"We brought this product home today and had to try it right away with our Grandchildren. We had so much fun preparing the dough and setting everything up. The original batch was good but the edges of the pies were over done when we used pie dough. The second batch we used puff pastery for the tops and they came out much better. Very easy to use and a lot of fun to do with kids."

"Great product except for the edges of the pies burning. They don't look too appetizing when the edges are black. Does it make a difference depending on the shortening in the dough?"

"I wanted to add to my previous review of the pie maker. We have found a new use for it. I make muffin batter from scratch that can be left in the fridge and used as needed. This little machine does a great job of cooking muffins either from this scratch recipes or the little packets you can buy that just need water added. Now the maker never leaves the counter. We can have hot fresh muffins every morning with little or no fuss, and minimal clean up!!"

"This little pie maker is great, much nicer quality than others I have seen in the stores. I have made several different types of pies in it and have yet to have a flop. I use pastry made from scratch, regular for the bottom crust and quick puff or sour cream pastry for the top. Fruit and meat pies both turn out great. My husband packs a lunch everyday and these fit the bill nicely, he can have a filling that needs warmed up or if he is not going to be by electricity a filling that is good cold. The only problem I have is getting the pies done and in the freezer before they all get eaten!"

"I am originally from New Zealand and Australia so know Breville products very well. My husband bought me the Pie Maker for Christmas as I have really missed my Aussie Meat Pies.
I rolled the pastry too thin at first and had to discard two bases as they flopped and folded
I have now made Peach pies, Rasberry Pies, Meat pies(Australian recipe) I have found that Pappy's frozen Pie Crust dough is great for the base and Pepperidge frozen Puff Pastry works for the tops. My husband loves them and I can finally have a meat pie watching the football."

"Love it so far. Just made beef savory pies and only two remain after I made two batches. Yes, I have yet to eat one. Some types: I tried using ready made pie crusts for both top and bottom (neither fridge nor room temperature - just took out of fridge, preheat, cut out circles and put in machine) and puff pastry for both top and bottom (thawed in fridge for 5 hrs. still a little hard). I cooked pie crust in 10 minutes and puff pastry in 8 minutes. I live in LA, so it seemed to cook it a little faster than instructions said. It’s best to preheat the machine at least three cycles. I only did the two cycles and half my batch came out more brown than the other two. Also, you should buy the pie lifter at Williams-Sonoma. It's a life saver!!!"

"I finally broke down and bought this pie maker after eyeballing it several times in the local Williams-Sonoma store over a period of months. :-)

Not disappointed one bit, it has worked well since the first batch. The woman in the WS store also confirmed that though puff pastry is the suggested way to go, just mounding the fillings a bit more and using regular but chilled pie dough on top works just as Diane writes. We live at a pretty high altitude in Colo. and I am finding the pies bake a little quicker than what is suggested in the materials, so chilling the dough slows that process a little bit.

Here is a question for you Breville folks... where to find the paper mini pie/tart cups to fit these pies for a nicer presentation? I cannot find them anywhere, even eBay. Ideas?"

" just bought this yesterday and used this morning. I am a professional and I have found a few helpful tips to make the pie-making process go smoother with this appliance. For the sake of ease, I used Pillsbury refrigerated, rolled, pie dough for both top and bottom crusts.
1. The longer I had it on, the better it performed. The third batch definitely was better than the first.
2. After one batch of experimenting, I decided to cut all of my pie circles and then chill them for 30 min. prior to putting in the machine. I know it says to use room temp. dough, but I found chilled dough browned better and yielded a more flaky, tender dough.
3. Use a ROUNDED 1/3 c. of filling. If you don't have them full enough, the top crust won't touch the top plates, therefore leaving them undercooked.
4. After removing from the machine, place pies on a cooking rack to cool. That way the bottom crusts won't get soggy. If you want to reheat them, do so on a cooking rack over a sheet pan in the oven.

~Breville Response~

Hello Diane,

Thank you so much for those GREAT tips on the Personal Pie Maker!

Though we don't actually recommend any one brand of dough to use, what we have found is that puff pastry for the top is pretty forgiving. It will puff up with the heat, brown nicely, and be very flakey.

We do recommend that the dough be room temperature just to make sure it cooks thoroughly and browns completely.

We do know that personal preference always plays a role in any baking experiment and our recipe's are just a guide line to get a standard result. It's so great to hear someone using those recipes and changing them up to make their own!

Thank you so much for those great tips and enjoy your baking!

Renee~"

"I got the pie maker for my birthday. tried it. the ready light doesn't work and it burns the edges a little bit. other then that it works pretty good."

"I got this pie maker last December but hadn't got around to using it till yesterday, and what a perfect pie it makes! I make my own savory pie crust and 11 minutes as specified in the instructions is perfect! The pies come out perfectly evenly cooked all around. I would highly recommend this product to anyone who loves pies."