The Greatest Mini-Pie

We didn't have any desserts in the Hayley house. This, quite frankly, was unacceptable.

I did, however, have blackberries in the freezer that I needed to use before fresh fruits begin arriving from our local CSA. I also had this old family treasure tucked away in my cookbook collection:

It's a serious treasure - it's my Grandma A's, complete with her signature and the date "September 29, 1943."

I'm not even sure how I ended up with this cookbook, but I love it. I've read it (carefully) cover-to-cover, savoring the insight into American cooking during the war years. It's very interesting! However, I've never cooked from it.

Nevertheless, the cookbook is in my collection, so therefore eligible for my 101 list. I flipped and searched and, sure enough, found a recipe for fresh blackberry pie. I could write out the recipe, but it's just as easy for you to click on the photo below to read it for yourself:

Because using a pie recipe from 1943 isn't fun enough (just kidding, Grandma!), I decided to play around with the traditional pie form. Instead of making one large pie, I made mini-pies using my regular muffin tins.

I used a large plastic cup as my crust template.

Note post-experiment: I needed a slightly larger template.

I pressed the crust into the muffin tin - no need to grease the pan first. Then I carefully spooned in pie filling.

Bake as directed for a full pie. I thought it wise to put the muffin tins on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. It turned out to be an unnecessary step, as the pies didn't bubble over. Still, better safe than scrubbing, I always say.

Let the pies (tarts?) cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

The mini-pies should pull right out of the pan when cool. If you feel like spoiling your guests (or your husband), top the pie with a dollop of whipping cream before serving.

And if you feel truly decadent, make that whipping cream yourself with Dream Whip (and use vanilla bean paste in place of vanilla extract)!

So was this World War II-era recipe good? Oh my goodness, yes! No wonder they were called The Greatest Generation!

Though I have to say that if you knew my beloved Grandpa and Grandma A, you'd think they were great no matter what. I certainly do.