All About Pies...Mini Pies that is!

Baking is my thing. 

I thoroughly enjoy it. It's very therapeutic and an all around great way to spend time with Cadence because she loves getting her hands a little dirty (or in this case, sugary) too.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching I've made my list and checked it twice as far as what I'll be baking up for my family come next Thursday.

I'm always in charge of bringing desserts. I'd much rather bake something sweet than cook up something savory. My sister rules mac and cheese and I rule whipped cream cheese, however when it comes to baking for a lot of people, sometimes it's okay to take an easy approach to certain things, in this case...pie!

This year I've decided on miniature pies. In my personal opinion something dainty and cute is always the first to go rather than a large pie cut into slices. Something that a person can grab and eat into one little bite size morsel. With all that being said I wanted to still make something very traditional to Thanksgiving and obviously pie was my first thought. 

Here are some great tips and tricks if you're thinking of making pies, something that tastes homemade without hours and hours of cooking time. This way you can still enjoy your hot cup of coffee and watch the parade. By the way, did you know Jake Owen will be in attendance? Swoon!

First up, mini pumpkin pies!

Pumpkin pie is either a love it or leave it type of pie but let's be honest, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. It's just like cranberry sauce out of the can (which is delicious by the way!), you gotta have it! 

The first thing you'll need for all of your mini pies is some mini cupcake tins. Don't fret if you don't have these. They are incredibly inexpensive at Walmart. You don't have to walk into Williams Sonoma and purchase some lavish mini cupcake tins...the cheap walmart brand will work just fine!

You'll of course need some mini cupcake wrappers and a mini ice cream scoop. If you don't have a mini ice cream scoop a spoon will work fine, it's just going to be a lot easier, and neater looking, with a scoop.

Next on the list is a store bought pumpkin pie. Gasp!

I know, I know...here I am talking about how much I love to bake and I'm out buying store bought pies, but hear me out before you click the "x" in the top right corner...

Buy a delicious pumpkin pie, not the generic brand but one that you find delicious.

In my case it's my local bakery. She bakes fresh pumpkin pies each morning leading up to Thanksgiving. They have the right amount of pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice and all things yummy, plus the price is on point. It would be hard for me to hand make a pie that good for that price, plus it's already cooked!

You'll also need some pie shells. Whether you want to home make them or buy the Pillsbury kind is completely up to you. Pie dough is very simple to make, but to each their own.

Just in case you were wondering, I enjoy the Pillsbury pie shells. They are buttery, flaky and even my me-maw who makes all wonderful things homemade, uses them...that should tell you something.

Line your mini cupcake tins with your cupcake wrappers, Take your pie dough and roll it with a rolling pin until it's as thin as you like. I prefer mine about 1/4" thick or should I say 1/4" thin? 

Cut the pie dough into small circles. Use what you have on hand. If you don't have a small, round cookie cutter use a champagne flute; they have small round openings.

Line your cupcake wrappers with the pie dough and bake for 4-7 minutes or until light brown. Remember that each over varies. 

Once your dough is light brown, take them out, let them cool for about 5 minutes and then take your spoon or ice cream scoop and scoop out your already baked pumpkin pie into each shell. Once each shell is filled, take some leftover pie dough, cookie cut into a leaf shape, acorn shape, pumpkin shape, something that's indicative of Thanksgiving, place on top and then put back in the over until the little piece of pie on top is golden brown. 

Voila...mini pumpkin pies!

To come the rest of the week - mini apple pies and mini cheesecakes, you won't want to miss so stay tuned!

xo