Ask anyone that loves pie what they love the most, and many will mention the crust. After all, if the pie crust is not flaky and light, the entire dessert will fail. It will not matter how the filling tastes. The ingredients are few, but it is how they are handled that makes a difference. If the baked pie crust is not good, the desserts that can be made with the leftover dough will not turn out any better.
My mom makes fantastic pie, and not just because she is my mother. It is absolutely perfect from the color to the flavor and consistency. She always uses the leftover dough to create simple desserts, and not a crumb goes to waste. She makes the same delicious desserts that her mother and grandmother made with leftover dough, and they are all absolutely phenomenal.
Cinnamon and Sugar Pie Crust Pinwheels
When I was a child I enjoyed watching my mother as she carefully cut away the pie dough that overlapped the edges of her pie plates. It was like watching an artist meticulously work on a sculpture, and I was mesmerized. She placed the leftover pie crust dough aside, and when her pies were filled and the top crusts were perfectly fluted, she worked on the leftover dough. She always made pie crust pinwheels, and they are still one of my favorite desserts. I have prepared batches of pie crust dough, just to make the pinwheels.
To make cinnamon and sugar pinwheels with leftover pie crust, begin by rolling out the dough as you would roll it out to create a top or bottom crust. Combine two parts sugar with one part ground cinnamon, and completely cover the pie crust. Tightly roll it into a log no thicker than 1 ½ inches in diameter. Bake the rolled pie crust dough at 350 degrees until it is lightly brown and completely done, inside and out. After it cools, cut it into pinwheels using a sharp knife.
Colorful Pie Crust Cutouts
Other easy desserts can be made with leftover pie crust dough. Use cookie cutters to cut out leaves, stars, flowers or any other shape that you prefer. Place the dough on a cookie sheet, and sprinkle each cutout with colored sugar crystals or a mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar. Bake these easy desserts at 350 degrees until they are light golden brown. Since these little pie crust desserts are thin, they will only take 8 to 12 minutes to bake.
Make Mini Fruit Pies
How about creating mini pies using the leftover dough? Create circles of dough using a cookie cutter, and place a couple of teaspoons of pie filling on the halves. Fold the circles over, and carefully pinch the edges. Pierce the top of each one with a knife to allow steam to escape. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle them with sugar. Bake these tasty fruit-filled desserts at 350 degrees until golden brown and bubbly. Like the other easy desserts, they will not likely last long. They might not even last as long they took to prepare!
Source: Personal Baking Experience
