MUFFIN TIN BERRY PIE

What could ever be better than fresh pie? A little fresh pie baked in a muffin tin! I first saw this little pie on a post done by CENTSATIONAL GIRL back in the beginning of June. 

If you have been one of my dear readers for any length of time you will know that I can't resist making any food in individual portions! So, I bookmarked her post and knew sooner or later I would also try my hand at these darling wee pies!

With a frig full of fresh in-season fruit, I got busy today making my own pie dough and filling for my muffin tin pies, and used Centsational Girl's directions. 

I want you to know up front this venture was not a total success~ but I am so glad I tried it, and I  think I know what went sorta wrong. I would recommend these delicious and very adorable pies, just pay attention to the alterations in my directions!

STONEGABLE MUFFIN TIN BERRY PIES

Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 cup Crisco shortening

3/4 cup butter, unsalted and chilled

6 TBS ice water
egg wash
sanding sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a medium size bowl with ice water. Cut up shortening and drop in chunks into the ice water. 

Cut up butter and put back into the refrigerator.

Add flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Remove Crisco from ice water and add to flour. Add butter to flour. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter and shortening into the flour until it resembles course meal. Do not completely incorporate the fats. There should be some small lumps of butter and shortening in the flour mixture. When it is rolled out it will make your crust very flaky. 

Drizzle 6 TBS water over the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula spoon, press the water into the flour and fold it over and press down until all the water is incorporated. If the dough is too dry add up to 2 more TBS.

You just want to get it to hold together.

Separate into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make...

The Filling

4 cups assorted fruit

1/2-2/3 cups sugar

2 TBS corn starch

1 TBS lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Wash fruit and prepare.

In a large bowl add fruit, sugar, 2 TBS corn starch and lemon juice. Mix. I used blueberries, raspberries and sweet cherries. This is what I had on hand.

When dough has chilled, roll dough on a well floured work surface. *This is where I think I made a mistake. I rolled my dough far too thin. It was difficult to get out of the muffin tin. I broke 2 when trying to get them out. The rolled out dough should be quite thick.

See the arrows in the picture below. They show streaks of butter that had not totally been incorporated into the flour. This will be sooooo flaky. You can only get these when you make pie dough by hand!

I used a 4 1/2 inch bowl to cut out the dough that would fit into a regular size muffin tin. Cut out 12 circles.

Fit the circles into the muffin tins. Let dough hand over the each tin's edge. * Next time I would use more to overhang the edge.


One of my blogging friends, Miss Char, from GRACE AND FAVOR~ A LIFE WORTH LIVING wrote a comment with a really great tip:
Yvonne, I've had good luck shaping the bottom crust by turning a muffin tin over and shaping the bottom crust over the bottom and then inserting it into the muffin interior of a matching muffin tin. 



Great idea, Thanks Char!

Fill each muffin tin with 2-3 heaping TBS fruit.

Roll out more dough for the top crust. Using a glass that is the size of the top of the muffin tin, cut the tops for each little pie.

Make slits in the top of the pie or use a tiny fondant cutter and cut out a design. I used a star cutout.

Wet the rim of the bottom pie shell and place the top crust on each pie, pinching the edges to seal them. Press the bottom and top crusts together with  the tines of a fork.

Make an egg wash by beating an egg with a fork. Brush the top of the pie and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

For Crumb Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 TBS room temperature butter

Mix in a bowl with a fork until mixture is crumbly.

Instead of a top crust, a heaping TBS of crumb topping can be used.

Put muffin tin pies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill again.

Remove from frig and put in oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top of the pie is golden.

Remove from oven to a wire rack.

When cooled remove from muffin tin using a knife . * I did not let my little pies cool enough and they were crumbly. Next time I'll let them cool completely in the muffin tins. They popped out much easier when cooled.
* Next time I might lightly spray the entire pan with cooking spray.

They were delicious! The pie crust was flaky and the fruit had a natural goodness, not too sweet.

I will certainly make these sweet treats again... only this time I won't repeat my mistakes!

Printable Recipe

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