Capture the freshness of spring with these simple fresh strawberry mini pies. For two mini pies, see my notes below for ingredient amounts (Filling adapted from America's Test Kitchen for Summer Berry Pie using blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)
Ingredients
For the pie shell I used my sweet pastry crust recipe (will make one 9 inch or 4 5-inch mini pies)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (140-175 grams, I always start at 140)
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces (3.5 ounces, 105 grams)
2 teaspoons sugar
⅛ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
2 cups each raspberries, blueberries, blackberries
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons raspberry preserves
Whipped Cream for serving
Instructions
To prepare the pie shell: Combine all the dough ingredients above except the water and process in a food processor for about 10 seconds until the mixture is the texture of coarse crumbs (or the size of peas). Add the cold water and pulse 6-8 times, just until the dough begins to come together. Do not let it form into a ball. Transfer the dough onto waxed paper or plastic wrap and form into a disk. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before using.
Once the dough has chilled, Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the dough on a lightly-floured surface. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan, prick the surface with a fork, cover with wax paper and weigh down with pie weights (or rice or beans). Bake for about 8-10 minutes until it begins to color. Remove the pie weights and wax paper and continue to bake until golden, another 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the strawberry purée. Process 2½ cups of the berries in a food processor until smooth, about a minute. Strain the purée using a mesh strainer into a small sauce pan. Whisk together the corn starch, sugar, and salt in a separate bowl and whisk the mixture into the strawberry purée. Bring this to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture is consistency of pudding, remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and set aside to cool slightly.
To prepare the glazed strawberries (I chopped mine in smaller pieces), melt the preserves on the stove or in the microwave. When fully melted, stir the preserves gently into the remaining strawberries.
Assembly: Pour the purée onto the cooled crust then arrange the glazed strawberries on top. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve topped with whipped cream.
Notes
Here are the adjusted ingredients for just two mini-pies
Half of the prepared dough, 4 cups berries (half for the purée), ⅓ cup sugar, pinch of salt, 1½ tablespoons corn starch
Recipe by Lemons + Anchovies at https://lemonsandanchovies.com/2012/05/fresh-strawberry-mini-pies/