Lots of comfort food starts with a crust, and we used one recipe to create in several ways. Try this simple crust recipe that is perfect for creating delicious mini pies and quiches.
Butter Crust
• 1¼ cups flour
• 1 stick salted butter
• ¼ cup chilled water
Put flour in cold bowl. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the cold water slowly, mixing in with a fork. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Roll the dough into a circle using flour on a cool surface, then press it into a pie plate or cut into desired size.
Quiche Recipe
Recipe makes 12 mini or one large 9” quiche. Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Recipes.
Set oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup of half and half (or a combination of milk and heavy cream)
- 1 cup of parsley chopped
- ¼ cup of sage chopped – and 12 leaves set aside for garnish (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- You can always add in your favorite vegetables, herbs, and other add-ins, such as, cheese and ham.
Directions:
Make pie crust from the recipe listed above.
Roll out pie crust. Cut 12 individual circles using a glass with a rim that is 3 ¼” in diameter.
Place each circle into the muffin cups, and press the crust lightly into the sides of the muffin cups to form the walls of the mini quiche.
Prepare to blind bake the crusts.
To blind bake the crust, place individual pieces of parchment paper into each crust shell. Make sure the parchment paper is higher than your crust. Once the parchment paper is in place, fill each shell with white, granulated sugar (rice and dry beans will also work, or pie weights, if you have them).
Blind bake at 400 degrees F starting at 8 minutes. Before removing from the oven check and see if the edges are starting to get brown. If you need longer, place back in the oven and bake until the crust is a golden brown.
While the crust is blind baking, whisk together the eggs and half and half until all the eggs have been blended in well. Mix in the other ingredients and set aside.
Once the crust is finished blind baking, fill each shell with the egg mixture, leaving about a ¼” of space at the top of your crust.
Place the muffin tin back into the oven for another 8 minutes or until your egg mixture has set and there is no movement in the filling.
Once done, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing from the tins.
Apple pie filling for 12 mini pies:
Follow the crust recipe above, and the directions for preparing the crust for the muffin cups, and blind baking.
- 6 large apples of different varieties. We like to use a few Granny Smith apples in this mix.
- 1 tbsp of flour or any gluten free flour or your choice.
- Pinch of salt
- Juice of 1 medium size lemon
- Cinnamon and sugar to taste
Add a combination of your favorite spices, such as nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, and cardamom. You can also finely chop your favorite nuts and add them to your mixture.
Peel and chop the apples into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add your other ingredients and mix well together. Place the apple mixture in a saucepan on top of the stove, and cook on medium heat until the apples are soft and have formed a pie filling consistency.
Place cooked apples in blind baked muffin cups and bake in the oven at 400 degrees F until the pie crust is a darker golden color (about 5 minutes). Add more time if needed.
You can also buy pie dough — for these recipes, we tested both and they worked well. These bite-sized mini pies make a great afternoon treat, and the mini quiche makes the perfect quick protein bite.
By Anita Oldham | Photos by Melissa Donald
P.S. You may also like Boost Your Breakfast.
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