holiday baking: mini pies

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thanksgiving mini pies with martha stewart

I. Love. Pie. But then you may have already known that? It was my turn to host Thanksgiving at my house this year, so of course I chose to make way too many tiny pies.

We all know that apple and pumpkin are the traditional expectations, so I decided to add a little surprise. Lemon! And not lemon meringue ether – because really who likes the meringue part? Lemon Cream is the way to go. I borrowed Martha’s recipe, and you might be thinking, “Martha’s recipes are always too complicated!” – not this time! Nope. Easy and above and beyond the favorite pie this year. In fact, we have 3 Christmases in our family and I plan to have this ready to go for all of them. I should probably go find someone with a lemon tree.

thanksgiving mini pies with martha stewart

thanksgiving mini pies with martha stewart

thanksgiving mini pies with martha stewart

Martha’s Best Ever Lemon Cream Pie

FOR THE PIE AND FILLING
◦    1 recipe Our Favorite Pie Crust, unbaked
◦    4 large eggs
◦    1 cup sugar
◦    1/2 cup sour cream
◦    3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
◦    1/4 teaspoon salt

FOR THE TOPPING
◦    1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
◦    1 1/2 cups heavy cream
◦    1/4 cup sugar

Directions
1.    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line crust with aluminum foil; leave an overhang and fold over edge. Fill crust with dried beans, pie weights, or uncooked rice. Place crust on a baking sheet; bake until set and lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove foil (and beans). Bake without foil, 5 to 10 minutes more; if crust bubbles up, press down gently. Cool.
2.    Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, sour cream, and salt; gradually whisk in lemon juice. Pour mixture into crust. Place on a baking sheet; bake until barely set (center of pie will still wiggle slightly), 25 to 35 minutes. Cool completely.
3.    Make topping: Place 2 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften about 5 minutes. Heat mixture over very low heat, stirring, until gelatin dissolves. Let cool.
4.    In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream and sugar until very soft peaks form. While beating, slowly add gelatin mixture, and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, spread over cooled pie. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 1 hour or, loosely covered, up to 1 day.

Let me know how it goes? and Happy Holidays!