Joanna Gaines' Easy Take On These Savory Pastries Uses Smart Shortcuts

Joanna Gaines really is an all-rounder. Not only has the HGTV star built a property and homeware empire with her husband Chip, but she's also raised a family, created a magazine and TV network, and helped put the small town of Waco, Texas on the map. Oh, and she cooks too, and her easy take on fatayer can save you a lot of time in the kitchen.

To make the Middle Eastern hand pies, Gaines utilizes canned biscuits for the crust, which is a genius solution for those times when you really can't think about making your own dough. Canned biscuits not only have delicious flavor, but they're also conveniently pre-cut to the perfect size for fatayer. Gaines simply separates them and rolls them out into thin discs on a floured surface until they measure about five to six inches wide before adding her filling. Her brand of choice is Pillsbury, but any canned biscuits should work and there are so many clever ways to use them if you have extra.

She posted her recipe on the Magnolia site and also made a YouTube short demonstrating the process. The other trick she shared? Using frozen hash browns to thicken the filling. She opts for the shredded kind and thaws them before adding to the other ingredients, which include ground beef, onion, cheese, and seasonings.

Fatayer are traditional savory pies that are often eaten around Ramadan. They're usually filled with things like meat, spinach, and cheese, or even a homemade za'atar blend. Gaines' filling isn't exactly customary, but potatoes are becoming a more common addition in modern bakeries.

You can really use any flavors you like. Just cook down some onions, add spinach or ground meat, and season with things like sumac and allspice. You can add cheese to the mixture like Gaines, or keep it really simple and just use a cheese filling on its own. If you can't find canned biscuits, simple pizza dough also works great. Or you can brave the elements and make your own dough using our Lebanese spinach fatayer recipe –- it's actually really straightforward, we promise.

Once the dough is rolled out and the filling is ready, just spoon it into the middle of the discs leaving space at the edge. Pinch the edges together or fold up the sides to form little triangles and bake until the dough is golden brown. Gaines bakes hers for about 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fatayer are best served warm but they can be eaten at room temperature too –- if they actually last that long.