Earlier this week I mentioned that I had been making mini pies using this pie crust recipe. Last week I made peach and blueberry mini pies. Today I tried my hand at strawberry and cherry in addition to peach.
Previously I had just been making a “pocket pie” by folding the dough around the fruit filling. This works especially well for the peach pie where I simply cut a peach in half and filled the hole where the pit was with the sugar mixture. This time I baked them inside of custard cups to make a true mini pie. This helped to keep the smaller fruits and their juices contained.
Recipes for each of the pie fillings are below. Each recipe is enough for a full 9-inch pie or 8 mini pies. I glazed the crust with a large egg before baking at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.
Blueberry Pie Filling
4 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
In a large bowl, sprinkle lemon juice over blueberries and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to coat evenly. Transfer into a pie crust. Dot with small pieces of butter.
Strawberry Pie Filling
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3 lb. strawberries, halved
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (I used 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract)
In a large bowl, sprinkle orange juice over strawberries and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, salt and vanilla. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the berries and toss to coat evenly. Transfer into a pie crust.
Peach Filling
3 large peaches
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Scoop out a little extra flesh if needed.
Mix brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a small bowl. Spoon about a tablespoon into each peach half. Pack in as much as you can into the center of each peach. Dot the top of each with a small piece of butter.
Sweet Cherry Filling
4 cups fresh cherries, pitted
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of cherries)
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
In a large bowl, sprinkle lemon juice over cherries and toss to coat evenly. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the cherries and toss to coat evenly. Transfer into a pie crust. Dot with small pieces of butter.