Mini Pie Crust Shells

5 from 1 vote

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These mini pie crusts make the perfect bite sized pies. Fill them with savory fillings, and they'll be the hit for your next cocktail party. Fill the shells with sweet fillings, and you have mini dessert cups.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time17

Resting and chilling time2

Total Time3 47

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Unspecified

Servings: mini pie crust shells

Calories: 57kcal

Author: Joanne Stekler

Equipment

Food processor or stand mixer optional
4 12 cup mini muffin tins or two 24-cup mini muffin tins

Ingredients

½ cup (62 grams) bleached, all-purpose flour
½ cup (62 grams) cake flour
½ tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
4½ tablespoons (64 grams) cream cheese cold, cut into cubes
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ tablespoon cider vinegar

Instructions

Pie dough

Add the dry ingredients (flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt) to your food processor or mixer and mix briefly.
½ cup (62 grams) bleached, all-purpose flour, ½ cup (62 grams) cake flour, ½ tablespoon granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon table salt
Add the cream cheese cubes and pulse 10 times.
4½ tablespoons (64 grams) cream cheese
Add the butter and pulse another 10 times.
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter
Add the heavy cream and vinegar and pulse just until the dough starts to come together.
½ tablespoon cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or into a large bowl and press the pieces together gently with your hands. You aren't kneading the pie dough. You just want all the little pieces to be able to stick into a single ball.
Once you have a single mass of pie crust, shape it into a ball and then press down with your hands to form a thick disk. Wrap this disk in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Making the mini pie shells

Take your pie dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured countertop until it is ⅛ inch thick.
Use 2½ round cookie cutters to cut out pie crust rounds and gently insert the round into the mini muffin pan cup. Try not to force and stretch the round.
Re-roll any scraps and repeat until you have filled all 24 mini muffin cups.
Take your empty mini muffin tin(s) and lay them over top of the mini pie shells. Gently push down so that the empty tin sits snuggly in the filled one.
Freeze the muffin tins for at least one hour to chill the dough.
Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bake the mini pie shells with the empty tin on top for 14 minutes. Then remove the top tin and continue baking for 2 to 3 minutes until the shells are a golden brown and the bottoms are fully cooked.
Remove the shells to a cooling rack and let cool completely before filling.

Notes

This recipe uses about 300 grams of pie dough to make 24 mini pie crust shells.

The challenge in making mini pie crusts is avoiding shrinkage. So make sure to keep your dough cold, don't overwork it, and bake with the second tin inserted into the pie crusts until your mini pie crusts have set.

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