Strawberry Rhubarb Pielets

Sweet, tangy filling.

Let me preface this by saying that I did not begin my weekend by thinking that I would make pie. I knew I would make ice cream this weekend, but not pie. I had absolutely no intention of making pie. The Universe, however, had other ideas.

You see, Saturday morning began with a trip to the PSU farmer's market. When we (mom, Frakah, and I) entered the market, we saw some lovely fresh strawberries that just had to be bought. Then I got coffee from Cafe Velo and an egg and cheese biscuit from Pine State Biscuits. Next, Frakah and I picked out some lemon verbena plants to start our herb garden. The real intention of going to the market was to pick out herbs for our garden, so that we could grow, harvest, and dry them for tea. Then came some peonies (because I am obsessed with them). We picked out more herbs (Roman chamomile and some kind of blue mint). And my mom bought more rhubarb. Uh oh.

Strawberries.

Rhubarb.

...Pie!

In truth, I had never had a strawberry rhubarb pie before (at least, not to my recollection). But I know I love rhubarb pie, and I love strawberries. And believe you me, these strawberries were kickass. I couldn't resist nibbling on a few when I was done with my biscuit. Perfect for pie.

For some reason, though, I did not want to make a big pie. I wanted small pies. My mom had some mini pie pans and they just looked so cute sitting on her kitchen counter. I had to use them to make my pie.

I see faces in each pie...

To make a long story short, turning a recipe for a normal-size pie into mini pies is not easy. It really involves some geometry and algebra, but I was in no mood for that. A morning at the market takes a lot out of a girl. That and working in a garden playing with dirt and getting splinters every five seconds. I basically made 1 1/2 the amount for normal pie and wound up with 7 mini pies. I guesstimated the weights for my disks of pie dough and was off by a bit, but it turns out that this dough tastes pretty fantastic even after being handled more than I would have liked.

As for the pies themselves, they were very delicious. Lick the plate delicious. Re-lick the plate and fork just in case I missed a spot delicious. I've never been much of a pie person, but I may have just converted myself.

I believe this pie is mocking me...

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pielets
adapted from The Grand Central Baking Book


To make 7 small pies:
3 disks All-Butter Flaky Pie Dough
1.5 lbs rhubarb stalks
3 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp four
1.5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the rhubarb crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Hull the strawberries and cut them in half. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and sugars and toss gently until evenly mixed. Combine the cornstarch, flour, and lemon juice to make a paste (it will look nasty, but that's okay). Pour the sludge over the fruit and toss to combine.

Divide your pie dough into 14 even pieces and roll out until each disk has 1-inch extra dough past the edge of the pie dish. Put the bottom crusts in the 7 pie plates, then fill each one with fruit filling until full. Top with another crust and crimp the edges however you like, then cut steam vents in the top.

Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan and turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for another 25 minutes. I baked the pies in 2 batches.

Oh, the agony!