Over the weekend I had some fun in my kitchen making some fruit pies....but not any regular fruit pie...sweet strawberry mini pies with basil whipped cream. Heaven let me tell ya!
This escapade in the kitchen was for the purposes of reviewing the adorable little book 'Mini Pies' by Christie Beaver & Morgan Greenseth. These ingenious ladies founded the Seattle-based Mini Empire Bakery which specializes in artisan-created bite size baked goods. As I poured over this gem of a book, I had a difficult time deciding which treat to make....because really I wanted to make them all! I love small sized portions....even more so when they take the form of baked-at-home goodness. The book has an amazing assortment of mini yummies to make: fruit pies, creamy custard pies, nut & savory pies and toppings.
I decided to make the recipe for sweet strawberry mini pies and basil whipped cream because strawberry is a favourite flavour in this house.
I started by following their directions for the 'perfect pie crust', which called for a mixture of shortening and butter to create the pastry. And it called for mixing the dough in a food processor....something I have never done before. And you know what? It was super easy....I don't think I will be going back to the traditional pastry blender method. I am always so grateful when a new recipe leads me to try something new and it turns out to be an awesome way of doing something. After the dough was chilled and rollled out, I used a glass to cut out 4 inch circles to form the mini-pies.{I wished that I had a fluted round cookies cutter as the book suggested...but I can't find one anywhere.}
The strawberry filling was very easy & simple to prepare. And while the mini pies were baking in the oven...I whipped up the basil whipped cream.
The result? Oh my heavens.....so delicious! The pastry was so tender and yummy...I think this may be my go to recipe from now on. The strawberry filling and the basil whipped cream together was an unbelievable flavour combination. Once I put the whipped cream on the mini pies, I was like a lion tamer in the kitchen, beating the hands off the mini pies so I could have something to take a picture of...ha!
So needless to say, I am in love with this book!
And I love the approach of the mini pie because it is so perfect as a dessert, for freezing to have later, for giving to neighbours, or just sneaking one sometime after midnight.
{but no one here does that!}
{Please Note:The review copy of Mini Pies was provided free to me by Ulysses Press. I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.}
{Thank you so much to Jen at Tatertots & Jello for featuring this post on her facebook page.}
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