Mini Pies

I had very big baking eyes this year for Christmas - mini pies! 3 kinds! It was a bit of a disaster. Mini-pies, while adorable, are much more work than regular sized pies, especially when you're attempting to make several different types. If I were to try again, I would stick to one kind of pie and just make a double recipe. I made 2 of the 3 in this Serious Eats article, Apple and Pear Cranberry Crumble - I ended up with LOADS more apple than I needed, and too much crumb topping for the Pear Cranberry, which led me to put (probably) too much on top of each pie and therefore made it impossible to scoop out of the muffin tin after baking. I ended up getting them up and putting them immediately into ramekins. The Pear Cran was my favorite, and think it would work great without the pie dough at all and just baked in the ramekin with the topping. Lastly, there was an error in the pie dough recipe provided, so I ended up making my favorite Martha Stewart Pate Sucree.

PIE CRUST
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

Directions:
Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 5 seconds.

 Drizzle water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together, about 10 seconds. (Dough should not be wet or sticky.) Press dough into 1 large disk. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough out into an even rectangle, that’s at least 9- by 13-inches. Use a bowl or the lid of a takeout container and a pizza slicer to cut 4-inch circles from the sheet of dough. Carefully transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and chill for 30 minutes.

If the scraps are still cold, you can re-roll them and use the pizza slicer to slice thin strips for lattice. Place those into the refrigerator to chill separately for later use (if you are making fruit lattice mini pies).

Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and use a pastry brush or a paper towel to generously grease the top and cups of a muffin tin.

Fit your circles into the muffin tin, making sure that there are no air bubbles on the bottom or sides of the pan. Chill for 30 minutes while you make your filling.

PEAR CRANBERRY CRUMBLE
Ingredients:
For Topping
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons white sugar
8 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Filling
1 1/2 pounds pears, thinly sliced and then cut crosswise into small pieces
3 1/2 ounces cranberries, cooked with 3 tablespoons water and 3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:
For Topping: In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients bowl. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and mix until completely incorporated. Set aside.

For Filling: 
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, cinnamon, and sugar.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, cook the cranberries with sugar and water. After the cranberries have burst and the sauce starts forming, add in the pears and cook, while covered, until the pears are tender (5-10 minutes). Let cool, then sprinkle in the sugar/cinnamon/salt mixture and mix until well incorporated. Add in the lemon juice and zest, and mix again, being careful not to crush the pears.

Add in the cornstarch, and mix until completely incorporated, then spoon the filling into the muffin cups lined with pie crust, pressing the filling with the back of a spoon to eliminate any air pockets. Fill the cups all the way to the top. Sprinkle crumble generously over the top.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, then rotate and bake for 5-10 minutes, removing when they are very well browned.

After removing the mini pies from the oven, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them with an offset spatula and placing them on a sheet pan to cool completely.

APPLE LATTICE
Ingredients:
1 3/4 pounds apples, washed, cored and chopped into pieces the size of dimes
1.5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Upon prepping the apples, sprinkle the lemon juice over the slices to prevent browning. Mix the flour, sugar and spices together and add to the apple slices. Then add the lemon zest and butter, and mix.

Add the apple mixture to a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the apples are barely fork tender. Remove foil, mix, and cool completely.

Spoon the cooled apple filling into shells, all the way to the top. Lay four strips of lattice horizontally over each mini pie, and four strips vertically. Trim the over hang of the lattice strips, then push the ends of the lattice into the edge of the shells.

Brush all exposed crust with cream or egg wash, and sprinkle liberally with coarse sugar. At this point, if the pastry has gotten a bit warm, place directly into the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

Bake pies for 20 minutes, then rotate and bake for 5-10 minutes, removing when they are very well browned.

After removing the mini pies from the oven, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them with an offset spatula and placing them on a sheet pan to cool completely.

Pie Crust

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart. My first attempt at making pie crust from scratch - used with my Quadruple Berry Pie recipe.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

Directions:
Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 5 seconds. Drizzle water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together, about 10 seconds. (Dough should not be wet or sticky.) Press dough into 1 large disk (for mini pies) or 2 small disks (for large pie), and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

A Martha Stewart Recipe! Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit!

Ingredients:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Ground cloves
Pre-made graham cracker crust or make your own in a deep, 9 1/2-inch pie dish
1 ounce milk chocolate, melted

Directions:
Sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust. Put in oven at 350 degrees to melt chocolate, about 1 minute. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on bottom and up sides. Let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Make the filling: In a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt semisweet chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.

Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk 1/3 pumpkin mixture into chocolate mixture. Whisk in remaining pumpkin mixture until completely incorporated.

Transfer pie dish to a rimmed baking sheet, and pour pumpkin mixture into crust. Bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, drizzle melted milk chocolate on top. Serve immediately.

Three Berry Pie

This pie is adapted from this AllRecipes recipe. I have also made this pie as a FOUR Berry Pie, adding Blackberries to the bunch and it's delicious as well.

PREP TIME	20 Min
COOK TIME	45 Min
READY IN	1 Hr 20 Min

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
9 inch double crust pie (I buy frozen pre-made pie crusts)

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch. Add strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries; gently toss until berries are coated. When using frozen fruit allow fruit mixture to stand for 15 to 30 minutes, or until fruit is partially thawed.

Stir berry mixture, and transfer to the frozen pie crust (in it's aluminum pan). You can just top the pie with the second crust, and seal and crimp the edge, but I prefer to make a pretty Lattice-Top crust instead so that you can see the berries peeking through. I just let my second frozen pie crust thaw out for 15 minutes on a piece of wax paper, gently press down to flatten the edges, then use a pizza cutter to slice it up into strips!

To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes when using fresh fruit, 50 minutes for frozen fruit. Remove foil. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving:
324 calories, 15.3g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 3.4g protein, 44.7g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 235mg sodium.

Pear Raspberry Pie

I surprised J with this pie for Valentine's Day! Original recipe from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

2 frozen pie crusts

All-purpose flour, for surface
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 pounds (about 6) ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, core removed, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) raspberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water, plus more for brushing
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to a 13-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie dish, and trim edges, leaving a 1/4-inch overhang, and refrigerate. Reserve scraps. Roll out second disk to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out 48 2-inch hearts, using scraps from bottom crust if necessary. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm.

Whisk together granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add pears, raspberries, and lemon juice, and toss to coat. Spoon mixture into pie shell, piling high in the center. Dot with butter. Tuck overhang under dough so edges are flush with rim. Brush lightly with water. Arrange 22 hearts around edge of pie: Press hearts gently on edge, alternating direction and overlapping slightly. (To help hearts stick, lightly brush each with water as needed.) Repeat, overlapping 16 hearts for the second circle. Repeat, overlapping 10 hearts, points in, for the final circle. (The hearts' points will create a star-shaped vent in the center, about 1 1/2 inches wide.) Whisk yolk and water in a small bowl. Lightly brush entire piecrust with egg wash, then sprinkle with sanding sugar.

To make the cut-out-heart pie: Following the directions in step one, leave the top crust whole and cut out hearts in center of dough using heart cutters in varying sizes. Transfer top crust to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm. Prepare the filling as in step 2, but do not tuck overhang under dough. Brush edge of shell lightly with water, then drape top crust over filling, centering design. Gently press dough around filling to fit, and trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Tuck overhang under bottom crust so edges are flush with rim, then crimp edges. Whisk yolk and water in a small bowl. Lightly brush entire piecrust with egg wash, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Transfer pie to freezer until very firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack on the lowest third. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until crust turns light gold, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake, rotating halfway through, until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie

One of my Thanksgiving Dessert recipes!

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2006



Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Caramel Sauce, for garnish, recipe follows
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread the pecan pieces and the chocolate chips evenly on the bottom of the pie shell.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. Pour the filling over the pecans. Bake until the filling sets, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Cut into individual servings and serve with a drizzle of Caramel Sauce and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Caramel Sauce:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup whole milk

Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium heavy saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let boil without stirring until the mixture becomes a deep amber color, 2 to 3 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Add the cream (be careful; it will bubble up), whisk to combine, and remove from the heat.

Add 2 tablespoons of the milk, then add up to 2 more tablespoons, until the desired consistency is reached. Let cool until just warm before serving. (The sauce will thicken as it cools.)