Here's the recipe for the Chocolate Haupia mini pies I made on Valentine's Day.
Perfect Pie Crust
(adapted from The New Best Recipe)
makes 7-8 mini pie crusts, or one 9-inch pie crust
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 4-5 tablespoons ice water
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt, and sugar together. Add the butter in pieces, either pulsing in a food processor or mixing in with fingertips, until the mixture is a pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with the butter bits no larger than small peas.
- Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if the dough will not come together. Flatten the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap in plastic , and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if it's been more than 1 hour, let it sit until it's malleable). Flour your work surface and slowly roll the dough with a pin by rolling a quarter turn of the disk with your right hand, then turning the dough on the surface and repeating the motion. Continue to turn your dough and flatten it in quarters until it is 8 to 9 inches in diameter, then lift it up onto your rolling pin and place it upside down.
- If you're making mini pies, roll your dough out in length another few inches, then cut out circles with about a 4" diameter. Remove the circles and press them into muffin tins by draping them over the top and lifting the edges to ease the dough into the lower creases of the tin. Trim the excess edges and crimp with a fork if desired. Re-roll the rest of the dough and cut out more 4" circles.
- If you're making one 9" pie crust, roll your flattened circle out another 3-4" wider than your pie plate. Roll the dough into your pin again and unroll it evenly over your pie place. Life the edges of the dough and ease it down into the lower creases of the pan. Trim the overhanging dough and crimp the edgeswith your finger or a fork.
- Refrigerate your dough-lined plate or muffin tin until firm, about 40 minutes, then transfer to the freezer for an additional 20 minutes. (This sounds ridiculous, but Best Recipe gives a good reason for it. Refrigerating the dough relaxes the gluten so the crust doesn't shrink during the baking, and freezing it helps make the dough flaky.)
- Preheat your oven to 375*F. Remove your pie crust from the freezer and line the crust(s) with heavy-duty foil both inside and over the shell, folding the edges of the foil to shield the edge of the crust. Distribute pie weights, pennies, rice, or beans along the bottom (fill the entire inside of the shell if you are using rice or beans, since they are lighter).
- Bake the crusts until the dough looks dry and light in color, 25-30 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights by gathering the corners of the foil and pulling up and out. For a partially baked crust (if you're using a filling that you are baking again later), continue baking until light golden brown, another 5-6 minutes. For a fully baked crust (which is what I used for this refrigerated-filling pie), continue baking until deep golden brown, another 12 minutes. Transfer the crust(s) to a wire rack.
As for the pie filling, I just used instant Jello Chocolate Pudding mix, Coconut Gelatin mix from the Asian grocery store, and Cool Whip. However, to make a truly authentic and homemade version, follow the recipe posted here Enjoy!
