Mini Mexi Bites add a Little Spice to Brunch

Weekends are a great time to wind down and enjoy something out of the ordinary, like Mini Mexi Bites.  It seems that our weekday breakfasts rely too much on toast and cereal and fast scrambled eggs.  A little fun and variety makes sense on a Saturday when we’re not in a rush.  In fact, we often eat later in the morning so we usually make it a brunch.  This recipe is quick, easy, and outrageously good.  And the mini size is fun, too!

Basically, you mix the filling together, cut pastry rounds out of refrigerated pie crust, press the crust into muffin tins, fill, and bake!  You could also make your own crust, which I’m guessing would be even better, but this time around I followed the recipe and used refrigerated crusts.

Start by spraying your muffin tins with non-stick spray or buttering them, as I did.

Then, put all the filling ingredients except the cheese into a bowl.  I added some chipotle chili powder, too – about ¼ teaspoon – for a little extra kick.

Your mixture will look like this.

Now, add the cheese and mix it all together.  That’s it – your filling is done!

To make crusts for your mini muffin tins, use a 2 ½ inch cookie or biscuit cutter.  I tried a straight and a scalloped edge just for fun.  (The scalloped edge didn’t look different than the straight edge in the finished bites, but it was worth a try to see what the effect might be!)

I didn’t get 12 circles out of each crust, so I gathered up the scraps….

…and rerolled them to make enough crust to fill both muffin tins.

Working quickly before the dough gets too soft, press the cut-out circles into the mini muffin tins.  Be sure to get the crusts eased all the way in, to maximize room for the filling.  Press them in gently, being careful not to poke any holes with your fingernails or create thin spots in the crust.

When the crusts are ready, simply fill them using a spoon.

When they’re all filled, put them in the oven.  Now you can make some coffee, cut up fruit or make a salad, and you have a nice brunch ready to go by the time the mini quiches are done.  Weekend guests will be impressed, and you don’t ever have to mention how easy they were!  I made a spring greens salad with a balsamic dressing.  (If you’d like to make a special salad, try the Maple Balsamic Dressing recipe on the site.)

To serve, run a dull knife around the edge to loosen, and pop them out and onto a decorative serving plate.

Or, serve them in a trio with your side salad or fruit.  Elegant!

Weekend meals deserve to be more fun, and these tiny treats certainly were.  In fact, these Mini Mexi Bites were so good they were addictive.  I started thinking about whether I had enough of the ingredients left over to make them again – right away!  We ate these warm, but I bet they’d be good cold, too.  They would also make great appetizers.  Next time I want to make them with homemade pie crust to see how they turn out.  I hope you’ll give them a try; let me know if you do and if you have any comments.

And be sure to visit the blog in a few days when Becky makes melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk biscuits.

Liz is paid to write for the Land O'Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.