some as GF.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'mma have to get this one. YUM

[Pamela Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big pie baker, but the pictures were good and the descriptions of different kinds of pies was interesting.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like the encyclopedia of hand pies. Very easy to follow recipes. delicious combinations. Will use again and again

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

all the different kinds of "pies" especially the hand held versions you can think of. a book to come to if you want a pie that would be great for a picnic.

[Tressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Pies Fly had a variety of pies such as empanadas, knishes, and hand pies. There was also a good set of basic doughs.

[Onceinabluemoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hate to be negative on new releases but didn't find a single recipe to entice me, heavy on the savories and obviously nothing suited my tastebuds...

[Paul Vogelzang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pie crusts you can actually succeed at making. I did it, and delicious!