S’mores Pretzel Hand Pies

Combine water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let it sit for 5 minutes until foamy.

Add flour, salt and butter; stir to combine. Using a dough hook, knead dough on medium speed 5 minutes until smooth, elastic and slightly tacky (alternately, you can turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand 10 minutes until smooth, elastic and slightly tacky).

Shape dough into a ball and place in a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled.

When dough is nearly doubled, combine the water and baking soda in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Heat oven to 400 F.

Make the filling: Stir together all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Punch down fully risen dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out circles of dough. Re-roll out scraps as needed.

Spoon a tablespoon or so of filling into the center of half the dough circles (you may not use all the filling). Top with another dough circle to form a pie; use your fingers or fork tines to seal the edges. Transfer pies to a lightly floured baking sheet or platter.

Place about 3 hand pies at a time in the boiling water bath; boil 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove pies and transfer to a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pies, placing pies about 1 inch apart on baking sheets.

Combine the egg and water in a small bowl for the egg wash.

Lightly brush tops of pies with egg wash, then sprinkle with sea salt. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until golden brown and puffed. Cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.