Mini Pies!

Pie needs to be it's own food group, don't you think?

After all, there are all kinds of pies: fruit pies, cream pies, sweet potato pies, pumpkin pies...and then there are the savory pies! I have a recipe for a chicken, sausage and leek pie that I'll be sharing soon, and let's not forget all the varieties of pot pies.

But sometimes we don't need a big pie. Or sometimes we want something a little fancier.

This stuff makes it SO EASY!

I bought these Puff Pastry sheets for Seekerville's New Year's Eve bash. In case you missed that recipe, it was Brie en Croute. I'll share it here soon - it would make a great Super Bowl snack.

But I only needed one of the pastry sheets for that recipe, and I had one left over. What better way to use it than to make little mini pies?

The first step is to let the puff pastry thaw in the package at room temperature for about three hours. Just enough time to watch the AFC championship football game (won by the Denver Broncos, by the way!)

Take the pastry out of the packaging and lay it on a lightly floured surface. Don't try to unfold it - just take your rolling pin and roll it into a rectangle approximately 18" by 12"...or even a little larger.

Cut the rectangle into six squares.

Put each square into a muffin tin.

Now you need to decide what kind of mini pie you want to make. If you want a pudding filling, or a meringue, bake the pastry shells before filling them - about 20 minutes at 400°. After the shells are baked, fill them with whatever you want.

If you want to make a fruit pie, then fill the pastry shells with pie filling before baking them.

I chose to make peach pies (since I had peaches in the freezer)....

To make peach pie filling for six pastry shells, mix 1 1/2 cups frozen peaches with 2 Tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/3 cup sugar.

Fill each pastry cup with the mixture, making sure to include some of the sugar and flour in each cup.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 400°, or until the pastry shells are beginning to turn brown.

Doesn't that look like an elegant dessert?

Of course, you can use any kind of frozen or fresh fruit, or a canned pie filling.

And don't forget the savory options! For a quick, fancy supper, just fill your pre-baked pastry shell with your favorite pot pie filling (also pre-cooked), and pop it into the oven for 10 minutes or so to heat it up.

By the way, let's not forget that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Most of us who hang out here at the cafe are old enough to remember Dr. King, and what life was like during the Civil Rights Era. Would you like to share your memories? That's how we keep history alive.