Bite Size

I picked up some fresh strawberries and rhubarb this weekend at the farmer’s market…

              

On the menu:  Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie. 

But bite-size…

I was excited to make these little lattice pies!  Little strawberry-rhubarb pies baked in mini-muffin tins and sprinkled with sanding sugar.

           

Easy to pop into your mouth instead of cutting a slice.  Great for any summer get-together. 

You brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. It creates a golden brown top.

They are almost too cute to eat.

Almost.

            

Mini Strawberry-Rhubarb Pies

(recipe adapted from Martha Stewart)

Crust:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold Crisco (solid vegetable shortening)
• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unslated butter cut into small pieces
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water

• 2 eggs (for the egg wash)
• Fine sanding sugar (for sprinkling)

Filling:

• 12 ounces (2 cups) fresh strawberries (hulled and cut into a tiny cut)

• 5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into tiny dice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest orange zest  plus ½ cup fresh orange juice
• 1 ½ cup sugar

- PREP:

- For crust:  In food processor or mixer, pulse flour, sugar, salt, crisco, and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse until dough just comes together.  Divide dough in half, flatten into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 day.

- For Filling: In a bowl toss together strawberries, rhubarb, zest, juice, liquer and sugar.

- Preheat oven 350 degrees. 

ASSEMBLE:

- Spray mini-muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.  On a floured surface, roll out dough ¼ inch thick.  Cuit out 24 rounds using a 3 inch round cutter.  Press into the cups.  Reroll scraps using a pastry wheel and cut into ¼ inch strips for the lattice top.  Refrigerate or refreeze the tines and strips until firm.  (about 30 minutes).

- Strain fruit mixture and discard the liquid.  Place 2 tablespoons in each tarlet shell.  Lightly beat eggs and brush the edge of each shell with the egg wash.  For each row of tarlets, arrange the 2 dough strips lengthwise across the muffin tin.  Place 2 more dough strips crosswise, weaving a lattice over tarlets.  Brush with egg wash. Trim excess dough around the shells.  Sprinkle with sanding sugar.  Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. 

- Bake tins (place on a baking sheet) about 60 minutes until golden brown. 

- IMPORTANT:  Right when the tarts are done, take them immediately out of the muffin tins and let cool on a wire rack.  If you don’t immediately remove while they are hot, the juices will harden and it will stick in the tins. 

            

These little pies can be served at room temperature.  Store them up to 1 day at room temperature.

TIP:  Make sure there is still some dough around the edges after you trim up the tarts before baking.  I did not leave much around the edges so the juice bubbles up and ran off a little bit and left a dark stain around the tops of some of the pies.