Pies and Mini Pies (2 page)

AMOUNT OF FILLING
– If you fill the muffin cups too full of a juicy filling, like blueberry pie filling, the filling may rise and kind of explode onto your pan, especially if you have a top crust on it. The juicy filling will actually lift up the top crust so it can ooze out the sides. So I recommend testing a few and try filling the muffin cups 2/3’s or 3/4’s full of pie filling.

PIE CRUST
– It’s easy to use a pie crust recipe or refrigerated pre-made pie crusts for the mini pies. Just use a cup or bowl that is 3” to 4” in circumference, depending on your mini muffin pan, cut circles from the dough and press them into the muffin cup.

For the tiny mini muffin pans, it works great to make a pie crust recipe, then roll the pastry into balls and press the balls into the bottom and up sides of muffin cups. The flour based recipes make a better mini pie crust, just because the crust can be made thinner than is possible with the graham cracker crusts. The pastry recipe for the Mississippi Mud Pie would be a nice substitute for a graham cracker crust.

A cute way to decorate your tiny pies is to use teeny cookie cutters to cut out shapes in the dough and place on top. Use Christmas shapes for the holidays, hearts for Valentine’s Day and pumpkins for Halloween.

The Anatomy of a Mini Pie

This is a step by step walk through of preparing the Mississippi Mud Mini Pie, found in the refrigerated pie section of this book, using a non-stick mini muffin pan.

First, spray the non-stick mini muffin pan with Pam and add 5 to 6 inch strips of parchment paper in each cup. The paper will stick to the Pam and stay in place. The parchment paper will act as handles and allow lifting the tiny pies out in one piece.

Next either use 3 inch circles of dough and press into the pan, or roll the dough into one inch balls and place in the muffin cups. Press the dough against the sides and bottom of the muffin cups.

The Mississippi Mud Pie dough lends itself nicely to mini pies.

Add the cream cheese layer by inserting a glob in the mini muffin cup, then using a small instrument like a popsicle stick to spread the cream cheese.

Make and add the pudding layer next. Fill the cups very full with pudding.

Add Cool Whip® on top and some nuts or chocolate sprinkles. Refrigerate for 3 hours, then remove the teeny pies using the parchment paper handles.

Fruit Pies

Fresh summer fruits and berries are the stars of these delicious desserts. Whether you’re making a classic apple pie, a creamy peach pie or baking up a medley of your favorite berries, you’ll find recipes that take full advantage of the season’s harvest.

No fresh fruit on hand? No problem. There are several recipes that use canned fruit and pie fillings for a tasty treat any time of the year. You’ll even find a recipe for fried pie made with dried fruit for a country taste that takes you back to the days of the pioneers.

How Much Fruit To Use For A Nine Inch Pie

These are general approximations.

Rhubarb - Five to six cups

Apple - Six to eight cups

Apples shrink when cooking, so use a generous, heaping pile.

Cherry - Six cups

Apricot - Five to six cups

Raspberry - Six cups

Blueberry - Six cups

Peach - Five to six cups

Peaches are very juicy. You may wish to sprinkle the slices with a little sugar, toss to coat and drain in a colander for 15 minutes before adding to your crust. This removes some of the liquid to help keep the pie from being runny.

Blackberry - Six cups

Strawberry - Six cups

Prevent Runny Pie Filling

Often the cause of runny pie filling is inadequate baking time. Try baking your pie 5 to 10 minutes longer.

If that doesn’t work, sprinkle a spoon of tapioca over the filling before baking. You can also use one tablespoon of tapioca powder per one cup of liquid. Combine the the powder with your ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

Mix corn starch with your recipe in a ratio of one tablespoon cornstarch per one and one half cups of liquid. This makes a nice, clear thickener.

Creamy Peach Pie

1 unbaked pie crust

3 cups sliced peaches

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup heavy cream

Mix together sugar, flour, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add peaches and put into unbaked shell. Pour heavy cream over top. Bake in 400 degrees F oven for 35 to 45 minutes, until firm. Cool well before serving.

Creamy Peach Mini Pies

** Cut the peaches into smaller bite-size pieces for mini pies.

** Use 2 9" crusts for 12 muffin cups or 24 mini muffin cups.

Spray muffin pans with Pam. Add a strip of parchment paper to the muffin cup to use as handles for removing the tiny pies easily. Fill with pie crust as directed below, depending on your mini pie size.

Make the Creamy Peach Pie filling according to this recipe. Only fill muffin cups 3/4 full with pie filling. TOPS - Add lattice pastry strips, use tiny cookie cutters in pastry, top with pie crust (slit top for venting) or just leave the top open. Pinch the crusts together if topping with pie crust.

Mini pies bake a little faster than regular pies. Cook the peach pies for about 15 to 20 minutes at 350 or 375 degrees F. If additional cooking time is needed, check the pies frequently until the crust is golden. Cool in pan.