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.

Bake a Memory!

Ugh. It's post-holiday blues time. The dead of winter before the next holiday. I've been told Valentines, St. Patrick's Day and Easter are a trifecta in the craft world of holidays but they are a ways off. But we celebrate one this weekend. None of the cute decorations but very important.

We have Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! A good weekend for reflection. Pause for a moment and think about how much better off we are for Martin Luther King's leadership. So many good quotes from the man lift me up when I need it.

My favorite Martin Luther King, Jr quote. The young lady, I found at the flea market. I want her bag and hat!

 

 

Also, it's a long weekend and we had the grandkidlets for part of it. I'm listening to ManO and Miss B converse as I type this post. So adorable. Nothing better than a hero who can hold his own with a three year old girl's convo.

Maybe, because I am baked-goods-challenged or because my daughter is an excellent baker,  I've  been thinking about baking with the kids, more importantly, the grandmas' baking with my son and daughter. 

What child doesn't like pots and pans? My daughter was designed to be a great cook from an early age.

Both the kids have great memories of cooking with my mother.

 My kids have great memories of cooking with my mother, now gone, and with ManO's mother. One of the funniest stories we like to tell is about my grown daughter talking about how she loved  making chocolate chip cookies with Grandma ManO. She mentioned Grandma's "secret" recipe was the one on the back of the Toll House Cookie bag. My son's eyes got wide and he was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! But it was a secret recipe." We all died. But they both agree they just don't taste the same as when they baked them with Grandma.

Now I am putting together arrangements that remind people of the past and their own memories. So many goodies out there with a cooking theme! 

This planter has a little girl cooking on a potbellied stove. I think it is an egg!

These adorable pans, rolling pin and book are the size of your palm. 

I'm seeing some more memory making with the grandkidlets ahead so I best get on with it.

Oh, and here is that recipe that my son thought was so secret. The Original Nestle's Toll House Cookie recipe. Just remember to add your own memory making mojo!

So, what about you? Do you have some great memories of cooking with Grandma? Or have you been intentional about making memories with your children? Have you ever found out a recipe that you thought was original with a relative was not?