treat tuesday #4: star studded mini pies

remember how i said i prefer cookies and pie over cake? i wasn't joking. i have another pie recipe to share, because well, pie is just plain tasty. and mini pies? well they are just plain cute!



i had originally planned to make this treat for the fourth of july. but then i made those cupcakes and cake pops. so we made them for treat tuesday, the day after the fourth of july. it's never too late to be patriotic!

this treat comes from... you guessed it, our best bites! apparently i had a little trouble interpreting their directions though, because i did not get the 24-30 mini pies they said i would. and I was kinda okay with that... it had been a long day! i definitely could have made more than 12, but not much more. i just called it good and tossed the remaining dough. i don't like being wasteful, but wasn't sure what else to do with it. pie crust cookie? hmmm... i'll have to look into that.

i don't have a snapshot of everything you will need, but it's simple:

• 1 box ready-made pie crust (i used pillsbury)
• 1 can of fruit pie filling, the fruit of your choice (i bought cherry and blueberry, but only used cherry)
• 2 tbsp butter (or butter substitute)
• 1/4 sugar
• cookie cutters--a 3 1/2 in. circle and 2 in. star (measurements are approximate)
• mini muffin tin

first you will unroll the pie crust and cut circles out. i think this is where i may have gone wrong. i didn't read the directions as saying you need to roll out the dough, but looking at the photo on our best bites, there are more circles cut and extra dough. i found that using the 3 1/2 in. circle left me with A LOT of dough. next time i will either use a smaller circle (which I actually did on the very first pie and it turned out great) or roll the dough out. making pretty edges is not a talent, so i'll probably go with option #1.



next you put one circle dough cut-out in each spot of your mini muffin tin. you can make the edges pretty if that's your thing. then fill the crusts with your fruit pie filling. the original recipe says to fill it halfway. we just went ahead and filled it all the way.





after you are done filling your mini pies, cut out some stars from your remaining pie crust. dip them in butter (or butter substitute--we use earth balance) and then dip them in sugar. place the stars over the pie filling.







finally, place the tin in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. your house is going to start smelling amazing in 5.



don't those look delicious?!! i advise that you let them cool a bit before sampling though--mouth blisters are no fun.

these are the perfect size, in my opinion. you could pack one in your child's or your own lunch box for an afternoon dessert. or you could take it up a notch and pair one with some whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream for scrumptious after dinner treat.

check out our best bites for more ideas on how to use the mini pie. i am already thinking about how i can use the other box of pie crust i bought. banana cream pie??!! i'm thinking my monkeys would LOVE that!

what kind of pie do you like best?