Sweet Mini Pies - Tips, Ideas and Recipes

[Kylie1969]

This sounds amazing Fiona

Converted for use in your Breville Personal Pie Maker. Makes approx 10 Cakes

*** To avoid burning the crust take a piece of parchment paper and cut circles out using the pastry cutter.
Trace around the inside and outside. Place the cut piece around each cake before closing the lid. They can be reused. ***



Yellow Cake Mix:

2 Cups all purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup lard, or shortening
1 Cup of whole milk
3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/4 Cup of the reserved pineapple juice

Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the lard. Work until the mixture is a fine crumble.
Mix in the eggs, vanilla, pineapple juice and milk.
Beat until the batter is smooth.
Set it aside. Use at room temp.


Pineapple Cherry Filling:
This part can be doubled if you making them for a crowd. Doubled will make 20. With the yellow cake mix recipe provided.

1 20oz can of Pineapple Chunks Drained. Reserved the juice.
Put the chunks into a blender until it's almost a puree. Drain it again. Set aside

1 21 oz can of Comstock Cherry Pie Filling. Drained of the sweet sauce. Set the cherries aside.

3 tablespoons of butter
1/4 Cup dark brown sugar

In a saucepan melt the butter. Add the brown sugar until it's well mixed. Remove it from the heat.
Add your reserved pineapple puree. Mix well. Set it aside to cool to room temp.

Preheat the Pie Maker

Add less than a 1/4 Cup of batter to each section. Not the full amount. You will be adding a filling to the batter.
Then add 1 tablespoon of the Pineapple filling to the cake batter. Top that with a few cherries.

Place the cutout parchment pieces over each section. Close and lock the lid.

Cook for 15-20 minutes. The timing could take a little longer. I had a batch that took 25 min.
If the cake is too light of a color the cakes will fall apart when you try to remove them. The filling will leak out from the bottom. Darker helps keep the cake from falling apart.

 

[Kylie1969]

Thanks so much for sharing this recipe

Makes enough for 8 tops and bottoms...barely


Lower-Fat Pie Crust
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Ingredients:

3 cups flour
6 tablespoons butter, cut up
4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup water, ice cold

Directions:

1. Using metal blade, blend flour, butter, oil, baking poweder and salt in Cuisinart until crumbly.

2. Add water by dribbling and blend until ball forms. Is ok to not use it all.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

YUM

This sounds amazing Fiona

Both of these are Chef Munky's recipes, I just reposted them in the Sweets thread when we cleaned up the Breville thread.

 

[Kylie1969]

Oh okay...thanks to Chef Munky

 

[Kathleen]

Pie crust used to be the bane of my existence.

Then I discovered the idea of making up the dry ingredients (plus the fat) in advance. I keep this in a ziploc gallon size freezer bag in the fridge.

Eh, voila, instant pie crust success!

Lard (real lard, not the stuff that comes in tubs in the grocery store or at the local mercado) is REALLY expensive. Also, since I've gotten used to not having it for decades, pie crust made with lard tastes weird to me, especially if we're talking a sweet rather than a savory dish.

The above recipe has turned dozens of people into pie-crust successes, people, like me, who have been avoiding the dreaded pie for decades. Try it. It really works.

Really the success is probably largely due to the fact that you keep this in the fridge so your ingredients have very little time to warm up - all you do is add the ice water, pat it into shape, and chill while you make your filling. Then when the filling is ready to go into the pan, THEN you take the dough out and roll it out. Process, ingredients, whatever - it works.

Kitchen Barbarian, Flowers to you!

I used the recipe and was able to make an edible pie crust! It was flaky, and not too tough. I still overwork the dough though. Regardless, it came out good enough that I could try it with guests without apology. I'll play with the recipe, but am so excited to have a place to start!

Best part, I had a rolled crust within 5 minutes of adding water.

Thank you!!!

 

[taxlady]

Kitchen Barbarian, Flowers to you!

I used the recipe and was able to make an edible pie crust! It was flaky, and not too tough. I still overwork the dough though. Regardless, it came out good enough that I could try it with guests without apology. I'll play with the recipe, but am so excited to have a place to start!

Best part, I had a rolled crust within 5 minutes of adding water.

Thank you!!!

For crusts that are a bit tough, add a tablespoon of vinegar with the cold water for three double crusts. Or one tsp of vinegar for one double crust.

 

[Kathleen]

Thanks, Taxlady! I will give it a try! I'm pretty thrilled I ended up with something that I could roll.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks, Taxlady! I will give it a try! I'm pretty thrilled I ended up with something that I could roll.

Wish I could show you "how"...it's feel, so it's hard to explain.

 

[Kathleen]

Wish I could show you "how"...it's feel, so it's hard to explain.

You could visit, you know. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? We could make mini-pies.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

You could visit, you know. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? We could make mini-pies.

Long drive for a one day holiday I think a trip to visit you folks would have to be a two week vacation.

 

[Kathleen]

How fun that would be!

 

[Whiskadoodle]

I know they come out looking good. And usually taste ok. And once it's in the oven, it's ok to form an aluminium tent to protect the edges and prevent excessive browning. And once served on a plate, little cracks and ridges juist have a more home-y inviting look about them. Pie crusts.

I don't think it's embarrassing to say I have had to roll up what I was rolling out and start over with more flour. And Scrape the Rolling Pin. Or even throw out the doiugh and start from scratch. (I haven't done that in a long time. )

I made a rhubarb pie and a blueberry pie earlier this summer. Then I made some peach mini pies and pot pies. Then I made a whole peach pie this week.

I don't think I made a pumpkin pie or apples last winter. So a year may have gone by since last making pies. O !! and before that my oven was broken a whole year or more.

Still, once you make a pie crust successfully it should work next time and the next time. Well, in theory. For some reason, after many years, I still hold my breath when it comes time to roll out the pastry. And that ain't easy. Holding your breath while pushing and turning the circle in turns and expending energy with each push.

I chill my pie dough before rolling it out. I start out using a pastry cutter, then my fingers after I remove the blobs from the pastry cutter. I have tried using 2 knives to cut the shortening in the flour. Didn't like that so much. Now. I could wear Blinders. Up to a certain point. I can actually listen to music and just let my fingers crumble up and form and make "pea size crumbles", well pretty near. That part is easy. I have one recipe (betty crocker) that I use with shortening and some other one, very similar, when I use lard. I Do Not use any other recipe. No matter how TNT or Gramma's Best or ... just don't over work the dough.

Precision measurements and Ice water. I chill my pie dough before rolling it out. Flour the rolling pin, lightly flour the dough disc and the rolling surface.

What I would like to make is some thin layered flaky dough that I tasted once that Melted on my tongue. Think Croisannts instead of dinner rolls, only in pie crust thickness. How did they do that?

Still, I am just happy I can get a pie crust in the pan, get the filling in, and the top down. Nevermind some fancy fluting, just seal the edges with a fork, or your fingers. Vent the top, remember to put a layer of foil on the bottom rack to catch over flows, watch the oven temp.

For something that's pretty easy, I sure do twitch a lot.

So,,, does any one else's pies start to melt or start to cook after you put in 2 pie crusts in the Brevelle pie maker, before you get the last 2 pies all fixed up. I know it says shut the cover and click. But it seems they start baking before I reach that point and I think I have everything all lined and ready to go.

And why don't we need to cut steam vents in the pie crust tops in the Breville pie pans and it's usually recommended for oven baking. ?

 

[Chef Munky]

Oh Chopper?

Was it you who had made the lemon pies in your B/P?

If so was the filling homemade? Any particular crust? How long did you bake yours at?

Spring has sprung here. A friend of mine brought me over a bag of freshly picked lemons and oranges. Bare with me I ain't evah made a lemon pie from scratch. This could be really interesting.



Thank you

Munky.

 

[Kathleen]

Can/has anyone made mini-pies with open crusts? How does it work and how did you do it, if so?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

yes, I just don't put tops on...they turn out great. In the case of pudding pies, I blind bake the crusts in the pie maker only. Made pecan minipies, parchment on top, took longer to bake.

 

[Kathleen]

Pecan mini-pies........Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[Snip 13]

How about white chocolate cream and whole raspberry filling or cream cheese and fig preserve?

 

[Chef Munky]

Can/has anyone made mini-pies with open crusts? How does it work and how did you do it, if so?

It wasn't exactly an open pie. Made a nice apple with a cobbler like crusts using oatmeal. Turned out just fine. Fill add topping close and snap. same cooking times. I liked the gooey mess popping up from the crusts. Could have held off on the vanilla ice cream though. It was very rich.

Do it as you normally would. Cooking times vary. Knife test for pumpkin pies still apply with me.

Munky.

 

[chopper]

I have made lemon pies in the Breville pie maker! After making homemade lemon pudding on the stove, I let it cool really well. I can't remember, but I think I even chilled the pudding. When making the little pies, I cut a big hole in the top crust before putting it on the pies.

They turned out beautiful!

I haven't made pies in a while. I'm making cookies right now.

 

[Kathleen]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Lemon pie......mmmm. I love lemon pie.