Mini-Pies

Apple, Pumpkin, & Banana Cream Pies

This past month my 4-year old niece was diagnosed with Celiacs. On a recent shopping trip my sister and I went into a kitchen store and found these mini-pie tins. I had bought the disposable kind but was so excited when we found a good pie tin in a mini size. After doing a little research I found that some called them "pie-lets". Either way, they were cute and perfect for Thanksgiving prep.

In the past I have made a GF oil pat-in-the-pan pie crust. It worked okay, but not great. This year I decided to try Bette Hagman's Vinegar Pastry Crust. I did substitute lard & butter for the shortening and loved it. I use a combination of the two in my regular pie crusts and really like the results so I tried it in this one and it worked wonderfully, the altered recipe is below! I 2/3 the recipe to make the bottom of the pumpkin and both the top & bottom of the apple pie. I then used a 1/3 recipe "Cookie" crust to make the banana Cream Pie. I made the crusts first and then made the fillings.

For the PUMPKIN PIE I made the filling for the regular pumpkin pie and poured some into the GF crust before pouring into the regular crust and then baked them together. Amazingly enough it took about the same amount of time for the "pie-let" to cook as the regular pie. I did have to cover the crust to stop it from getting too brown.

For the APPLE PIE I mixed up 1/2 a Granny Smith Apple and 1/2 a Golden delicious Apple, diced, but next time I will just slice since they shrunk horribly. Then I mixed together about 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg & a 1/4 tsp ginger. Then I mixed the sugar mixture with the apple mixture and dumped it into the bottom of a crust then topped it with the top crust. This baked for about 20-30 minutes at 375-degrees until the top was golden brown. It may take longer.

For BANANA CREAM PIE I also just made my regular Banana Cream Pie with a "Cookie" crust (recipe below) and then put the filling into into both crusts. I baked the cookie crust for about 10 minutes. First slice bananas into the bottom of the crust then add the filling. Serve with Whipping Cream. This is the filling I use. It is enough for a 9" pie crust.
1 pkg banana cream pudding
Milk
2 Tbsp cream cheese, softened
1/2-3/4 8-oz pkg cool whip
Mix up pudding according to package directions. Beat in cream cheese. Stir in cool whip.

Here is the Pie crust recipes, if you want photos of the steps for Bette Hagman's pie crust you can check out the Ginger-Lemon Girl:

My version of Bette Hagman's Vinegar Pastry (Revised)
from The Gluten-Free Gormet: Revised Edition
Makes 2-9" crusts or a double-crusted pie.
1 C white rice flour
3/4 C tapioca flour
3/4 C cornstarch
1 rounded tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 C butter
1/4 C lard
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp vinegar
2-3 Tbsp ice water

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cornstarch, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar. Cut in the lard & butter (if you want you can blend these two together with a mixer and refrigerate for about 1 hour). Blend together the beaten egg, vinegar, and cold water. Stir into the flour mixture. Holding back some, until the pastry holds together and forms a ball. (Kneading will not toughen this pastry.)
2. Form two balls and place in a bowl; cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove and roll one ball at a time between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper that have been dusted with sweet rice (or regular rice) flour. To place in a pie tin: remove top sheet and, using the other for ease of handling, invert the dough and drop into pan. Another method I saw on Good Eats on The Food Network was to put the dough on the bottom of a matching pie plate then place another plate over in like you were going to stack bowls and it drops right in. For a crust to be used later, bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 10-12 minutes. For a filled pie, follow directions for that pie.

"COOKIE" PIE CRUST
makes enough for a 9" pie -- This is also a great crust for a non-baked cheese cake
1 C flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 C powdered sugar
1 cube butter

1. Mix flour, X gum, & pwd sugar together. Cut in butter, then mix with fingers until it forms a ball. Press into pie plate.
2. You may want to refrigerate for 10-15 minutes if the crust is extra sticky. Otherwise it will "melt" to the bottom of the pan.
3. Cook for 10 minutes on 400-degrees. Allow to cool completely before putting the filling in.