Rhubarb Mini Pies

Still warm from the oven!

I had the hardest time coming up for the health angle of this post. For the love of dessert, it's pie we're talking about. I use lard, butter, sugar, flour, and all the love the comes from the home kitchen.

Because I am a nerd I went to my favorite calorie counting website (My Fitness Pal) to figure out how many calories each mini pie had. I was blown away. Only ~125 calories for fresh baked, homemade, deliciousness. A taste of pure summer, so fresh you can still taste the sun beating down on your home grown rhubarb.

I grow my own rhubarb. It's a perennial so it keeps coming back. It also tolerates being ignored and doesn't mind being trimmed to become pie. I also use something called Mince Pie Tins. Mine are about 70 years old and from my English Grandmother-in-Law.

Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Rhubarb leaves really are very poisonous. 

Vodka Pie Crust:
Ingredients:
4oz all purpose flour
4oz cake flour
1 shot vodka
1 shot ice water
2oz butter
2oz lard
1oz sugar

Method:
You add more or less liquid depending on the outside humidity. It is a feel thing and takes practice. I've added less than the 2 shots, but never more.

I use a cold metal bowl. Time, speed, and temperature are of the essence. I work in the fats with 2 butter knives until the fat starts to become well incorporated. Then I switch to my fingers. I work quickly until the dough looks like a bunch of small pea shapes. Then I add the ice water and the vodka. I work the dough into a ball and toss it in the refrigerator while I make the filling.

Pie Filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh rhubarb cut into pieces
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
2 cups chopped up strawberries
2 tsps lemon juice
2 tsp tapioca

Method:
Put the sugar and water in a pan until the sugar dissolves. Add the rhubarb and tapioca and cook over medium heat until soft. This takes about five minutes. Add the strawberries. Cook until their soft. Add the lemon juice and remove from heat.

Assemble and bake your mini pies. 

Grease your pie tins.

Cut out your bottoms and tops. Round cookie cutters help.

Before I put my pies in the oven I do brush them with a little milk, just a touch with a pastry brush and sprinkle less than a pinch of sugar per pie to help them brown nicely.


Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Pop them out of the pie tins and eat as soon as they are cool enough not to burn your mouth. Although they do last for several days in the refrigerator they are not as delicious as they are fresh out of the oven. Makes 16 servings.

There is a moral to this story. Eat what you like. Count your calories. Be accountable and enjoy reasonable portions. Also don't be afraid to make up recipes. I made up this one!