Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. Scratch that – brunch has my heart. Something about combining two meals into one makes my caloric counter slow down and allows those guilt-free gluttonous urges to takeover. Suddenly, a sky-high tower of challah French toast, swimming in maple syrup and showered with powdered sugar is a “hearty” way to start the afternoon. A four-egg omelet oozing with fatty bacon and three different kinds of cheese is “just the protein I need” to get me through a rough day of watching movies on the couch. Ah, if only every day were Sunday …
Back to reality, and I’ve landed yet another baking project for By the Book, despite my oft-recited inclination against such things. At this point, my baking successes had slightly outweighed my failures, so I was up for trying my hand at whisking and kneading once more. Plus, even I had to admit that Handheld Pies, the new cookbook from Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton, was too darn cute to pass up. Half-pint-sized lemon meringue pies. Orange marmalade pop-tarts. Man, everything really is cuter when it’s bite-sized. Plus, Billingsey and Wharton included a profile one of my all-time favorite local bakeries: the now-defunct Bittersweet Bakery and its talented owner, Leanna Russo. How could I say no?
So I didn’t. And I decided that I’d combine my smidge of new baking confidence with my love for all things brunch and make the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Pie.
Unfortunately, cute doesn’t necessarily translate into tasty. My biggest gripe with this recipe is that the dough didn’t quite add up. Though Billingsey and Wharton offered two crust options, they recommended using the Flaky Butter Crust, so that’s what I did. While the recipe said it should yield 12 4-inch circles and 12 3-inch circles, I was only able to cut out 9. Maybe I’d made my dough too thick? The recipe called for ¼ inch. That’s what I had. Sigh.
Not surprisingly, the numbering mishap threw the whole recipe off, making it so I only used three-quarters of the filling. Billingsey and Wharton said that the dough would puff a bit when baking, “forming hot, eggy, salty pillows of early-morning deliciousness.” Not in my oven. There was no puffing. And with one bite into these adorable little pies, it was clear: There was no deliciousness, either. The potato overwhelmed the other elements. A bite that should’ve been filled with ooey, gooey cheese, crispy bacon and spicy chives was dense, dry and cakey.
Next time, I’d omit the potato altogether, filling those doughy cavities with more cheese, bacon and crisp chives. But maybe that’s just my gluttony talking …
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Pie
Makes 12 Pies (Note: It only made 9 for me.) Although I have given you a choice of two crusts here, I recommend the Flaky Butter Crust. It puffs up a bit when it bakes, forming hot, eggy, salty pillows of early-morning deliciousness. You can assemble these pies the night before in muffin-tin cups, cover the pies with plastic wrap, refrigerate them and then bake them in the oven in the morning (They’ll need about 5 minutes longer in the oven.). I like the mild flavor of the chives in this recipe, but minced yellow onion or shallot can be substituted. 1 large russet potato
6 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
All-purpose flour for dusting
½ recipe Flaky Butter Crust (recipe follows) or Sturdy Cream Cheese Crust
3 eggs
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
½ cup coarsely grated aged Cheddar cheese
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Have ready a 12-cup standard muffin tin.
• Poke holes in the potato with the tines of a fork, and bake or microwave until tender. Alternatively, peel the potato and boil until tender. Set the potato aside until it is cool enough to handle. If you have baked or microwaved the potato, split it open and fluff the interior with a fork. If you have boiled the potato, cut it into ½-inch chunks. If you have not used the oven, preheat it to 375 degrees.
• Spread the bacon pieces in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, place in the oven and cook until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain on paper towels.
• While the bacon is cooking, lightly flour a clean work surface. Unwrap the dough, place it on the floured work surface and flour the top lightly. Roll out the dough into a large circle ¼-inch thick. You will need 12 circles 4 inches in diameter and 12 circles 3 inches in diameter. Using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out the 4-inch circles first, then, with the 3-inch cutter, cut out the smaller circles. You will need to gather the dough and reroll them once to cut out enough circles.
• Handling the dough circles gently, lift the larger circles and press them into the muffin cups, patching any tears by pinching them together or plugging them with a dough scrap. Break the eggs into a measuring pitcher or a small bowl with a pouring spout and beat until combined. Divide the potato among the bottom crusts. Top the potato with the bacon pieces and chives, dividing them evenly, and then pour about 2 teaspoons of the beaten eggs into each muffin cup. Working quickly, top the egg with the cheese, dividing it evenly, and then with the small dough circles. Gently press the edges of the dough circles together, and cut a small slash or poke holes in the top of each pie with a sharp knife tip or the tines of a fork. Refrigerate the assembled pies for 30 minutes.
• Bake the pies until slightly puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Run a sharp, thin knife around the edge of each pie to loosen it from the cup. Then, using the knife tip or a fork, gently pry each pie upward so you can grab it with your fingertips and lift it out of the tin. Serve immediately.
The pies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. Reheat in a 375-degree oven for about 7 minutes. These pies cannot be frozen. 
Flaky Butter Crust
Makes enough for 12 to 16 free-form, structured or jar pies (Note: It only made 9 for me.) 1 cup cold unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 to 5 Tbsp. ice water
• Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes and freeze them while you measure and mix the dry ingredients.
• To make the dough in a food processor: Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the processor and pulse three or four times to mix. Retrieve the butter cubes from the freezer, scatter them over the flour mixture, and pulse until the mixture forms pea-size clumps. Add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse to mix, adding just enough water for the dough to come together.
• To make the dough by hand: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Retrieve the butter cubes from the freezer and distribute them evenly in the flour mixture, coating them with the flour mixture. Sink your fingers in the mixture and begin pinching the butter and flour together, making thin, floury disks of the butter. Continue working the mixture until the butter is broken down first into floury pea-size beads and then into a loose mixture that resembles wet sand. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the ice water and use your hand like a comb to mix in the liquid just until the dough holds together. If necessary, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a crumbly mass.
• Alternatively, if using a pastry blender, whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Scatter the butter evenly over the flour mixture, and stir to coat with the flour mixture. Using a swift, downward motion, cut the butter into the dry ingredients, turning the bowl and then plunging the cutter into the mixture repeatedly. You may need to stop occasionally to slip chunks of butter from the blades back into the flour. Continue cutting until the mixture resembles wet sand. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the water and use a fork or your fingers to mix in the liquid just until the dough holds together. If necessary, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a crumbly mass.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface or sheet of parchment paper. Gather the dough together in a mound, then knead it a few times to smooth it out. Divide it in half and gently pat and press each half into a rough rectangle, circle or square about 1 inch thick. The shape you choose will depend on what shape you will be rolling out the dough. If you don’t know how you will be using the dough at this point, opt for a circle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
Have you had success transforming a favorite dish into bite-sized form? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of Handheld Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate Kirsten, whose comment on last week’s By the Book column has won her a copy of Salad For Dinner. Kirsten, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in July 2012.