Individual Berry Cream Pies
Why pay for mint leaves when no one really eats them and they just end up straggling behind on the plate, then in the trash? If you didn’t notice, I garnished these with the leaves of the strawberries rather than buying mint leaves just for looks. Not sure if they’re really edible, but they look fancy. I can’t get enough of these mini pies!
No Bake Pie Crust
There are a few critical swaps that make this no bake dessert recipe so fast and easy—and the no bake pie crust is a no brainer! I love a homemade pie crust, of course. And I even like making my own graham cracker pie crust. But this shortcut is just as delicious and saves me at least an hour of preparation and work. You can always make the larger version with a single standard pie, but if you see these mini graham cracker crusts? Try them!
Strawberry Pie Filling
The other awesome swap is to use instant pudding for your pie cream. Stir together the pudding ingredients and spoon into your pie crusts and VOILA! It really does taste so close to the official pastry cream that would take lots of time and ingredients to perfect, and it’s shelf stable. You can keep a few boxes of instant pudding on hand to whip up a bunch of incredible treats at the drop of a hat. With store bought pie crusts and instant pudding, these mini strawberry pies with graham cracker crusts come together in minutes with a quick chill in the fridge. Plus they’re super kid friendly! Another option if you want more berries than cream is to use pre-made strawberry filling. You can use exclusively strawberry filling, layer strawberry glaze over some of the cream filling, or even mix together the cream and strawberry pie filling. These are elegant, simple to make, luxuriously delicious, personal size cream pies that can be made in 10 minutes! I love the versatility of these pies. You could switch up the berries, and even use seasonal fresh fruit like peaches or bananas (mmm love banana cream pie). We also love to pair this strawberry pie recipe with ice cream in the summer months! I like to call the pastry cream I use in these, cheaters pastry cream because it tastes like pastry cream but it’s made from instant pudding in 2 minutes. These pies are perfect for the upcoming Valentine’s holiday or anytime you need a delicious sweet! Make these for a party and allow everyone to believe you spent enduring, long, laborious hours in the kitchen for such a fine dessert.
