sarahcentric

Does anyone want a 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit? Oh, come on! It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the game’s anniversary since I’m sure you missed that party 8 years ago. Plus, I’m sure the questions are even more relevant as the game grows older. Just think of all the “Friends” trivia for a pink pie!

Whatever…someone is going to need to take this off my hands since I’m deep in Operation Throw Everything Out The Window. When I moved into this apartment 8 years ago, it was so bare I had to buy forks, bath mats, and a TV. Now after 8 years, when I’m getting ready to… well… do other things, I’m making life and death decisions about Trivial Pursuit! Packing the clothes up for Goodwill, no prob. Sorting the books out into giveaway and keep piles, easy-peasy. But I’m walking by Trivial Pursuit like it’s a snake tank in a pet store on fire, and I am Pee Wee Herman. (if you got that reference, please call me today. We must hang out.)

I really can’t pull the trigger on TP yet. Between my shoot this week, my birthday next week, and my apartment being converted into a youth hostel the week following, I just don’t have the time. I have, however, made time for what I believe is nothing short of a miracle: mini-pie. And you don’t even need to know random bits of trivia to get it. Just these adorable mason jars.

You may remember when I was living in the post-holiday Deep-Deep-Dark-Dark-Deep-Dark Pit, I was lifted from oblivion in part by Jean’s mini-pies over at Renovation Therapy. Jean went from the “not a pie person” to mini-pie’s number 1 fan. I assumed it was because that once a warm, adorable mini-pie looked up at you with its sweet little eyes, how could you not fall in love? That’s true, partially. But I also think it’s because you get a much larger ratio of crust to delicious, but sometimes slimy (come on, you gotta admit it) fruit filling. You also don’t need to go through the emotional thrombosis required to transfer a large crust into a large pie plate. All you need to do is sort of jam your crust in play-doh style and drop the filling in by the spoonful. Here’s the very best part; you can build a bunch of these pies at once, seal them up with the lid and freeze them until you’re in the mood for your own personal pie!

Not-a-Pie People, this is the pie for you.

After much public obsession on Facebook and enabling from the usual suspects, Little Brown Pen and Doe and Mouse via Twitter-I baked my first mini-pie this weekend. Peach may seem like a strange flavor this time of year. but the brilliant Ken Haedrich insists that frozen peaches are almost a better option since they are so difficult to find in-season. Believe it or not, I had all of these ingredients with the exception of a lemon. I was a bit disturbed that I have officially become an adult lady who can make a peach pie at the drop of a hat. But got over it very quickly upon my first bite. This is, by far, one of the most delicious things I have ever baked. Plus…it’s so cute!

If you decide to board the mini-pie train, and I hope you do, pack whatever recipe you like. Be sure you check out Jean’s mini-pie adventure, and the original blog from whence this idea came, so you can see exactly how to build your mini-pie empire. The recipe below is for a traditional 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie plate. I halved my the filling and made a full single crust. I got 5 mini-pies out of it, but I bet you I could have stretched it to 6.

All-Peach Pie with Coconut-Almond Crumb Topping
from Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich

Basic Flaky Pie Crust (single)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold water

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Toss well, by hand, to mix. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and toss to mix. Cut or rub the butter into the flour until it is broken into pieces the size of small peas. Add shortening and continue to cut until all of the fat is cut into small pieces. Sprinkle half of the water over the mixture. Toss well with a fork to dampen the mixture. Add remaining water,
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons at a time, and continue to toss and mix, pulling the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl on the upstroke and gently pressing down on the downstroke. You may need a bit more water until the pastry can be packed.

Using your hands, pack the pastry into a ball like a snowball. Knead the ball just a little, then flatten it in to 3/4 inch disks. Wraps the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before rolling.

For mini-pie crust; once my business was chilled sufficiently, I rolled my disk out, used the lid to measure out a circle for the bottom crust, then dropped and fitted it into the bottom. With the remaining dough, I just fashioned pieces to go all the way around the jar and up the sides to the rim. Stick all of your mini-pie crusts in the freezer as you prepare your filling.

Filling

Two 1-pound bags frozen sliced peaches, partially thawed
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine peaches, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1/3 cup of the sugar in a large bowl and toss well to mix. Set aside for 10 minutes to juice. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (Farenheit, for my Aussie friends.)

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Sprinkle this mixture over the fruit and mix well. Stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. Once you’re set, spoon your filling into the chilled mini-pie shells and smoothing the filling with your hands to even them out. (Since you’re working with such a small and cute pie, I would recommend NOT filling this all the way to the rim so as to avoid hot juicy-ness in your oven and to leave plenty of room for your topping. My peaches went up to about where the grooves start for the lid.) Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place your mini-pies on top. Pop them on the center oven rack and bake for 35 minutes. Now it’s time for the topping.

Coconut-Almond Crumb Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon milk

Combine flour, sugar, salt, almonds, and coconut in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Sscatter the butter over the top and pulse until you get a fine crumb. Add the milk and process again until the crumbs are gravelly. Transfer to a large bowl and rub gently between your fingers to make the crumbs uniform. Refrigerate until ready to use….like now.

Remove your mini-pies from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Carefully dump the crumbs in the center of each pie and spread them evenly with your fingers. (Be overly generous with your crumbs! This pie can be juicy, so you don’t want to use to little making your topping all sludgey…or so says Ken. Plus, this topping is the star!) Press on the crumbs gently to compact them. Return your pies to the oven, placing it so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward. Bake until the juices bubble thickly around the edge, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the pies to a wire rack and let cool for at least an hour before serving. (Or until you can just barely hold the mason jar in your hand. That way you can have pie while you watch a new episode of “Big Love”)