Pie,  Recipes

Mini Pies Tips & Tricks

September 16, 2018 / 38 Comments

Baking season is upon us, and since I get lots of questions about my pies, I figured I would share my tried and true tips and tricks (try saying that 5 times fast) 😳 on baking pies. All of these tips apply to making mini pies in a muffin tin. A few of these tips will also apply to making 9″ pies. I will call them out.

This was my third time making mini pies from a muffin tin, and each time I have gotten better. They (not sure who THEY are) say practice makes perfect. I would have to agree.

This was my first attempt at fall inspired mini pies and I absolutely love how they turned out!

Tip 1: I always spray the entire muffin tin (cavities and outside) before adding the pie crust. I personally like Baker’s Joy brand of baking spray.

Tip 2: I don’t use cupcake liners or parchment paper, but I did see THIS trick on Pinterest where someone cut strips of parchment paper to use as handles to remove the mini pies and THIS trick with foil. They both seem like good ideas, but I personally have not tried either. I still recommend cutting around each pie with a knife to ensure they come out in one piece even if you try either of these techniques.

Tip 3: Lots of pie cutters! I have been purchasing pie crust cutters for years and now have a pretty large collection. I have purchased them from Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, & Amazon. If you are looking on Amazon you can type “Fondant Cutters”  or “Pie Crust Cutters” into the search menu and tons will pop up. I also provided the direct links to my favorite pie cutters. For the pie cutter that are no longer available I linked identical sets.

The fall pie cutters I used for these mini pies are no longer available, but THESE from Williams Sonoma are identical to the ones I bought from there last year. Bonus you get a turkey with this set! I might need to buy these too. 🤔 I also found THESE leaf pie cutters that are very similar to the ones I have.

For Halloween, I found THESE on Amazon. I just got them, so haven’t used them yet, but definitely plan to very soon.

The Christmas pie cutters I have are no longer available at Williams Sonoma, but I did find replicas of them HERE and HERE. Side note, do you see a theme here? Williams Sonoma makes THE BEST pie cutters, which is why I always buy them from there. They are great quality and the design possibilities are endless! Below is a picture of my Christmas mini pies I did last year. I definitely plan to make them again this year.

For Spring, I love THESE floral pie cutters from Williams Sonoma. You might remember my Spring inspired mini pies that I made using the floral pie cutters.

Williams Sonoma also has THESE fruit pie cutters. I think I need to add them to my ever-expanding collection. What do you think?

Tip 4: I always top my pie crusts with an egg wash then sprinkle coarse sugar in the raw on the tops. Whisk one egg and use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash onto the top crusts. It is so yummy! I get lots of compliments on the crust because of doing this. For me that’s a good way to take store-bought pie crust to the next level.

Tip 5: Cover the entire muffin tin with foil. Spray the side that will touch the pies with baking spray to prevent the top crust from sticking to the foil. Just in case you are wondering, as I started to put the foil over the muffin tin, I realized I hadn’t done the egg wash and sugar topping. I got a little over zealous while trying to make sure I took a picture of the sprayed foil.

Tip 6: Place the muffin tin on a cookie sheet to prevent any dripping onto the bottom of the oven. Because burnt pie crust that is stuck on the bottom of the oven is not fun to cleanup. Been there, done that, wrote the book. 😭

Tip 7:  Bake the mini pies on 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet, then bake for another 15 minutes (still covered). Remove the foil, rotate the cookie sheet again, and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the top crust is a golden brown.

Tip 8: To loosen the pies, I wait until they are completely cooled. It usually takes a couple of hours. For these mini pies specifically I didn’t cut them out until the next day. They were a lot easier to remove. But if you don’t have that kind of time, wait until they are completely cooled. Once the pies are cooled, I carefully use a sharp knife (think pairing knife) to cut around each pie. Carefully is the key word here. This takes patience. You definitely want to take your time to not cut into the pies, especially after you spent all that time designing them.

For the filling, I used my simple apple pie recipe that was featured on Crate & Barrels Blog. CLICK HERE for the recipe.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope this post helps you in your future baking adventures. I absolutely love to bake and if sharing my tips and tricks with you helps you in any way, then this post was completely worth it. If you have any questions please comment below or DM me on Instagram. My handle is @acarriedaffairdesigns

Until next time, friends. Xo

 

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38 Comments

  • Kristen

    September 17, 2018 at 3:17 pm Reply

    This is amazing and I really would love to try this! What type of store bought pie crust do you think is the best? Thanks for the great post!

  • Jennifer Daniel

    November 4, 2018 at 3:17 pm Reply

    I just tried this for dinner at a friend’s house and it was a total hit! Good tips and tricks and decorating inspo 🙂 I was surprised at how well they turned out the first time and can’t wait to make them again!

    • Dux

      October 10, 2019 at 6:03 pm Reply

      Omg I just stumbled upon this when @pieladyreads made them in her post and said it was all your design! I love it!
      Question about lattice design, etc under the stamps. Are you making those? Is that another stamp you can use that makes that design for you? Any tips are appreciated!

      • Carrie

        October 10, 2019 at 6:09 pm Reply

        Hi! Thanks so much for reaching out and the kind words. I make the lattices by hand. The trick is to spray a little bit of Pam around the edges before adding your lattice. This will prevent the top crust from sticking to the pan when you go to remove them. Allow a little overhang then use a precision blade (like a box cutter) that is food grade to cut the overhang off for the clean lines. Also, bake the stamp pieces separately for 10 minutes on 350°F. This will ensure the top crust is fully baked. After you take the mini pies out, let them cool then place the baked stamps on top. Doing this also keeps the integrity of your stamps so they look just as good baked as pre-baked. Hope that helps! Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck!

  • Michele

    January 18, 2019 at 9:48 pm Reply

    Hi Carrie, thanks so much for sharing. I have not used store bought pie dough in the past, perhaps it will hold its shape better than home made! Can you please tell me how thick the pie crust should be for mini pies? Thanks, Michele

  • Denise

    March 17, 2019 at 8:17 am Reply

    What type of pie crust do you use. The one I have I can’t seem to do anything with, just plain old pies. It flaky and tasty but as soon as I try to work with it it falls apart. Not sue if I’m not adding enough water…to much or it just isn’t the right one to do lattice and flowers with.

    • Carrie

      March 20, 2019 at 10:40 pm Reply

      So for most of my designed pies I use store bought crust. It’s easier to handle with the designs. ❤️ I do have a yummy pie crust that I make from scratch. That recipe will be in my book coming out later this year. Hope that helps! Good luck!

  • Amber

    August 4, 2019 at 10:53 am Reply

    Could these be made ahead and frozen in large quantities for an event? If so, would you just thaw to room temp or heat in oven?

    • Carrie

      August 10, 2019 at 9:07 pm Reply

      Absolutely! I would take them directly from the freezer and put in the oven at 350º degrees for 20 minutes. Hope that helps. Thanks!

      • Becky Robertson

        May 3, 2020 at 2:23 am Reply

        Carrie you really outdone yourself on these pie crust!!! I just happened to luck up on your page tonight and I’m sooo glad I did. These are absolutely beautiful!!! I can’t wait to try making these. Thank you SO MUCH Carrie for taking the time out of your day toput this out to share this with others. I appreciate your kindness for doing so. Have a great day. 😃

    • Carrie

      December 7, 2019 at 12:01 am Reply

      Hi! I used a 1 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out 5 circles, overlapped them slightly, then rolled them up. I then shaped them and bent the edges out to mimic a rose. Hope that helps. Good luck!

    • Camille Teel

      May 7, 2020 at 5:18 pm Reply

      Beautiful! I haven’t done minis in muffin pan yet. Just wondering..how do you get them out? Cooling rack on top and tip over? I’ll probably try strips but wondering how you do it.

      • Carrie

        November 20, 2020 at 1:54 pm Reply

        I let them cool completely (a couple hours) then use a knife to give me leverage to pull out in one piece. It takes a lot of patience.

  • KRISTIE Douglass

    October 27, 2019 at 4:39 am Reply

    I love these and I want to try to make them, although I feel a bit intimidated. I am worried of messing them up either by not cooking them right or when taking them out. I think freezing would be a great idea so then they can be made ahead of time or given to family at holidays. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post and all your information!!
    Kris

  • Terry Proctor

    October 29, 2019 at 9:43 am Reply

    Hi, Love these ! Just bought some stamps and had planned to try them out on full-size pies but the idea of mini pies is perfect for Thanksgiving with SO many desserts to sample ! But I’m confused by something you said in your Oct 10th response to “DUX” when you were talking about stamps that go on top of the lattice. You mention baking the stamps separately for 10 minutes and placing on the pies after they are cooled to insure the crust gets thoroughly baked. But all of your photos show the stamps on top of lattice, brushed with egg and sugar – seemingly ready to cover with foil and go in the oven.

    • Carrie

      December 7, 2019 at 12:07 am Reply

      I have done both. 🙂 The more I bake, the more I learn. With doing both, I prefer to bake the stamps separately for 2 reasons 1) I can ensure the pie crust is completely baked and 2) I can control the browning by baking them separately. I bake them separately then decorate the top crust afterwards. A lot of the times I post a pre-baked pie crust fully decorated, I usually remove all the pieces after I photograph the pie, then bake separately. Hope that helps! Sorry for the delay. ❤️

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