Sweet Potato Mini-Pies

"I'll just have a sliver." How often have you heard this one in reference to pie? Whether the person is dieting or there are just so many desserts to choose from and they want to maximize the space on their plate or in their tummy, there are many, myself included, who simply can't put a huge slice of pie on our plates. For my office potluck, I decided to give everyone a break by making mini pies. Since I still had sweet potatoes leftover from Hanukkah, I chose a Williams-Sonoma recipe for Sweet Potato Pie.

There really aren't any tricks you need to know for mini pies, and you don't need to spend hours googling specific recipes for mini pies. Simply choose your favorite, go-to pie crust recipe (hopefully you have one) and make it as usual - but after rolling out, cut little circles with a biscuit cutter or upside-down glass, and place these circles in a mini-muffin tin. For the filling, well, there really are no limits.

The sweet potato filling provided just what I was looking for - sweet, of course, harvesty, spicy, creamy, delicious. The only problem? The amount for one regular sized pie was about 2 or 3 times the amount needed to fill 36 mini pies. What to do with all the leftover filling? I didn't want it to go to waste, so I made two crustless pies in my 6" tapas pans - they are like mini skillets. This filling when baked, even without a crust, made an absolutely delicious dessert for my husband and I. I topped all the pies with a walnut struesel, and we enjoyed our crustless pie with a scoop of light vanilla ice cream - this really was the perfect match for the filling.

Another great thing about this pie filling? I really did not feel too guilty eating it! I substituted fat free evaporated milk for the cream, and it was still so satisfyingly creamy and decadent. I imagine it could be made even lighter with egg substitute and a sugar substitute, without sacrificing taste or texture.

My newfound love for mini pies came at the perfect time: there's now a blog dedicated to the trend, and an event designed to feature mini pies. Check it out for some cute and delicious desserts!