MINI PIES WERE MADE IN A VARIETY OF FLAVORS: APPLE, CHERRY, PEACH AND CHOCOLATE CREAM. FOR PEOPLE WITH DIETARY RESTRICTIONS, SUGAR-FREE FILLING CAN BE USED OR GLUTEN-FREE CRUST. Aliya Hall/The Creswell Chronicle
Instead of thinking bigger this Thanksgiving, think a little smaller – mini pie small. Along with maintaining portion control, a personalized mini pie is fun for the whole family to take part in.
On Nov. 17, Dottie Jennings taught community members how to make this easy dessert with a total cook and prep time of around 20 minutes. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Creswell Grange, community members learned to make decorative apple, cherry, peach and chocolate cream mini-pies for the holidays.
”I thought it was a fun way for families to come together,” Jennings said. ”Kids of any age can do this.”
Her family traditions include making Christmas cookies, but this year she wants to teach pie making to her six-year-old autistic granddaughter because this is something she can take part in.
Two attendees, Ida Weathers and Judie Kadrmas made chocolate cream pies. Weathers said her favorite pie is cream cheese because it’s unique and rich.
”(The event) sounded like fun,” she said. ”Dottie’s a friend of ours and we like anything involving food.”
Weathers also said she liked to see the community come together, which is one of the purposes of the Creswell Grange. Past President Stanley Garbodel said that many community members don’t realize the grange has moved away from it’s agricultural roots to be of more use to the City.
Martin McClure, current president, said that brining in pie making sounded ”like a great idea,” especially because of Jennings’ experience with food preservation through classes at Oregon State University.
Jennings, who is gluten-free, said that the pies can still be made with a gluten free crust, but they are less portable than a regular crust. These pies can also be made with limited to no sugar, so diabetics in the family can still participate in the pie eating.
”Everything can be premade and you just how it in the freezer,” she said. ”It doesn’t have to just be for the holidays.”
