Nutella Banana Mini-Pies

This was one of those delicious accidents that stems from a set of wonderful circumstances that, at the time, seem entirely ordinary. I was making shepherd's pie and realized I purchased pie dough even though I didn't actually need any as I was using a mashed potato crust. Instead of freezing the dough (which I am too impatient to thaw later) or letting it go to waste I decided on the spur of the moment to put together a little dessert while I waited for the potatoes to finish boiling. Cue the very ripe bananas on the counter and I had a thought. What about Nutella? That delicious spread makes anything better. And thus, these were born, from preparation to completion, in the sixteen minutes that would have otherwise been time spent waiting. Feel free to change out the filling to suit your tastes and your cupboards. Any sort of jam or jelly would be yummy. As would any typical pie filling.

Nutella Banana Mini-Pies

2 rounds Prepared pie dough
2 Bananas; sliced
Nutella

Preheat your oven according to pie dough package directions. For mine, it was 425°F.

Start by unrolling your dough and laying on a smooth (lightly floured if needed) surface. Using a small circle cutter (a drinking glass also works) cut rounds out of your dough and set aside. Slice bananas into thin slices. Lay out one layer of your circles (saving an even number to cover them later!) and place three slices of banana on each. Top banana slices with approximately one teaspoon of Nutella. Cover each filled circle of dough with the remaining dough circles and seal tightly with a fork to ensure that the filling doesn't leak during the cooking process (don't worry if they make a little bit of mess though, that's normal).

Place pies on a lined cookie sheet and bake for approximated 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow them to cool slightly on a rack or plate and enjoy! These are wonderful on their own, but they would be equally as delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.