Blood Orange Pie Bites

Are you a risk taker? Kristen of Dine and Dish asked that question awhile back on Twitter, and it had me thinking. My initial reaction was no. In January, I was at a meeting where they talked about saving for retirement and how you can set up your account to try and outperform the market, calling it a high risk investment. Not for me. Then there’s the whole gambling thing. I may participate a little, but I’m not spending tons when I do. I’d rather buy butter than lose money with some silly card game. But then I took a step back. I studied abroad in Ireland for a semester. I moved away, by myself, to a small town 2.5 hours away from anybody I knew. I even went snorkeling when I’m terrified of swimming. All high risk decisions. So where does that put me? And what does risk have to do with these Blood Orange Pie Bites? For starters, if I never took the risk to go snorkeling in the Bahamas, I wouldn’t have had my first blood orange fresh from the tree.

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Of course, you can argue that even if I didn’t go snorkeling in the Bahamas, I would have eventually stumbled upon blood oranges, but let’s face it – having one fresh from the tree is much more exciting than buying one at the grocery store. Plus I have memories attached to the fruit. Snorkeling around in the ocean while wearing a life vest (what? I’m not a good swimmer). Staying at a geology research center where the staff fed you surprisingly tasty home-cooked meals from canned ingredients (even the milk was powdered because fresh milk spoiled too soon when shipped in). Having no internet (or technology for that matter) for the week because it took 10 minutes just to send one email. Flying from the tiniest airport I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t have any of these if I didn’t take the risk.

The airport in San Salvador, Bahamas. Not kidding. That’s the building to check in and wait. The trailer is the security area where your bags are inspected.
From inside the airplane so you can see behind the airport.
But then there are risks I haven’t taken. Starting my own bakery business or becoming a full time blogger. Moving cross country and living on the west coast. Quitting my job without having a back-up plan. Would I love to do these things? Yes. Will I take the risk? I have no clue. I guess if/when the opportunity presents itself, I will decide if I will jump.

So about these Blood Orange Pie Bites. I didn’t want to call them tartlettes, not only because I already have a recipe for Blood Orange Tartlettes, but also because tartlettes to me are made in little tart pans, not mini muffin pans. Because I made these with pie crust, I decided pie bites would be more appropriate. The filling is the one I use in my Blood Orange Bars. They taste just like lemon bars but with blood oranges and pie crust.

 

 
Source: Filling adapted from Eating Out Loud