Creamy Mushroom Mini Pies

It's been a year since the acquisition of our Breville Mini Pie Maker and we still love it.  We've had many savory pies made of leftover meals such as Beef Stew Mini Pies (recipe here), and Mini Turkey Pot Pies (recipe here), so this time, we decided to stop using leftovers and make mushroom mini pies.  

My brother and I grew up remembering eating tasty mushroom cream filling in puff pastry.  They were sold in the freezer section of the supermarket, but over the years, somehow our supermarket stopped carrying them.  My brother loved them so much he's been experimenting lately and made this recipe up from scratch.  It tasted DELICIOUS, and super simple, especially in the Breville Mini Pie Maker.  :-D  Super crunchy thin crust and gooey mushroom filling is hearty and really hits the spot.

Creamy Mushroom Mini Pies

Makes 3 Mini Pies (machine has the ability to make 4 pies)

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 20min

INGREDIENTS: 

1 roll (1/2 a pack as PC puff pastry has 2 rolls per pack) of butter puff pastry, thawed.

1 medium onion, minced.

4 cloves of garlic minced or grated

2 lbs of fresh mushrooms (white button mushroom or mixed), diced.

1 lb of fresh white mushroom, diced

125g of cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil and butter

Breville Mini Pie Maker

HOW TO MAKE IT:

For the Creamy Mushroom Filling:

- Heat olive oil in a nonstick frying pan, brown onions and then add garlic.

- Add a pat of butter and all of the mushrooms.

- Brown mushrooms until the liquid evaporates

- Stir in block of cream cheese till melted and combined

To make Mini Pies:

- Preheat the Breville Mini Pie Maker (Red light means it's heating, Green light means it's ready)
- Roll out the puff pastry crust, make sure to flour both sides before starting to roll it out thinly or it will stick.

- Stamp out 2 tops and 2 bottoms.
- Recombine the remaining pie crust, roll it out thinly, and stamp the last bottom and pie crust (you should now have a total of 3 tops and 3 bottoms)
- Place bottom crust into the machine, use the black push wedge from the pie maker to set it into the pan, fill each pie up to the top with the creamy mushroom filling and a bit more, making a mound on the top.  (You need really over full filled pies in order for the top crust to brown and cook evenly, otherwise the crust can get undercooked because it doesn't fully touch the top heating element.)

- Top pies with the top crust.
- Lock machine, bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.   Time to bake really depends on your filling, if it's cold, it will take more time to cook, if you put in hot filling, it will take less time to bake.  Puff pastry takes less time to bake then standard pie crusts.
- Serve immediately

Fresh Peach Pie

Nothing says summer like a fresh pie.  We prefer using local Ontario peaches that have best flavour...not just sweet and sandy, but tangy, sweet and juicy.  This recipe is as simple as it comes....just sugar, flour, and butter.   There's no spices to complicate the flavour of fresh peaches.  :-)  It also only takes almost no time to make as it's just so simple.  :-)  The pie, since it has so little ingredients, depends solely on the quality of the peaches.

Nick loves pie.  Whether it's Pumpkin Pie, raspberry, apple, blueberry or cherry, there just needs to be a pie each week or he's just not a happy camper.

Peach Pie

approx prep time: 15 min

approx cook time: 45 min

INGREDIENTS: 

-10 medium peaches, pitted and sliced
-1/3 cup of flour
-1/4 cup of butter
- 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar (depends on how sweet the peaches are)
- 1 tablespoon of coarse sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
- 1 Tenderflake deep dish double pie crust (thaw @ room temperature for 10 minutes)

HOW TO MAKE IT:
- Set oven to 450 Degrees F.
- Mix flour, sugar and butter into a crumb stage
- Mix crumb topping with sliced peaches
- Pour peach mixture into 1 of the Tenderflake pie crusts and arrange accordingly so that the 2nd pie crust will be able to fit over it.
- Wet the rim of both pie crusts with water
- Top the 2nd pie crust over the filled pie crust, press down the edges a bit so the 2 crusts seal, then flute the edges with a fork
- Bake at 450 F for the first 15 mins, take out of the oven and sprinkle with some coarse cane sugar
- Put it back in the oven for 350F for 30mins.
- When the pie is done, turn off the oven and leave the pie in oven to cool and set for at least 2 hours.  I usually let it set overnight.