The Bard of Lincoln: Mini Pies!

A while ago I was asked to make dessert for the YadGrad group. I wanted to experiment a little, and the only pans we have here in the apartment are muffin pans, so I thought I would continue to experiment. (see Bacon Cups). I love pie. I love eating it. I love making it. So I decided to try this out.

This is more of a technique than a real recipe. There is a lot of room to try different things. Pick your favorite pie filling and have fun making mini pies!

First we need some Pie dough. This can be made the day before, and can be scaled for the amount you need. This will be enough for 12-16 pies.

Pie Dough
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Cup Unsalted Butter (or two sticks for those counting at home)
6-8 tbs cold water

As mentioned before (Dessert Pierogies) you want the butter to be super cold. Freeze it the night before if possible and minimize the amount you touch it.

Mix together the flour, sugar and the salt. Cut up the butter. Blend in the butter. Once well mixed add water to form dough. Kneed it, get it to a nice pie dough like consistency. Set aside in the fridge.

Prepare your filling. I made apple and pumpkin (or if you are here in PGH Punkin). The Pumpkin was as directed on the side of the Libby's can. On a side note, in this project I found out we did not have a can opener. Lame. The apples were peeled (I tried to slice off my right middle finger's pad), sliced, then covered with sugar and 'apple pie spice.'

At this point it would be good to pre heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Grease a muffin pan. Then roll out your dough on a large flat surface. Using a circular object cut out circles. This is kind of guess work. This depends on the size of the muffin pan, as well as if you are going to add a lattice or covering (you need more over hang to attach to). Once you find a good guide, stick with it and cut out a bunch of circles. I used the lid to a round Tupperware container, it was perfect.

Place one round of dough in each muffin cup. Press down on the edges, while trying to hold up the sides. This can be tricky. Try to make the folds even and uniform, smush the dough in to the edges of the cups. Using a fork, gently score the bottom of each cup. This will allow any air bubbles to escape and not bubble up the dough.

We-roll You-Fill

Once the dough is prepared add the filling. For pumpkin, fill all the way to the top. for apples, over fill (they will dehydrate a lot given the small area). If you want to add a lattice, do so.

All ready to go.

Once ready, throw in the oven. After 15 minutes reduce to 350, and bake for another 15-30 minutes. I never could narrow down that time. You just have to watch them. If one pie is cooking faster than the others, or browning too fast, make a little foil lid to place over it, that will keep it from going too fast.