One of my daughter’s favorite books Angelina Ballerina talks about Cheddar Cheese Pies. These aren’t just any kind of pies, they are Angelina’s mom’s best Cheddar Cheese Pies. Angelina dances in the kitchen and knocks over a dish filled with those wonderful things to her mom’s great annoyance. Poor Mrs. Mouseling!
So one day, my kid says, “Why don’t we make some Cheddar Cheese Pies?”. Indeed, why not? Are we not the best cooking team around here? Are we not brave enough to figure the whole recipe out? Are we not in possession of almost unlimited amount of time and incredible skill? And so it was decided. The hardest part was to figure out how we were going to put the pies together, as the book itself mentioned nothing of their making.
We decided to go the individual serving route, rather than making a whole pie. It seemed like a more fun idea. Since we didn’t have any small tart tins, we decided to use muffin tins instead. To ensure the proper crust condition, we wanted to pre-bake the pie shells prior to pouring the cheese filling into them. Since I don’t own any baking beads, we cheated and pasted the pie shells on the outside of the muffin tin turned upside down, which served two purposes at once — allowing for slightly larger shells and keeping the dough from puffing inwards. The shells also came out slightly rustic and irregular looking, which we would never be able to accomplish with mini tart tins. 
For the filling we felt we needed to emphasize the cheesiness, and went the sharp smoked Cheddar route. I don’t think you can go any cheesier that that! Boy, were we glad we chose the smoky cheese! It proved to be awesomely aromatic and flavorful when melted into the delicate custard inside our pies.
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Individual Cheddar Cheese Pies
- Total Time: 75 minutes
- Yield: Makes 12 1x
- Diet: Omnivore
Description
Rustic, delicious little cheese pies perfect for parties.
Flaky crust and creamy filling make these a crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
- 0.5 cups (118 ml) cold unsalted butter
- 2 cups (473 ml) flour
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.25 cups (59 ml) ice cold water
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cups (237 ml) half and half
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 3-4 oz (85-113 g) sharp cheese
- fresh ground black pepper
- a generous pinch of sweet Hungarian paprika
Instructions
- Mix flour with salt and dump it onto a chopping board.
- Using a pastry cutter or a knife, cut in the cold butter until pea-size crumbs form.
- Make an indentation in the middle of the crumb pile.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of ice-cold water into the indentation and, using the knife or your hands, mix it in to form the dough. Do not knead the dough; preserve the crumbliness.
- Keep adding ice-cold water in very small quantities and pat the dough together, just until it forms a ball without falling apart.
- Flatten the dough ball into a disk, cover with plastic, and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a board into a 1/4 inch (or slightly thinner) crust.
- Using a 4-inch cutter or a glass with a similar size rim, cut out 12 circles. Re-roll dough scraps to cut more circles if needed.
- Using a medium muffin tin (12 slots) turned upside down, crown each muffin slot with a circle of dough, molding the dough around the slots to form an upside-down basket.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the little baskets are pale golden. Let cool on a rack.
- Arrange the pie shells, now properly turned bottom down, on a baking sheet, or set them into the muffin slots.
- Whisk the eggs with cream until uniform and smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and stir carefully.
- Pour the filling into the pie shells, dividing it as evenly as possible, and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the custard is set in the middle.
Notes
- For a richer flavor, use a combination of sharp cheddar and Gruyère cheese.
- To prevent soggy bottoms, pre-bake the pie crusts for 15 minutes before adding the filling.
- Leftover pies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheated gently in the oven or microwave.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven-Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pie
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 300
- Fat: 18
- Saturated Fat: 10
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 8
- Cholesterol: 150
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of cheddar gives the best flavor in these individual pies?
A sharp or extra-sharp aged cheddar melts well and provides enough flavor to come through the pastry. Mild cheddar tends to get lost, so go for something with some bite.
Can I make these individual pies ahead of time?
You can assemble them fully and refrigerate unbaked for up to a day before baking. Add a few extra minutes to the bake time if they go straight from the fridge into the oven.
What size ramekin or tin should I use for individual portions?
Standard 4-inch tartlet pans or 6-ounce ramekins work well. If using ramekins, grease them well since the cheese filling can stick to the sides.
I also Googled this specifically to make Angelina’s cheddar cheese pies ? Thank you for the recipe!
Definitely going to make this recipe!! My daughter is also really into Angelina books and just asked me to see if there’s a recipe. Thanks for this!