Monday, January 23, 2012

High Octane Mini Pies & A Shout out

There are certain foods that when ate just seem to taste good, but they do not keep you full for very long.  Perhaps it may be that scrumptious donut you had for breakfast or that chicken egg roll for lunch.  While you taste buds may be happy, you are looking for something to fill the void a few hours later.  The resolve to this situation is grains.  Whole grains do have some staying power so incorporating more of them in your diet can keep you from snacking in between meals.

Which brings me to the name of this pie.  High octane is a factor that can increase the horsepower of your car.  Now considering the first paragraph here, I decided that a high octane pie must have some whole grain in it.  The mini pie contains oatmeal, so it does give you some fuel to keep going.

Outside of oats, I have included some chocolate chips, coconut and macadamia nuts.  The combo is does make for a tasty pie and you get a myriad of texture in one bite.   This pie is delicious at any temperature, but I have to say it is very rich when served warm.  If that is not enough, you can always top it with whipped cream or serve a small piece with ice cream on the side!

Speaking of sides,  I have a side note here to give a special shout out to some very nice blogger friends who gave me some awards recently.  One is Becky over at Baking and Cooking.  She has been blogging since April of 2010 and does have some power in the kitchen.  She is also not lacking in versatility either! The other is Sudha at Wit wok and wisdom. Sudha has been blogging since February of 2010.  As you go through her blog, you notice that she does temper the sinfully sweet posts by following them with a very healthy dish.  We all need a little more balance to our diet!  If you do not know of either of these bloggers, today it is a great time to get to know them, so pop on over.  I am sure you will be inspired and find something that suits your taste! 
Now on to this recipe....

High Octane Mini Pies
by flourtrader

Ingredients
six 4 inch mini pies shells par baked (plain pie pastry recipe can be found here )
3/4 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of coconut
1 cup of chopped salted macadamia nuts
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup quick oatmeal
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium size bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars.  Then beat in the eggs for about 30 seconds.  Then add the corn syrup and milk, beating for another 30 seconds.

Then using a wooden spoon, fold in the oatmeal, coconut, choc chips and nuts until evenly distributed.   Then pour the filling into each pie crust, making sure each is filled evenly.  The filling should be just below the lip of each pie crust.

Place mini pies on cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until top outer edges of filling are browned. A knife should come out clean when inserted into the center of one of the pies.  Let cool completely before removing from pies from each pan.