Since the infamous John Tyler pie disaster, I've mostly been eating pies made by other people. But in honor of the Foxfield Races tomorrow, I've taken the leap into the world of mini pies. Friends have been sending me links to mini pies for ages, and while I recognize that tiny food is very cute, I've been putting off making them because they seem like so much work. It turns out that they are so fun! I made one batch of Derby pies, and one batch of rhubarb custard, and if it wasn't 1 am, I would get to work on mixed berry....When baked in muffin tins, filling for a regular 9 inch pie makes about 16 - 18 mini pies. You will use about twice as much dough as for a reg
ular pie though, so fill your fridge with dough balls before you start. I was lazy and only made open-topped pies. I cut down a coffee filter to make a template until I got a handle for how much dough I needed for each pie. For one mini pie, I used a ball of dough about equal to a walnut in shell. I ended up rolling each crust out individually and then pressing them into the tins. Crusts this small are very easy to roll out, and if the edges are irregular, it still looks fine. Oh, and in retrospect, Derby pie was not the best choice for mini pies; you get a much higher crust to filling ratio with little pies, so the effect here is very much like a chocolate chip cookie wrapped in pie dough. But maybe you're into that kind of thing...
ular pie though, so fill your fridge with dough balls before you start. I was lazy and only made open-topped pies. I cut down a coffee filter to make a template until I got a handle for how much dough I needed for each pie. For one mini pie, I used a ball of dough about equal to a walnut in shell. I ended up rolling each crust out individually and then pressing them into the tins. Crusts this small are very easy to roll out, and if the edges are irregular, it still looks fine. Oh, and in retrospect, Derby pie was not the best choice for mini pies; you get a much higher crust to filling ratio with little pies, so the effect here is very much like a chocolate chip cookie wrapped in pie dough. But maybe you're into that kind of thing...The great thing about making mini pies is that you can be 
really flexible. I made up the first six pies just to see if they would work, and then did a whole pan using the rest of the filling. And unlike making one whole pie, you can sample these before serving. I'm also eyeing my freezer full of dribs and drabs of summer fruits and thinking about making a whole variety of pies at once. I've seen my future and it is full of tiny, tiny pies.
really flexible. I made up the first six pies just to see if they would work, and then did a whole pan using the rest of the filling. And unlike making one whole pie, you can sample these before serving. I'm also eyeing my freezer full of dribs and drabs of summer fruits and thinking about making a whole variety of pies at once. I've seen my future and it is full of tiny, tiny pies.
4 comments:
You had me at "twice as much dough" as for a regular pie. Those words are music to my ears, dear Ellen. After all, who needs iTunes when I she can enjoy PieTunes?
Hey there Pie Queen--
What is the meaning of "chess" when used in reference to pies?
Many Thanks,
from Jan in Omaha
Hi Jan! If you've never had a chess pie, it's a type of sweet, sticky pie. If you think of the filling of a lemon meringue pie, which is gooey and jelly-like, a lemon chess pie is more solid, perhaps kind of like a lemon bar. A plain old chess pie is like this consistancy, but well, without the lemon.
I've seen a lot of explanations of the origins of the name chess, but none of them are particularly convincing. A common explanation in cookbooks is that someone misheard a modest cook with a southern accent who said that what they were serving was "just pie." That seems just too cute to be true to me. Your gues is as good as mine as to where the name really came from. You'll find that many chess pie recipes stand out because they include a little corn meal in the filling, which seems to contribute to body without adding grit.
Hope this helps! Hope all is well with pie in Omaha.
I always think of chess pie as pecan pie without the pecans. Just the sugary buttery filling. Yum.
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