Mini Strawberry Rhubarb Pies

I love strawberries. I love rhubarb. Why not combine the two? Strawberry rhubarb is evidently a classic combo. Before the year of 2014, I had no idea this was a thing. It just wasn’t around growing up or at least it wasn’t around for us Iranian American kids living in Maryland. Apple Pie. Pumpkin Pie. Maybe Cherry Pie, those were the pies. Nothing else.

Suffice to say, that when I had the strawberry rhubarb pie for the first time it was instant love. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. Making them into a pie isn’t exactly “healthy” but hey there are worse things you can eat/do to your body than eating a delicious piece of pie. I love using this combo for crepes too, it’s a really unique and satisfying filling.

In comes the mini pie. Mini pies are almost like guilt free bites of heaven. Plus sometimes, you don’t really want a whole pie or even a slice, you just want a bite. That’s what these are. Little bites of strawberry rhubarb heaven. This is also ridiculously easy to make, but slightly messy. All you basically do is grease a muffin tin, line it with pie crust, fill it with the filling then cover it with pie crust.

Just be careful it gets messy. The filling has a tendency to be a little soupy prior to cooking where it thickens up. I used store bought pie crust, because I just don’t care enough to make my own. If you can or want to, I applaud you and you’re a better baker than me.

I’ve done numerous recipes featuring strawberry rhubarb in the past, there is a good reason why, I love the combo.

Some fun strawberry facts:

1- Wild strawberries were the only strawberries in circulation until the late 18th century when the French cultivated the first garden strawberry. Those French, is there anything they’re not good at?

2- The U.S.A. produces the most strawberries in the world.

3- They are a good source of Vitamin C and Flavonoids which seem to have various health benefits.

Some fun rhubarb facts:

1- Rhubarb was originally considered a vegatable in the U.S. but because it was used in so many fruit dishes, it got classified as a fruit!

2- Rhubarb stalks have laxative properties, so don’t go mainlining rhubarb stalks if you got a hot date that night (just a suggestion)

3- The leaves of Rhubarb plants are very toxic, so that’s why you only ever find stalks to buy. The leaves might kill ya.

If mini pies aren’t your thing, you’re in luck, try my normal strawberry rhubarb pie recipe.

 

 

Recipe – Mini Strawberry Rhubarb Pies

Ingredients

2 Rolls of Store bought Pie Crust (or home made)

Filling

1 Package of Strawberries, diced (probably about a pound )

2 Rhubarb Stalks (diced)

½ Cup of Sugar

½ Cup of Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp. Corn Starch

1 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice

Coating

1 Egg Yolk with 1 Tbsp. cooled melted Butter

1 Mini Muffin Pan

Method

Mix together the filling ingredients in a bowl; make sure they’re well mixed.

Grease a mini muffin pan, and line each mini pan with pie dough so it looks like tiny pie crusts. Fill each mini pie crust with about 1 spoonful of filling. You’ll probably have extra filling, it’s okay, freeze it and save it for later.

Once each one is filled, lay a tiny piece of pie dough over each one. If it doesn’t completely cover it, it’s not a huge deal.

Mix the egg yolk and butter together, brush each mini pie with this. It’ll give your pies a golden color.

Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.