Peach Amaretto Hand Pies

Peaches have been absolutely lovely around here lately, and I wanted to make something desserty-with them to bring to an evening at J and H's.  When I read first about this Peach Amaretto Jam on The Feast Within, I was reminded of a fantastic gourmet jam I had bought a while back.  I promptly devoured the jar, that's how good it was.  When I the read about Peach-Bourbon hand pies on Smitten Kitchen, I realized that combining the two would be genius, and a perfect party treat. 

I pre-cooked the filling, which I think worked well, but I don't think is a vital step.  You could probably mix the filling ingredients without heating them and it would work as a perfectly good filling.  It may also be less messy,and would allow for more filling in each pie.  For the crust, I used Martha's Pâte Brisée, my favorite pie crust, but might experiment with some others.  

I'm submitting this to I Love to Bake at What's Cooking

filling:

4 peaches, blanched to remove skin, and diced

1/4 c sugar

2 tbs amaretto, or to taste

1 tbs cornstarch

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

heat until desired consistency (or not, see note above)

cut pie crust into rounds and place 1 tsp of filling in the center, fold over and crimp edges.  cut a small slit in the top of each hand pie for venting. 

bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.