Mini pear pies

Firm, possibly under-ripe, Bartlett pears definitely work best in this kind of pie. For more taste and sweetness, get organic ones, if you can. Before filling the mini pies, make sure you cook the pears in a saucepan until they’re softened.

Ingredients

For the pie crust

pie crust (you can find a recipe here), about 3-4 mm thick, for 6-8 mini pies

For the filling (quantities indicated here are enough to fill 6-8 mini pies)

4 extra firm Bartlett or other firm pears, cored, peeled and cut into small pieces
4 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons rice malt syrup
1 pinch powdered cinnamon
2 teaspoons mirin
2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
1 pinch whole sea salt

Directions

Pie crust

First, make the dough for the mini pies and place it in the fridge for 1 hour. While the dough rests in the fridge, prepare the filling.

Filling

Put the pears, raisins, pine nuts, salt, mirin, apple juice concentrate and cinnamon into a saucepan and cook over a very low heat for 8-10 minutes with a lid on. In a cup, blend the almond butter and malt syrup together and add the mixture to the fruit. Stir well and keep cooking for 1 more minute with the lid off. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Making your mini pear pies

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface, dust your rolling-pin with flour and roll the dough out to the desired thickness (3-4 mm). Oil your mini pie pans or muffin tins and sprinkle with a light coating of flour. Arrange the dough in the pans, poke a few holes in the dough with a fork to let the steam escape, and pour the pear mixture onto the dough. Cover with another layer of dough, poke a few tiny holes on it and press down on the edges making sure they’re sealed (if necessary, trim off any excess). Transfer the mini pies into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely golden.

Posted in: cooked

Tagged as: pears