Mini Pies: A New Tradition – Localicious

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. There’s nothing much better than being surrounded by family and friends and food. For this November issue of North State Parent, I want to share a twist on a traditional dessert and inspire you to create a new tradition in your home. Mini Pies! Mini versions of pie can be much less daunting than full-sized pies, and they’re also super fun for kids.

With mini pies, there are no pie beads, pie birds, chilled dough or perfectly crimped edges. With mini pies there are muffin liners that can be placed in muffin tins by little helping hands, there’s dough that can be just pressed into the lined muffin tin and there’s filling spooned on top of the dough. That’s it. It’s simple and fun, plus it’s a cinch to make a variety of pies to suit everyone’s preferences. The result is easy as pie, pun intended.

Try these recipes for for pumpkin, pecan and apple mini pies. These pies are not only traditional but also seasonal. Pecans are harvested in northern California in September, so the fresh crop is available just in time for Thanksgiving and the pumpkin patches are still overflowing with the perfect cooking pumpkins.

Local pumpkins can be found at the following locations: Hunter Orchards (Grenada), Papa’s Pumpkin Patch (Weed), Nash Ranch (Redding), Hawes Ranch (Anderson), Julia’s Fruit Stand (Los Molinos), Book Family Farm (Durham), Country Pumpkins (Orland), Maisie Jane’s (Chico), Patrick Ranch (Chico) and Peterson Sisters Pumpkin Patch (Chico). Ask for help choosing a pumpkin for cooking; most pumpkin patches will have at least one or two varieties that are great in pies. To cook pumpkin, start by cutting it in half and scooping out the gooey insides. Lay the pumpkin halves face down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until inner meat is soft. Remove from oven and let rest until pumpkin is cool enough to touch. Scoop out cooked pumpkin meat with a spoon, then puree in blender or food processor until smooth.

Pie Crust

Makes 12 miniature pie crusts

• 1 cup spelt flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 egg

Line muffin tin with 12 baking cups.

Combine all dry ingredients and stir well. In a separate bowl mix melted coconut oil and egg. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. The dough will look crumbly but will press together easily.

Use a tablespoon to scoop out dough into a small ball. Press the ball into the lined muffin tin with your fingers, forming a small pie crust. Add desired filling and bake according to filling instructions.

Pecan Pie Filling

• 1 ½ cups pecans
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
• ¾ cup honey
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except for pecans and mix well. Divide pecans into prepared miniature crusts then pour mixture over pecans. Bake 20 – 25 minutes.

Apple Pie Filling

• 5 apples
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom

Preheat oven to 350.

Core apples and cut into chunks. Place apple chunks into food processor and pulse until apples are chopped into small uniform pieces. Pour into a bowl and stir in all other ingredients. When apples are well-coated spoon mixture into muffin tins prepared with the crust. Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until apple pieces are soft.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

• 2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 can pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs room temperature
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons creamy almond butter
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until completely smooth and combined. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust muffin tins. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the center of the pie doesn’t jiggle. Allow to cool for at least two hours before serving to let set. (bakerita.com)

Localicious is a monthly column celebrating food in the North State. If you would like to suggest a food-related business or organization, email us at  localicious@northstateparent.com.