MR PENROY'S VACATION - A Meal for Joan Leslie

More test cooking for the Murder, She Wrote project.

Joan Leslie was 63 when she starred in Mr Penroy's Vacation, but in the 1940s, she was one of the best known teen stars in Hollywood. 
She provided a recipe for 

CHEESE PASTRIES

She certainly liked to make life easy for herself in the kitchen.
She says, "Either use a prepared pie crust or make your own." However, making her own entails blending a cup of grated cheese with a 'package of pie crust mix'. I did look for one of these 'packages' in the supermarket, but none were to be found, so I actually did have to make my own.
She also says to use 3 inch cutters to make the pastry rounds but this would not give the tall 'frilly' sides shown in the illustration with her recipe.

Here, then is the recipe with the addition of instructions to make the pastry for the pie crusts:

250g plain flour + extra for rolling
100g butter + extra for greasing
125g cheddar, grated as finely as possible
cold water as needed

Mix the butter with the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
Stir through the cheese.

Combine with cold water, a little at a time, mixing together with your hands until you have a firm dough.
Make into a ball and chill for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease the holes of the muffin tin and cut 12 circles from greaseproof paper using a pint glass as a template.

When the pastry is chilled, cut it into quarters and roll each out on a floured work surface. 
Cut circles with a diameter of about 4 inches/ 10 cm.
Place the pastry in the tin, prick with a fork, line with the paper and fill each hole with baking beans.

Bake at 425°F/ 220°C/ Gas 7 for about 10 minutes.
Remove the beans and paper. Replace in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes more until the pastry is dry and golden.
Allow to cool slightly, then remove from the tin and cool fully on a rack.

Then fill with chosen fillings.

I used 

• Cheddar and Coleslaw

• Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil

• Veggie Sausage, Spring Onion and Pickle