Fresh Strawberry Mini Pie

Alex's favorite pie is fresh strawberries in a chocolate cookie crust. I've made this for years, since I went strawberry picking with Libby years ago. This is a mini pie version suitable for potlucks and parties. (I made it for Ben and Brandi's open house.)

Ingredients:

Cookie Crust

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Pie Body

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 three ounce package strawberry flavored instant Jello
• 1 cup cold water
• 1.5 to 2 pounds fresh strawberries
  (washed, and diced in 1/8s or so to mound in a mini muffin pan)

Instructions:

1. Make the glaze: Mix dry glaze ingredients - 1 1/4 cups sugar, corn starch, and strawberry jello in a sauce pan, then mix in cold water.
2. Stir until the corn starch is dissolved. Bring glaze to a boil, let it boil for 3 about minutes or until it's clear. 
3. Remove the sauce from the heat, and let it cool down for 15 to 20 minutes so it won't cook the strawberries.
4. Make the chocolate crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
5. Whisk 3/4 cup sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a food processor until thoroughly combined.
6. Pour melted butter into the mixture and whir to mix in well.
7. Line 48 wells of two 24 count mini muffin pans with paper liners.
   (Use a pie pan for the full pie version.)
8. Press chocolate dough into the bottom and up the sides of mini cupcake liners
9. Bake for 8 minutes.
   (I pulled the pans out and used a tamper to press them down a bit after 4 or so minutes)
10. Let the shells cool for 10 or so minutes. 
11. While the shells and the glaze cools, dice up the strawberries into about 1/4" chunks.
    (Just slice the strawberries for the full pie version.)
12. Mix all the glazed with the strawberry chunks, folding the glaze over all the berries.
    (For the full pie version, mix in half the glaze, saving half to spoon over the berries in the pie shell.)
13. Using a small cookie scoop, fill all the cookie crusts with strawberries. You can mound the berries a bit.
    (I tried to scoop out mostly berries.)
    
14. Spoon extra gel on top of the mini pies.
15. Place the mini muffin pans in the refrigerator, and let the gel set up.
16. Remove mini pies from pan, and place on a platter. (I used a butter knife to help pry them out.)

Carole's Notes:

The mini pies were great for our party, and would work nicely for a potluck as well.

I did not pull off the paper liners so they might be a little easier to pick up, but you could remove them after the pies gelled.

I think the original recipe came from my sister Libby. I used a homemade chocolate cookie crust from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/228792/mock-chocolate-cookie-crust/ but you could also use an Oreo cookie crust for the full sized pie.