What do you do when you have most of the ingredients to make a pie, but are too lazy to actually make the crust? Well, I guess you have two options. 1) Take a power nap, and wake up in the pie-making spirit. 2) Forget about the nap, but definitely not the pies. Go to the market and purchase frozen puff pastry dough, and make life simple for everyone involved by making charming, little hand pies.

I bought the last of the nectarines, and some Italian prune plums at the market. Although they were soft to the touch and fragrant to smell, when I cut into them, the plums were puckery and tart, and the nectarines didn’t taste like much of anything at all. This fruit needed some help. And the best way that I know to make less-than-stellar fruit juicy, is to bake it. Baking brings the sugars out. And what better way is there to bake up some fruit than in a pie? I sliced the fruit into chunks, seasoned with a bit of cinnamon, some lemon zest, and then kissed the mix with a touch of brown sugar.

Baking with pre-made puff pastry is so simple, it is almost ridiculous. I rolled out the pastry dough into 12 inch squares. Cutting each square into four smaller squares, I prepared to fill them. Spooning the plum-nectarine mixture onto one corner of each square, I then folded the blank side over the filling, and crimped the dough closed with a fork. 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven, and the house smelled divine, like cinnamon and the last vestiges of summer.

My pocket pies were browned, and pleasantly plump after baking. Not too sweet, the nectarines held their body, while the plums dissolved, creating a shiny sauce for the interior of the pocket. Truth be told, I didn’t really eat my pocket pies out of hand. Served up on plate with some lightly sweetened whipped cream, they were the perfect treat for a moderately lazy girl.