Quiche Lorraine is loved by my father. I never understood it until I made my own version. The creamy custard was wholly different from the tasteless, eggy things I had experienced thawed from the freezer at various gatherings over the years. Quiche had always been “fine”, but nothing to rave about. Then I made my own quiche Lorraine and it blew my preconceived notions about quiche away. These little bites are so delicious. Creamy and rich with some smokey, salty bacon. The perfect little bite for a party, breakfast options for the week, or to fill out a lunchbox.

These are a little time consuming because we are cutting our own crust rings and par baking the little crusts, but it is a great project for kids to help with! Many hands make light work. If you need a shortcut option, they make little puff pastry shells that would be lovely for this.

Quiche Lorraine was said to be developed in the Lorraine region of what is now France, but what used to be under German influence when the dish was created. The word quiche may have come from the German word for cake, “kuchen”. Traditional Quiche Lorraine did not have cheese, and I must say I like the custardy texture the filling gets when it is simply cream, egg, and bacon. Simple and lovely. Feel free to add a sprinkle of cheese, if you see fit.

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

2 store bought pie crusts

8 oz bacon

6 eggs (3 split into yolks + whites)

2 cups heavy cream

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ ground nutmeg

2 ¾” round cookie or biscuit cuter (or drinking glass)

Paper mini muffin tin liners

Instructions

1. Pull pie crusts out of fridge. They need to warm up for 15 minutes on the counter before you try to unroll them or they will crack. 
2. Chop your bacon into small pieces. 
3. Cook bacon in a large skillet until it is cooked through, dark brown, and slightly crispy. 
4. Separate three eggs into whites and yolks. Add your yolks to a large bowl. Save the whites to use in scrambled eggs or an omelet later. 
5. Crack three more whole eggs and add them to your yolk bowl. 
6. Add your 2 cups heavy cream, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg to your egg bowl. 
7. Add your cooled, cooked bacon.
8. Preheat your oven to 350℉.
9. Roll out your pie crust onto a large, lightly floured cutting board. You can also use a clean counter top. 
10. Roll your dough out with a rolling pin to thin it slightly. 
11. Cut circles with your 2 ¾” cooking cutter. Use whatever you have that is closest to that shape. A drinking glass may work great too! 
12. Spray your mini muffin tin with non stick baking spray. 
13. Gently press your dough circles into the mini muffin tin. 
14. Place a mini muffin tin liner on top of your dough, and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or dried rice. You just need something to weigh it down while it bakes. 
15. Bake for 10 minutes. 
16. Fill with your quiche filling and return to the oven. 
17. Cook for 10 minutes or until the filling is mostly set. This means the filling will be mostly solid, but may have a slight jiggle in the middle. Not as much as jello, but not rock solid either. 
18. Serve warm or room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the fridge within two hours of making.

Notes

• You can use precooked bacon here if you would like to save time or avoid the messy prospect of splattery bacon. You can also cook bacon in the microwave if you have littles you’d like to keep away from the splattery grease.
• Pie weights are important in this recipe! If you don’t use them, the pie crust will puff up and we won’t have any space to fill with quiche filling. You can see in the pictures below the effect not using pie weights has on the dough cavity.