Mini Pies

I love cookie cutters, but you can only have so many sugar cookies. I decided to invent these little mini pies to find a new purpose for my cookie cutters.

The fantastic thing about this dessert is that you can make any pie flavor that you want into any shape that you desire. Last month I used this apple pie recipe and cut them into heart shapes for Valentine’s Day. This month I made blackberry/boysenberry pies and shaped them into little flowers for spring. Here are some basic instructions for whatever mini pie tickles your fancy

 

Prep Time: 20 minutes                   Cooking Time: 20-25 Minutes

Yields: A Dozen

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Roll out pie dough (I used store bought dough, but you could of course make your own) and cut out shapes with your cookie cutters. Note that you will need two cut-outs for each mini pie. Store bought dough will yield about 24 cut-outs or 12 mini-pies.
3. Dollop fruit mixture onto half of the cut-outs. Please note that if you are using fresh fruit such as apples, the fruit needs to be smashed or cut into incredibly tiny pieces. The mini pies will ooze or break if there is too much fruit or the fruit has been cut into too large of pieces.  I made this mistake the first time!
4. Lay the remainder of the cut-outs over the fruit-covered ones. Using a fork press along the edges of the cut-outs. This will seal in the fruit and juices.
5. Bake mini pies between 20 and 25 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When cool sprinkle cinnamon sugar or other spices if desired.

 These mini-pies would be fantastic in any season. I think strawberries and blueberries would be fantastic in the spring and summer and pumpkin will be excellent in the fall. Bon appétite!