These mini cheese pies are the perfect snack for your little food explorers. Packed with cheese goodness and wrapped in a soft and rich crust, these mini cheese pies offer a balanced combination of flavor and nutrition that will have both you and your little one coming back for more. Enjoy!
If you've had the chance to visit Greece or step into a Greek bakery, you're likely familiar with our deep fondness for pies such as spanakopita and turopita, among others. These mini cheese pies bring back memories of my childhood when my mother would frequently make them, and they were always part of the buffet when we had friends over or at parties.
I know that making homemade pastry from scratch might be intimidating to many of you. Who has time for this when you got kids, right? However, I assure you, this dough is incredibly simple to prepare and doesn't require any kneading whatsoever. All you need to do is combine the ingredients until the mixture turns soft, pliable, and non-sticky. Then you could lay it flat using a rolling pin or simply by pressing it with your palms. That easy!
For the filling, I'm using a mix of feta cheese and ricotta for ourselves and my preschooler. These mini cheese pies are also great for babies that follow the Baby Led Weaning method, as they are easy to hold with their little hands and are quite soft. Just make sure that you choose a cheese that is low in sodium, like ricotta cheese.
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👩🏻🍳 Why you should try my recipe
- Easy to make with simple ingredients.
- No kneading is required.
- Easily adjustable for babies under 12 months.
- Freezable for a quick snack on busy days.
- Great snack for toddlers and preschoolers.
- Store well and stay fresh for 4 days.
- Easy to pack for dates out, playgrounds and lunchboxes.
🥘 Ingredients
To make these kid-friendly, mini cheese pies, we will need feta cheese, ricotta cheese, eggs, olive oil, Greek yogurt, plain flour, baking powder and dried mint or oregano (optional).
For the filling, you could use feta cheese or ricotta cheese or a mix of both. Ricotta cheese is low in sodium, making it a great choice for babies under 12 months.
For full quantities and to print the recipe, see the recipe card down below.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
So get your ingredients ready and let's get started!
01. To start, I'm mixing the olive oil and Greek yogurt in a bowl. You could use any vegetable oil you prefer or a mix of both if you prefer, just make sure it's a good quality one. Make sure the yogurt that you use is strained, cause if it's too watery it will affect the consistency of the dough.
02. Next, I'm adding the flour to the bowl and start mixing everything until I get a light and playable dough. The dough should not be sticky but also not be hard like bread dough. It's oily, soft and easy to play with your hands.
03. I take half of it and roll it flat with a rolling pin. The thickness should be about 0.2 inches or 0.5cm or a couple of coins in height. The dough has baking powder in it and it will rise when baked.
04. To cut the mini cheese pies, I'm using a round cookie cutter. If you don't have one, you could also use a small plate or a mug. Remove any remaining dough and add it with the rest to be used later.
05. Now, let's prepare the filling. In a bowl, I'm mixing the crumbled feta cheese, ricotta cheese, one egg and a teaspoon of dried mint. The mint is optional and you could replace it with oregano if you prefer it.
06. I add about a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of half of the round pies leaving the edge empty to seal it with the top dough.
07. I take one of the empty round dough and place it on top of the one with the filling. Then, using a fork, I seal the top and bottom dough by gently pressing the edge all around. I continue with the remaining mini cheese pies until all the dough has finished.
08. I add the mini cheese pies on a tray lined with parchment paper. I beat an egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the pies with it. Then you could sprinkle some sesame seeds on top if your little one likes sesame.
09. I preheat my oven to 375°F / 190°C and bake my mini cheese pies for about 30 minutes. They will have a nice golden brown color when you take them out. Leave them to cool down on a rack for 10-15 minutes as they will be too hot to handle and eat.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
- For a dairy-free version, you could use an alternative yogurt, like coconut yogurt and vegan cheese of your choice.
- You could make them in little circles or half circles if it's easier for you. For half circles, place the filling on the bottom half of the circle and then cover it with the other half. Seal the mini cheese pies using a fork.
- You could spread some sesame seeds or black sesame seeds on top for extra flavor before placing them in the oven.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Babies (6-12 months): For babies under 12 months, make sure you use a low sodium cheese for the filling. To serve, I like to cut them in half to get easier access to the middle bit which is softer, especially if they don't have any teeth out yet. These mini cheese pies are great for breakfast with some fruits or for a light evening meal with some veggies on the side.
All other ages: For all other ages, children and adults, you could have these healthy mini cheese pies for breakfast, afternoon snacks, dinner and so on. They are quite filling and Artemis, my 4-year-old only needs a couple to keep her going as an energy booster.
If you are looking for ideas for your little one's lunchbox, these mini cheese pies are fantastic! They keep well and fresh in a lunchbox, they are not messy and they are quite filling too. Just add a couple to your little one's lunchbox with some salad, tomatoes and cucumbers and a dip with yogurt or hummus.
🧰 Storage
The recipe yields around 20 mini cheese pies, depending on how big you make them. We love having them when they are still warm, a few minutes after they come out of the oven. Any leftovers go in an airtight container and are stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you or your little one prefers to have them warm, then you could warm them up in the microwave for a minute. Personally, I don't mind having them cold the next day, they taste amazing either way.
You could also store the mini cheese pies in the freezer when they cool down, wrapped in foil or in a ziploc bag. Then thaw them for a couple of hours or until they get soft and consume warm or at room temperature.
💭 Tips
- Use strained Greek yogurt for better results. Otherwise, you might need to add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the dough.
- For children above 12 months, you could add a little bit of salt to the dough for some extra flavor.
❓ FAQ
For babies under 12 months, you should choose a type of cheese low in sodium, like ricotta cheese and avoid adding any salt to the filling or the dough.
To add more flavor to feta cheese, you could add some oregano or dry mint.
I recommend using strained Greek yogurt for the dough as it's less watery, more nutritious and rich.
📋 Recipe
Mini Cheese Pies (Baby & Child Friendly)
Ingredients
Dough Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup Greek yogurt strained
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 egg (brushing)
Filling Ingredients
- ¾ cup feta cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon dried mint (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the yogurt and olive oil and mix together.
- Add the flour and baking powder and mix until you get a non sticky dough.
- Take the dough and roll flat using a rolling pin, with thickness of about 0.2 inches or 0.5 cm.
- Using a cookie cutter or a small plate, cut the dough into small circles about 2 inches or 5 cm diameter.
- For the filling, mix the cheese with one egg and optionally the dried mint.
- Add a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the middle of a circle piece of dough. Cover with another round piece.
- Using a fork, seal the mini pie all around by gently pressing.
- Continue with the rest of the mini cheese pies until all the dough is done.
- Place the cheese pies on a lined tray. Beat one egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the pies.
- Bake in a preheated oven to 375℉ / 190℃ for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- For the cheese filling, you could use only feta cheese, or just ricotta or a mix of both.
- For the dough, you could use a vegetable oil of your choice instead of olive oil.
- For babies under 12 months, you should use a cheese low in sodium.
- Make sure you use strained Greek yogurt otherwise, you might need to add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the dough.
- Instead of dried mint, you could use a teaspoon of oregano.
🥣 Related
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