Summertime Peach Pie Minis

Peach pie. Yummmm. Just the thought of it makes me smile and with all these weird peach pie cravings recently, I thought I’d get myself to the store and grab peaches. It’s June in New England and they’re just starting to trickle in. They need to ripen on the counter but they still make a darn good pie. With the house an absolute disaster from the remodel wrapping up, I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to make a full blown pie. Enter mini muffin pan pies. I’m pretty sure this is the perfect summertime treat, ideal for lazy porch evenings and perfect to share with friends for this summer blog hop.

Because these are little, I used my pinky finger to crimp the edge as best I could and frankly to save time and sanity, decided on just your standard top crust. No weaving, nothing too fancy, just a heavenly crust you can sink your teeth into. I also wanted them to look like pies versus muffins.

MINI PEACH PIE RECIPE

For the Crust:

• 2 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 C vegetable shortening
• 1 stick salted butter
• spoonful of granulated sugar
• 6-8 TBSP ice water

For the Filling:

• 8 small organic yellow peaches (use less if they’re bigger, mine were tiny at our store)
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 3 TBSP organic cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• squeeze of lemon
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Start by preparing your crust. Cut in butter and shortening to the flour/salt/sugar mixture until there are small lumps evenly distributed. I use a pastry cutter and it makes it so much easier since I’m never motivated enough to haul out the food processor.

Add ice water until you can form the dough and it isn’t too dry to make into a ball. Try to handle the dough as sparingly as possible. Wrap up and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hrs.

Roll out the pie dough and cut into 12 circles that fill each muffin tin and overhang the edge just a tad so you can crimp the dough.

Set pie dough circles aside and prepare the filling. Peel and cut the peaches into small bites (remember these are mini pies so the bites are smaller). Add sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, corn starch and mix until combine.

Spoon filling into the muffin tins until it is level with the pan or slightly above, large heaps of peach bites cause the juice to run everywhere.

Cover each muffin tin pie with a top circle of dough and crimp edges shut. Prick tops to create steam vents.

Beat 1 egg and water and brush onto the tops of your pies. Add a sprinkle of granulated sugar and pop in the oven.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F for another 15 minutes. The pies should be golden brown with some filling visibly bubbling.

They’re not the prettiest pies once they bake up, filling sneaks out and the crust flowers shrink but boy do they smell good and taste even better! The small size of these mini peach pies makes them perfect for porch parties with friends. Make sure you stop by and see all the summertime tours and treats my sweet blogger friends have for you!