I have a weakness for delicious food, miniaturized. Tartlets, finger sandwiches, mini marshmallows; all foods improved by their tiny stature. So when I had the urge to make pie with a huge flat of strawberries I had just purchased, I knew that I had to go small. Big is soooo 2009.

Although these pies are personal-sized, don’t underestimate their flavor. The crust is crisp and buttery, the filling is fresh, chunky and light (not jelly-like, as most grocery store pies are). And most importantly, they’re really dang cute. Also, you don’t need any special equipment—no tart pans, no ramekins. Just a good old fashioned cupcake pan. So you can make them with me.

Ready? Let’s start with the crust.

You’ll need flour, cake flour, salt, lightly beaten eggs and cold cubed butter.

And starting now I’d like you to ignore the rumors that good pie crust is difficult to make. That is a vicious lie started by the pie companies to keep you buying their inferior pies. I know, they’re evil, right? There is only one rule when making crust: keep the butter cold and keep the dough cold. As long as you do that, you’re golden. And your crust will be, too.

I amaze myself at my own level of cheesiness sometimes.

Mix the flours and salt together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cold butter cubes and mix on low for 1 minute, then add the eggs and mix on medium low until the dough forms a cohesive mass. It may clump together right away or it may separate into tiny pieces before clumping together—every batch of dough has a mind of it’s own. Don’t ask me why.

Pat the dough into a disc, wrap in cellophane and place in the fridge while you prepare your other ingredients.

Now is also a good time to preheat your oven to 400F and place your cupcake pan in the freezer. Because the fish sticks need company.

You’ll need strawberries. I was delighted when these hit the stores this spring. The real ones—not the fake rubbery-tasting look-a-likes that pass for strawberries in the winter months.

Their little strawberry faces make me smile.

After you’ve washed, dried and de-stemmed them, remove any mushy or un-ripe parts and chop each berry in half. Quarters if they’re huge.

Next, in a small bowl mix together some flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch and a dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Toss the strawberries in a little vanilla extract (or a Grand Marnier if you’re feeling naughty)…

…and coat them in the flour/sugar mixture.

Remove your dough from the fridge.

On a clean surface, roll out 3/4 of your pie dough until it is about 1/8″ thick. Return the remaining 1/4 of the dough to the fridge.

Cut circles in the dough using a round that is approximately 3″ in diameter. None of my cookie cutters were quite the right size, so I used this gorgeous coffee cup that my dear Ma-in-law gave me. It worked perfectly.

Cut a total of 9 circles. If at any point the dough is no longer cold (you’ll know—it will begin to stick to your work surface), place it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes and then continue. It will be a pain in the butt to work with if it gets warm.

Remove the cupcake pan from the freezer (the cold temperature will make shaping the dough easier) and lightly grease the cups with butter. Press and stretch each round into the cup, making sure that there are no holes in the dough. If you find a hole that you can’t seem to fix, pinch a small piece from the remaining dough in the fridge and use it to patch the hole. Then overfill the pies with the strawberry mixture—the berries will shrink down while cooking. I used my fingers to arrange the berries to ensure the maximum amount of berry goodness in each little pie.

Roll out the remaining dough to 1/8″ thickness. Use a pizza cutter to slice strips that are 1/4″ to 1/3″ in width.

Jeez, I’m giving a lot of annoying measurements in this recipe. I apologize. Don’t listen to me—just go with your gut.

Lay three or four strips across the pie in one direction, pinching the ends off as you go. Press each seam together so they adhere.

You could make a true woven lattice crust here if you have more patience than the Dali Lama and incredibly dextrous fingers. Which I do not. You know who would be remarkably good at making these pies? John Cusack’s character in Being John Malkovich.

While we’re discussing pop culture, let’s play Where’s Waldo with the photo below. Can you spy the pie that I tried to weave into a lattice crust? My attempt lasted all of five seconds. And then I threw in the towel and chucked Waldo against the wall.

Place your cupcake pan on top of a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 30-40 minutes. If at anytime the crust is becoming too brown, cover with foil and continue baking.

And when they’re done? Masterpieces, my friends. Masterpieces. Although (and I hate to tell you this now, after you’ve done all this work) you have to give them an hour or two to cool before eating. Otherwise you’ll have a gooey red mess that is very un-pretty.

But once they’re ready to eat? Oh, baby. Get ready for some strawberry lovin’.

I’m not even going to say anything else for a few and let you enjoy these photos:

For me, this is as close to perfect as pie can get. The crust is crisp but not hard. The filling showcases the flavor of the strawberries—it doesn’t mask it in a barrage of goo. They’re not overly sweet. The crust has a buttery richness that is nicely complimented by the flavor of the berries. The….

Okay, once again, shutting up.

I can’t seem to say enough about these little beauties, so I’ll leave you with one last thing: you need these in your life. Like, yesterday.

Happy hump day!

-RDG

Mini Strawberry Pies

For the crust: (Inspired by a basic crust recipe in James Peterson’s Baking)

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 2 lightly beaten eggs

Mix the flours and salt together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cold butter cubes and mix on low for 1 minute, then add the eggs and mix on medium low until the dough forms a cohesive mass. Pat the dough into a disc, wrap in cellophane and place in the fridge.

For the filling:

• 1 1/2 lbs fresh strawberries, to yield about 4 cups halved strawberries
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 dash cinnamon
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl mix together the dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, toss the strawberries with the vanilla extract and then toss with the dry ingredients.

To assemble the pies:

Preheat oven to 400F. Place a cupcake pan in the freezer.

On a clean surface, roll out 3/4 of your pie dough until it is about 1/8″ thick. Return the remaining 1/4 of the dough to the fridge.

Cut circles in the rolled-out dough using a round that is approximately 3″ in diameter to make a total of 9 circles. Remove cupcake pan from fridge and lightly grease 9 of the cups with butter. Gently press each dough round into greased cups, coming all the way up the edges and leaving a small rim of dough at the top. Patch any holes with a pinch of extra dough from the refrigerator. If at any time you’re working with the dough and it becomes sticky, wrap and place in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before continuing.

Overfill each pie with strawberry mixture. Roll out remaining dough and slice into 1/4″ to 1/3″ strips. Lay strips of dough across each pie in a criss-cross pattern, pinching each seam together as you go along. Place cupcake pan on top of baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes. If the crust is ever becoming too brown, cover pies with aluminum foil and continue baking. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes, then remove and let pies cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Makes 9 pies.