Peach Pie with Brie - Cupcake Style

Peach pie - sweet, gooey peaches, buttery crust, topped with cool, creamy vanilla ice cream - an irresistible summer dessert. Not able to leave a classic alone, I made two key changes to the traditional peach pie recipe:

1. I added Brie cheese (full disclosure - I was given the Brie cheese for free from Ile de France so I had to do something cool with it! Thanks, Ile de France!!)Before you start doubting the peach pie with Brie cheese, consider the popular pie combination of apple and cheddar (cheese is not a new ingredient to the pie world). Then, think about a time when you've had baked Brie with fruit compote (if you've never had baked Brie with fruit, rectify that right now!). Brie goes really well with fruit. In the case of my mini peach pies, tasters could barely tell that the Brie was there unless they knew to look for it. It mostly added some complexity to the flavors, mixing a little sour into the otherwise sweet mix.
2. I made the peach pies cupcake style. As you'll see as you move further into the post, I made the mini pies three different ways: crust cut out on top, lattice top, and peach juice pecan top.
   

Peach Pie with Brie Recipe

The Crust

If you already have a favorite pie crust recipe, feel free to use that. I used a recipe from the classic Vincent Price cookbook that is actually designed for an apple tart rather than a pie. I like that it has a mild lemon flavor. Crusts should have a flavor and stand up on their own, not just be a delivery mechanism for pie filling.

I've been using the Vincent Price recipe since I was a kid. You make the whole thing with your hands, and I've always loved the messiness of it. It doesn't roll out as well as some other crust recipes that I've tried, but to me it's worth the extra effort for the sublime flavor.

I'm reprinting the recipe below in my own words, with a slight modification from the original.

Double the recipe if you plan to put a lattice or top crust on your mini pies.

• 2 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 C (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 4 egg yolks
• Grated rind of one lemon

1. Clean your counter well and pour flour onto the counter.
2. Make the letter O with the flour and put all of the other ingredients in the middle of the O (see photo above).
3. Using your hands, work the center ingredients into a paste and then knead in the flour. If necessary, dip your fingers in water while you are working to help the dough stick together better.
4. Roll the dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.

The Peach Filling

I got the recipe for the peach filling from allrecipes. I am reprinting it with slight modifications below.

• 5 C sliced peaches (about 8 medium-sized peaches)
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 C white sugar
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t salt

1. Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.
   
2. Mix gently.
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
   
4. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently.
   

Putting It All Together

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I made these mini pies three ways. However, the basic setup is the same and should make about 24 mini pies.

• Unbaked pie dough (see above)
  
• Prepared peach filling (see above)
• 4 oz Brie cheese
  

1. Remove half of the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Use a 3 1/2 inch diameter circle cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. If you don't have a cookie cutter that width, see if you have a glass you can use or experiment with different widths.
   
3. Put cupcake liners into cupcake tins.
4. Press the center of your circle into the bottom of a cupcake liner and work the rest up the sides. It should come about 3/4 of the way up the side. I experimented with different heights and found this to be the most pleasing to me, but higher or lower won't destroy anything. Repeat the same procedure with the other half of the dough.
5. Fill the pie crusts with slices of the prepared peach filling.
6. Dot the top of the peach filling with small pieces of Brie (I used four pieces about the size of my fingertip). If you don't want to use Brie, you can dot with butter instead.
   
7. Choose the option that you want for the top and assemble (these are covered later).
8. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes.
   

Option One - The Little Pie Crust Cutout

For some of the mini pies, I topped the peaches and brie with some extra pie crust that I cut out using a tiny cookie cutter (OK - it was a tool from a Play-Doh kit). While I used stars, I think hearts would be really cute.

Option Two - The Classic Lattice

For other pies, I topped the peaches and Brie with a classic pie lattice. I cut out the strips of lattice using a pastry cutter to give them jagged edges.

Option Three - Peach Juice and Nut Goodness

For the remainder of the pies, I wanted to use up the sugared peach juice that was left over after I put all the peach filling into the pies. I had somewhere between a half cup and three quarters cup of sweetened peach juice left in my bowl. I mixed that with a quarter cup of flour to thicken it up and a quarter cup of pecans to add some crunch. Then, I spooned that mixture on top of the mini pies. While I liked all three varieties of pie, I think this one was my favorite.

On the left you can see the set up without the goodness on top.
On the right, you see it with the goodness spooned on.

Other Mini Pies

If you like the idea of making mini pies, you may also want to check out my recipe for mini pumpkin pies.