This is a very good recipe, but I just have one question. What is the purpose of the butter flavored shortening - can you leave it out? I could really taste it.

This made about 18 delicious little pies. You MUST seed the tomatoes, and strain off as much of the filling's liquid as possible (I used several layerings of cheese cloth), and cook down quite a bit longer than recipe suggests. 30-40 mins on a low setting should do it. It should be a total mush. Before filling the pies, brush each inside with olive oil. The salt in this recipe can be reduced, as can the amount of vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar, not white, as it has more flavor). You can also use a 13 x 9-in. jelly roll pan and roll out two rectangles of dough (top and bottom), spread a 3/4" layer of the tomato mixture, leaving a 1 inch margin around the sides of pie. Brush the edge with egg white, top with second layer of dough, and crimp around the edges. Brush with egg white, pierce with fork several times to vent, and bake in med-high oven until crust is golden brown and inside bubbles up through air holes. This is a savory/sweet dish, and is really good served with jalepeno jelly.

i really thought that this recipe was horrific the worst thing i have ever tasted