Cinnamon Sugar Bites

Cinnamon Sugar Flaky Delish!!

So far this week I have talked about pie and leftovers... so I thought it would only be appropriate to combine the two for this post and make it cinnamon sugary delicious.  If you read my blog Sunday - you hopefully enjoyed my recipe for Candy Cane Cookie Pies.  In the process of making those pepperminty delights I had quite a bit of leftover pie crust dough.  What to do??

Left over pie crust dough

I LOVE pie crust.  I can say with absolutely certainty that it is the only reason I eat pie.  Frankly I think all of that gooey filling gets in the way of the crunchy, flaky, buttery, toasty pie crust.  ((FYI: NEVER LOOK AT THE NUTRITIONAL INFO ON THE BACK OF THE PIE CRUST BOX!! TRUST ME!)) 

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Did you know that the first pie crusts ever made (we're talking hundreds and hundreds of years ago) weren't meant to be eaten AT ALL?  Slice of Life Sunday says Middle Eastern civilizations of long-ago made the inedible olive oil-based crust to keep the filling moist while cooking and to prevent spoiling.  Man were they missing out! 

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Well I certainly didn't want to let my extra pie crust go to waste!  No, sir!  So I decided to make Cinnamon Sugar Bites.  They are so simple to make they should be illegal!  (That and the amount of calories are probably horrendous but we won't think about that!)

Bites in the making

All you have to do is roll out your leftover pie crust dough and trim to make a rectangle.  Then divide and cut the dough into equal size bar shapes.  I used the left over dough from that to make even smaller bar shapes to make a tiered bite.  Then comes the cinnamon sugar!!

Cinnamon Sugar

Coat the bars with LOTS of melted butter and then liberally sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over those bad boys!  I almost ate one raw because they looked to good!

Tiered cinnamon sugar bites

Bake and viola.... 

Look at those flaky, pie crust layers!!

Bet you can't eat just one!

CINNAMON SUGAR BITES

Ingredients 

• Leftover pie crust dough
• Flour
• Melted butter
• Cinnamon Sugar (equal parts cinnamon and sugar)

Veggie Ham Crescent Wreath ReciDirections

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll out leftover pie crust on a floured surface to prevent sticking.  Cut off edges to make a rectangle.  Divide and cut dough into equal-sized bar shapes.  Place on sheet pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Repeat if you have additional leftover dough, making smaller bar shapes to create a tiered bite.
• Brush melted butter on top of the bars then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU MAKE WITH YOUR LEFTOVER PIE CRUST DOUGH?

Mini Candy Cane Cookie Pies

Peppermint packed recipe below

This weekend Joe and I had the fun task of taking down and putting away all of our Christmas decorations.  It's one of my least favorite things to do!  Miles of garland, tangled lights, millions of ornaments are all stowed away until next year and all we have left are candy canes.  LOTS of candy canes!

MMMmmm... Perfectly Peppermint

PLUS a box of the mind-blowing, culinary invention: Candy Cane Joe-Joe's from Trader Joe's.  They are sublimely delicious candy cane flavored Oreo-type cookies. 

Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

Every year I struggle with what to do with the red and white candy treats and always wonder where did they come from anyways.  This year I decided to do a little peppermint research.  According to the Wiki-wizards, candy canes came on the scene in Germany in 1670.  A choir master asked a local candy maker to whip up a treat to keep kids quiet during his Christmas Eve performance.  The "staff" shape is meant to help the children remember the shepherds who cared for baby Jesus.  After that the cane shaped treats took off and became widely associated with the holiday season.

Early image of candy canes (via Wikipedia)

Like egg-nog... there is a point when I cannot handle anymore holiday inspired treats.  So I wanted to have one last peppermint horrah this weekend and use up all of my candy cane flavored goodies in the process. But what to do?

Nutella and peppermint.... awesome combo!

Thanks to one of my favorite blogs Picky-Palate and their devishly delicious looking Oreo and Peanut Butter Layered Baby Lattice Pies recipe -- I came up with a peppermint plan!  MINI CANDY CANE COOKIE PIES!

Look at those layers of chocolate cookie, peppermint cream and Nutella!

Talk about a winning combination: chocolate cookies, peppermint cream and Nutella cradled in flaky pie crust and topped with crunchy peppermint candy!    

First ice the tops of the Candy Cane Cookies with Nutella and make a stack of two cookies

Place cookies in muffin tins lined with 4-inch circles of pie crust

Top with more pie crust and use a fork to seal it together

Brush pies with melted butter and top with crushed candy canes

Peppermint Pie Perfection!

MINI CANDY CANE COOKIE PIES

Adapted from Picky-Palate

Ingredients 

• 2 refrigerated 9-inch pie crusts
• 16 Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe Cookies
• 1 cup Nutella
• Candy canes, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Veggie Ham Crescent Wreath ReciDirections

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Unroll pie crusts and cut out eight 4-inch rounds and carefully press into muffin tins that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
• Spread Nutella onto each cookie and then stack two on top of each other.  Place cookie stacks into each pie crust. 
• With remaining dough, cut out 3-inch rounds and place on top of each pie.  Using your fingers or a fork crimp the edges.  Make a small slit on the top of each pie.  
• Brush melted butter on top of each crust and then top with crushed candy canes.
• Bake until pie crust is golden, about 25-30 minutes.  ENJOY!

 
Yield: 8 pies


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY CANE INSPIRED DESSERT??