Mini Pies

Earlier this week I mentioned that I had been making mini pies using this pie crust recipe. Last week I made peach and blueberry mini pies. Today I tried my hand at strawberry and cherry in addition to peach.

Previously I had just been making a “pocket pie” by folding the dough around the fruit filling. This works especially well for the peach pie where I simply cut a peach in half and filled the hole where the pit was with the sugar mixture. This time I baked them inside of custard cups to make a true mini pie. This helped to keep the smaller fruits and their juices contained.

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Recipes for each of the pie fillings are below. Each recipe is enough for a full 9-inch pie or 8 mini pies. I glazed the crust with a large egg before baking at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.


 Blueberry Pie Filling

4 cups blueberries

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

In a large bowl, sprinkle lemon juice over blueberries and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to coat evenly. Transfer into a pie crust. Dot with small pieces of butter.


Strawberry Pie Filling

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

3 lb. strawberries, halved

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 Tbsp. orange juice

1 Tbsp. orange zest

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (I used 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract)

In a large bowl, sprinkle orange juice over strawberries and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, salt and vanilla. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to coat evenly. Transfer into a pie crust.


Peach Filling

3 large peaches

1/2 cup brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Scoop out a little extra flesh if needed.

Mix brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a small bowl. Spoon about a tablespoon into each peach half. Pack in as much as you can into the center of each peach. Dot the top of each with a small piece of butter.


 Sweet Cherry Filling

4 cups fresh cherries, pitted

4 Tbsp. cornstarch

2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of cherries)

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

In a large bowl, sprinkle lemon juice over cherries and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the cherries and toss to coat evenly. Transfer into a pie crust. Dot with small pieces of butter.

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