Peanut Butter and Jelly Pies (Tartlets)

On Friday I posted Urban's story about peanut butter and jelly pie.  It got me thinking that this would be a really good thing for us to make, so I scoured the internet and mushed together the best parts of a few recipes.  And, friends, they were delicious!  And totally worth the effort!   Technically, we made mini-tarts or tartlets, but to stay true to Urban's vision, we called them Peanut Butter and Jelly Pies.

Crusts

We started out by making piecrust using my mom's "secret" recipe.  (It is seriously the best piecrust ever.)  Anyway, one piecrust equals 24 mini-tarts.  We made small balls and pressed them into the cups of a mini-muffin tin, perforated the bottom with a fork and then baked them for 12 minutes.  We actually did this part the night before and just covered the little crusts and hid them in the microwave over night.  It worked out well!


Peanut Butter Filling

Some of the recipes I found called for just straight peanut butter and jelly, but I wanted the peanut butter to be a bit lighter, so I opted for this filling recipe:

1 c          unsalted butter at room temperature

2 c          creamy peanut butter 

(you could split half chunky if you want a bit of crunch)

1 3/4 c    powdered sugar

1/2 t        vanilla extract

In standing mixer, beat the butter until smooth.  Add peanut butter and beat until combined and smooth.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat until smooth.  Using a small spatula or knife, spread mixture into the bottom of each pie crust cup.  Put in the fridge to chill while you make the crumble topping.  (Yep, I said it, CRUMBLE TOPPING.)

Crumb Topping

3/4 c       all-purpose flour

1/2 t        baking powder

1/4 t        baking soda

1/4 t        salt

1/4 t        cinnamon

1/3 c       brown sugar

2/3 c       rolled oats

6 T         cold, unsalted butter

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with a pastry cutter or a spoon until crumbly.

Pie Assembly

Preheat oven to 325˚

Retrieve pies from the fridge and spread your jelly of choice (we used raspberry all-fruit) over the peanut butter in each pie cup.  Then cover with crumb topping so no jelly is visible.  Bake pies 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through, or until topping is brown.  The pies popped out of the muffin tin pretty easily and Voila!  Peanut Butter and Jelly Pies!!