Pie day

Back in middle school algebra, we used to celebrate Pi Day on March 14 (3.14) by bringing in assorted pies. It was my favorite day in math class and to this day I have a soft spot for that particular mathematical constant. At any rate, it's obviously no where near March 14 (although it feels warm enough to be!), but I didn't let that stop me from having a pie day this weekend. A friend of mine has recently become enamored with mini pies and has decided that they are the new cupcake (ie: thing in New York City that people will inexplicably pay over $4 for). As her baking friend, she wanted to get me in on the ground floor of her mini pie making venture. Although, I wasn't initially wholly convinced of the business model, I couldn't help but be on board with spending Saturday afternoon making 19 mini pies.

Not quite a commercial kitchen yet, but it's a working progress.

Our initial baking day was primarily experimental. We mostly just gathered ingredients in our kitchens that we thought might be nice pied together in small tins. This led to some interesting combinations. My personal favorite was our take on a key lime pie (well, but that I used regular limes) with a ginger snap crust and raspberries on top. We made another that we called a "mojito pie" with the same filling and a mint whipped cream on top. I had some Baileys in my fridge leftover from Christmas, so we also made some Bailey's cream pies with oreo crusts. These were, predictably, awesome. We also sprinkled one with espresso powder and called it a "White Russian pie." If there's a market for cocktail themed mini pies, we are about to corner it.

Little pie friends ready for the oven.

We made some savory pies too--some with traditional pie crusts and others with crushed pretzels as a base. We incorporated bacon into a number of pies because as it turns out it works well with all of the following (not necessarily all in one pie): Gorgonzola, fig onion preserves, pumpkin seeds, and apples. The one thing I learned from this experience, as I realized I'd never really made mini pies before, is that I need to lighten up on the crust. I put the thickness of crust that would have been totally appropriate for a traditionally sized pie, but ended up being somewhat overwhelming in a mini pie. Lesson learned!

This should tide me over quite nicely until mid-March.