Description
These Mini Salted Maple Pies are perfect bite-sized treats featuring a flaky homemade or store-bought pie crust filled with a luscious browned butter maple filling. Finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, they offer an irresistible balance of sweet and savory flavors in a tender, golden crust.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Dough
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 (14.1-oz.) package store-bought pie dough or 2 batches homemade pie dough (for 2 crusts)
Filling
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup (71 g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (preferably dark)
- 1 Tbsp. heavy cream
- 2 tsp. cornmeal
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Prepare dough rounds: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one round of pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/4-inch fluted cutter or drinking glass, cut out 6 rounds. Repeat this with the remaining dough to get a total of 12 rounds.
- Fit dough into muffin tin: Press each dough round into the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, ensuring the dough is tucked neatly into the corners of each cup. Place the tin in the freezer and freeze for 15 minutes to firm up the crusts.
- Prebake crusts: Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 400°F (200°C). Prick the bottom of each dough cup a few times with a fork to prevent bubbling. Bake the crusts for 5 to 7 minutes, until the bottoms are dry and the edges turn lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool until touchable. Lower oven temperature to 350°F (175°C).
- Make browned butter: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the unsalted butter. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter turns golden and gives off a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Mix filling: To the browned butter in the bowl, add the egg, dark brown sugar, maple syrup, heavy cream, cornmeal, kosher salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together thoroughly until the mixture is well combined.
- Fill pies: Spoon about 4 teaspoons of the maple filling into each prebaked crust, distributing evenly among the 12 crusts.
- Bake pies: Bake the mini pies at 350°F (175°C) for 12 to 15 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and golden around the edges. Once baked, sprinkle each pie lightly with flaky sea salt. Allow the pies to cool completely before serving.
- Make ahead tip: The filling can be prepared up to one day in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Notes
- Use a dark maple syrup for richer flavor in the filling.
- Freezing the dough-lined muffin tin before prebaking helps maintain crisp edges and shape.
- Browned butter adds a nutty depth to the filling – be careful not to burn it.
- Sprinkling flaky sea salt on top of the finished pies enhances the sweet maple flavor with a subtle savory contrast.
- Allow pies to cool completely so the filling sets properly before removal from the tin.
- These pies can be served at room temperature or slightly warmed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mini pie
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
