Fresh raspberry pie, made mini! Mini raspberry pies made in a muffin pan for small servings.
If you ever listen to a Southerner talk about fresh raspberry pie, it'll have you running to the kitchen to make one. I've had a lot of pie in my day, but never raspberry! I've been avoiding it because I assumed the raspberry seeds would make for a gritty pie. I was so glad to be proven wrong.
I should mention that ages ago, I made a small peach raspberry pie (check out that photo from 2010!) but I slipped so few raspberries into the filling because I was hesitant to dethrone peaches. Now I know better.
I made mini fresh raspberry pies in muffin cups, because if you can eat a whole serving of pie in two bites, well, you should.
The recipe below makes 6 mini fresh raspberry pies. I baked them 3 to a pan, because I read a 'how to bake mini pies' guide on SeriousEats, and was scared. The guide was full of ominous warnings that made me believe the amount of fruit juice that would ooze from each pie would cover my house and glue my feet to the floor. I believe they called it 'Pie-mageddon.'
Thankfully, I can assure you that these pies oozed minimally, yet were still bursting with raspberry flavor. I amped up the flour (equal parts flour to sugar!), and made a very thick crust (see photos for reference). I think this helped.
Fresh raspberry pie in muffin pan steps:
First, butter your pie pan so very well. Call your Mom, water all the plants in your house, light that fancy candle you've been saving for no good reason, and then butter it again.
Press the pie crust into the muffin cups. You buttered those cups, right? Make sure the crust comes up all the way to the top of the buttered pan.
I'm going to stop harping on you now.
Mix two cartons (12 ounces total) of raspberries with ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of flour.
For intoxicating flavor, we're going to tip in a ½ teaspoon of almond extract and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Stir, baby, stir. It's totally okay if the berries start to collapse and commingle with their friends.
Can I wear lipstick this color, please?
Divide the berry filling between 6 cups.
How to lattice a fresh raspberry pie:
Now, latticing can be hard (is that a word?). I took the easy route (thanks to the Serious Eats guide), and didn't exactly lattice correctly. I laid across a few strips of dough, wove a few in, but overall, I did not stress about having the perfect lattice weave. Because I am nothing if not a lazy baker. Nothing!
I trimmed the edges...feel free to judge my poor lattice work.
I pressed + pinched the end of each dough strip into the bottom crust.
And then I brushed each little pie with gobs of beaten egg.
Did I ever tell you about the time I made so many pies that I figured out the best way to get a shine on your pie dough is EGG YOLK? Unless you're baking at a super high temp, egg yolk is going to be the only thing that makes your pies look shiny, golden brown and delicious. Trust me, I used every topping imaginable--cream, milk, egg white, egg + cream, egg + water, egg yolk + cream. So much pie that summer.
Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of each pie (because even pies need a little glitter!)
And pop in the oven until bubbly and golden brown.
Don't let this fresh raspberry pie cool all the way in the pan...just about 15 minutes or so. Remove and then let them cool all the way (if you can).
I ate the first pie warm with vanilla ice cream. And maybe it was my lunch. And maybe I had coffee after that. And maybe it's been 2 days since I can remember eating a vegetable or drinking a glass of water.
Maybe.
Pie-mageddon awaits you. Kidding!
Easy, breezy!
Mini Raspberry Pies
How to make mini pies in a muffin pan!
Ingredients
Pie dough recipe:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and diced into 16 pieces
- ¼ cup ice cold water
For the filling:
- butter, for pan
- 12 ounces fresh raspberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 egg yolk, beaten (for glaze)
- coarse sugar (optional)
Instructions
- First, make the pie dough: combine all of the pie crust ingredients in a small food processor, and pulse until combined. The butter should be the size of rice grains, and evenly dispersed.
- Drizzle in ¼ of ice water with the machine running. The dough should quickly come together into balls. If not, add an extra tablespoon of water.
- Remove the dough from the processor, gather into a bowl, wrap in plastic wrap, and press flat into a disk.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Next, remove the dough from the fridge about 15 minutes before you want to bake.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Butter 6 cups in a muffin pan VERY WELL.
- Roll out the dough until you can cut 6 circles about 5" in diameter. I used the top of a take-out container as a guide. You want the pie crust to come all the way up to the top of the cup in the pan.
- Press the dough into each cup (see photos for reference).
- Gather up the pie dough scraps, and roll flat again. Use a pizza wheel to cut 7 tiny stripes of dough for each pie (that's 42 strips of dough about 4" long each). Flour them well, pile them on a plate, and place the plate in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Combine the fresh raspberries, flour, sugar, almond extract, and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir very well. The raspberries will start to break down.
- Divide the raspberry mixture between each cup.
- Remove the lattice strips from the fridge, and lay 4 across each mini pie. Carefully (and quickly!), loosely weave in 3 other strips in the opposite direction. It's not a perfect lattice, but it'll be just fine!
- Brush each pie with egg yolk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake the pies for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Let the pies cool for 15 minutes, and then run a knife around the edges to loosen them.
- Remove the pies from the pan to cool completely on a rack (don't let them cool in the pan, as they might stick terribly).
- Serve!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 116mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 12gProtein: 5g
Thomas Coleman says
oh my goodness, how clever and adorable! I have a coworkers birthday next week…maybe I should bake these???
Meghan Hughes says
I looked like a hero at my dinner party. No one believed me that I made these at home. They were so easy and delicious. For those asking about substitutions, I am sure you can sub any filling. I served with vanilla bean ice-cream. yum!
Meghan Hughes says
Oh, and I used frozen pie crust from whole foods to shave some time off.
Randy Newton says
Don't put almond in the pie if you want to taste the raspberries
Pat says
I cooked them at 350 and at 20. Minutes are still not browning. Is the temp correct?
Nancy Ashworth says
LOVE this recipe ! Thank you!
FYI - no butter required with Pchef pans - they fell out into my hand