Mushroom Cheese Tartlets

Here are some appetizers I made for Pi Day on Wednesday. They are Mushroom Cheese Tartlets, which are really just mini pies. I didn't really follow a recipe for them, they are really quite simply. I made some oil-based pie crust dough, which I prefer to the heavier shortening-lad pie dough. Oil-based pastry also has slightly more flavor and a better texture which works well with tartlets like this. I took small balls of dough and pressed them into a miniature muffin tin lined with foil squares. I pricked the bottoms of the shells with a fork and baked them at 400◦F for 10 minutes until they were lightly browned. Then I set the shells aside to cool. This step isn't really necessary, but I prepared the shells earlier in the day then filled them later. Then I finely chopped some mushrooms and divided them among the tartlet shells. I added some small slices of marble cheese. You can easily add a variety of other ingredients here - chopped onion, different cheeses, mustard, spices, etc. At this point I wrapped them up and put them in the fridge, but they can also be baked immediately. All they require is five minutes in a 350◦F oven until they are hot and the cheese is melted.