Pies and Mini Pies (8 page)

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

1 egg

1 cup pumpkin

Add all the ingredients and mix well. Pour filling into graham cracker crust.

Easy Pumpkin Mini Pies

Graham Cracker Crust for Mini Muffin Pan: 1-3/4” mini pies

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 tablespoons butter, melted

5 tablespoons sugar

In a bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Form an oblong ball in your hand by squishing the dough. If the dough doesn't stay together in a ball, more butter might be needed.

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. Form the dough into balls about 1 1/2" in diameter. Press the balls into the bottom and up sides of muffin cups.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 8 minutes. The crusts need to cool before removing from pan. As they cool, they will form a crust.

Yield: 24 graham cracker mini crusts.

Plum Custard Pie

1 unbaked 9” pie shell

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon sugar

12 purple plums, cut in half

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup scalded milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Line 9 inch pan with rich thin pastry dough. Sprinkle mixture of 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon sugar on the dough. Place plums in pastry shell. Top with the rest of the ingredients mixed together. Bake in hot oven until crust is brown, 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then 350 degrees F for 30 minutes until plums are soft.

Sour Cream and Blueberry Pie

1 unbaked deep-dish pie shell

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts

1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Combine 2 tablespoons flour, sugar, vanilla, egg, sour cream and salt in a mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until smooth. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon into the pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. Combine 3 tablespoons flour, pecans and butter in a bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over the pie. Bake for 10 minutes longer or until brown. Chill until serving time.

Ultimate Caramel Chocolate Pecan Pie

Crust:

2 cups pecans, very finely chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup margarine, melted

Filling:

1 14 ounce package Kraft® caramels (48)

1/4 cup milk

1 cup pecans, chopped

8 squares Baker’s® semi-sweet chocolate (1 package)

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix pecans, sugar, and margarine. Press onto bottom and sides of 9 inch pie plate. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

Filling: Melt caramels with 1/4 cup milk in heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth, or in microwave at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds. Pour over crust; sprinkle with pecans. Stir chocolate, 1/3 cup milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla in heavy saucepan over very low heat just until melted. Pour over caramel pecan filling, spreading to edges of pie. Refrigerate. Serve with sweetened whipped cream if desired.

Ultimate Caramel Chocolate Pecan Mini Pies

Muffin/Cupcake Pan: 2-3/4” mini pies

Pie crust:
  Make pastry crust as in recipe above. Form pastry into balls for muffin cups. Spray muffin pan cups with Pam. Add sturdy strips of parchment paper to the muffin cup to use as handles for removing the pie easily. Press pastry into sides and bottom of muffin cups. Bake crust at 325 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes. Fill with filling recipe.

Mini Muffin Pan: 1-3/4” mini pies

Pie crust:
  Make pastry crust as in recipe above. Be sure pecans are crushed well. Form pastry into 24 one inch balls for mini muffin pan. Spray muffin pan cups with Pam. Add a strip of parchment paper to the muffin cup to use as handles for removing the pie easily. Press pastry into sides and bottom of muffin cups. Bake crust at 325 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes. Fill with filling recipe above.

Custard Pie

1 unbaked pie shell

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups warm milk

Nutmeg

Using a wire whisk, beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat well. Slowly pour in warm milk, stirring constantly. Pour into pie crust; sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes, or until knife inserted halfway from crust to center comes out clean. Serve warm or chilled.

Custard 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 each 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 Custard 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 mini custard 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.

Muffin/Cupcake Pan: 2-3/4” mini pies

Pie crust:
Cut 3-1/2” or 4" circles with a biscuit cutter or use a bowl to cut the circle. Shape the pie crust into each muffin cup.

Mini Muffin Pan: 1-3/4” mini pies

Pie Crust:
Make your favorite pie crust recipe. Roll the dough into 24 balls about 1" in diameter. Press the balls into the bottom and up sides of muffin cups.

Refrigerated Pie Crust:
Cut 3" circles with a cookie cutter and shape into each muffin cup.

Fudge Pecan Pie

1 unbaked pie shell

1/2 cup margarine

3 teaspoons cocoa

3/4 cup hot water

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 (5.3 ounces) can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecans

Preheat oven and cookie sheet to 350 degrees F. In saucepan, melt margarine, add cocoa and stir until dissolved. Add hot water and stir again. With wire whip, blend in salt, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and vanilla until batter is smooth. Mix in pecans and pour into pie shell. Put on cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes, or until firm in center. Serve with Cool Whip®.

Batter will be thin and you may think you have done something wrong. There are no eggs and no corn syrup in this recipe, yet the consistency will be very much like pecan pie.

Fudge Pecan Mini Pies

** Cut the pecans 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 each 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 Fudge Pecan 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 mini fudge pecan 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.