Yesterday it was cupcakes.

Today it’s small and savory pies, baked in ramekins, cups, heatproof bowls or even, if you’re on the go, hand-held turnovers. These are stuffed with something savory.

For the home cook, this means mastering a flaky, butter-rich short crust.

I’ve never been a pastry master myself, but recently had success with the aid of a food processor. And if I can, you can.

Professionals, such as chef Sheldon Simeon of Maui’s popular Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop, employ equipment and conditions most of us don’t have.

Pot pies and hand-held turnovers are a centerpiece of Leoda’s homey menu in tiny Olowalu, Maui. A key tool for pros is a sheeter, along with a controlled-atmosphere kitchen, and considerable skill.

A sheeter is a sort of pasta machine that runs pie dough quickly through a press that rapidly forms layer upon layer of rich pastry.

Pros also work in cool kitchens. They may even have a marble rolling surface, because marble retains cold.

Still, said Maui-born Simeon, who has grown up in the Hoaloha Na Eha restaurant ohana (Old Lahaina Luau, Aloha Mixed Plate, Star Noodle), “It is a LOT of work to make short dough from scratch.”

When the Leoda’s folks were designing their menu, they visited mainland bakeries, then came home to test and retest until they found a crust that would hold up to handling without “exploding-crumb” syndrome, and not become soggy. “Something light and flaky that won’t soak up too much of the filling,” he said.

They knead their butter by hand but use the sheeter to get the texture and thinness they want, he said.

Home versions needn’t be quite this complicated, but it takes a little effort to get them right.

Your friends in making great pastry are cold and time. From Carole Walter’s recent cover story on lemon meringue pie in the April/May Fine Cooking magazine, I learned two tips that have made a big difference: Chill everything (not just the butter and water, but the dry ingredients, too), and lumps aren’t a bad thing.

I don’t own a sheeter or a marble rolling board. (Or even the rolling pin socks that Walter uses.) And I wasn’t about to go all Julia Child and make real pate feuilette (puff pastry).

That marathon challenge involves making a wet flour-water-melted-butter dough, then chilling it. Then cutting butter into pieces and rolling it out in between two sheets of plastic wrap and chilling it. The dough is rolled into a rectangle and the butter positioned on top. The edges are folded in, the dough is rolled out into a dough-and-butter sandwich. Then rolled again. About eight times.

I love cooking, but I’ve got other things in my life. Besides, puff pastry is too flaky. It’s best in pastries. For a pot pie you need something a little more sturdy.

Long before, I had learned from an elder baker of my acquaintance that a mixture of butter and vegetable shortening makes a sturdier crust. She was talking about almond cookies, but I use the idea for crust, too, as does Walter. I used a combination of salted butter and frozen butter-flavored shortening.

And here’s where I chickened out and still got great little minidinners. I didn’t do a bottom crust (this despite the fact that crust, as far as I’m concerned, is the reason for pie). If you do use a bottom crust, try this trick based on one from Walter: Scatter the bottom of the filled pie pan with toasted cracker crumbs (saltines, soda or even leftover matzo meal from Passover).

Walter’s recipe, which is quickly pulsed in the food processor, then chilled at least one hour before use, leaves bits of butter floating in the dough which melt during baking, making for a flaky crust.

I also made the pie mixtures a day ahead of time and made them rather thick so that the liquid wouldn’t boil up and overcome even the top crust. Then I refrigerated them to further thicken.

The day of the photo shoot, I made pot pies in every container I could think of: a scalloped Italian soup bowl, a small oval Emile Henry baker, single-size Pyrex-type ramekins and a Polish-made, brightly painted hexangular bowl. Disposable miniature pie tins would have been fine, too.

Some I covered completely with crust; on others I just plopped with shapes cut out (look in your cupboard; you’ll be surprised what you find). I ate so much crust I was almost sick.

I got so lost in doing that, I forgot to make a turnover, but I made one later and it was a dream. Just take care not to overfill and be sure to seal well: paint with a little water or egg wash, seal with the tines of a fork.

If you decide to use an egg wash, here’s an important tip: Don’t leave pools of wash on top; they’ll scramble and form ugly yellow deposits. Sop up any pools with the tip of a paper towel before baking.

Altogether, making several pot pies took me about half an hour for dough assemblage, an hour for cooking the filling and a busy hour making bunches of different shapes. They bake in about half an hour.

Final tip: Pot pies and turnovers don’t hold well. They’re best served fresh-baked. But they’re readily made ahead; leave them raw, cover them tightly with plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze. Bake them frozen, allowing a bit more time.

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Contact Wanda Adams at wandaadams@clearwire.net or via her website at www.ourislandplate.com.