Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Mini Cherry Muffin Cup Pies

Mini Cherry Muffin Cup Pies

I stopped by the fruit cart vendor the other day when I was out walking Hadley and realized that the summer bounty of fruit is waning.  I'm so going to miss the cherries.  I look forward to seeing them all year and they are the sign that summer has arrived.  And when they go, I know summer is passing.  Too soon, too soon.  But I decided to take advantage of the last ones I could find to make just one more recipe with them.

Mini Cherry Muffin Cup Pies
Sweet, simple, portable little cherry hand pies.  Homemade crust, sweet, sweet cherries and no fuss.  These were so easy to eat and so quick to disappear.  And now I may have to wait until next summer to make them again.  I think they'll end up in all our picnic baskets.  Enjoy!









Ingredients

Crust:
1 Stick unsalted butter, well chilled and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 Cup all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup ice water

Filling:
2 Cups cherries, pitted and sliced
1/3 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
Dash of salt

Mini Cherry Muffin Cup Pies
To make the crust, combine the butter, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a food processor with a steel blade and pulse just until it resembles course crumbs. Slowly pour in the ice water and pulse just until combined and a dough ball forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

To make the filling, combine the cherries in a bowl with the sugar, lemon juice, flour and salt.

After the dough has chilled, roll it out on a well-floured surface to about a 10" circle, more or less.  Using a 3 1/2" round cutter, cut out 6 circles.  Re-roll the scraps and cut out an additional 6 circles using a smaller, 2 1/2" cutter.  You should have just enough dough for the 12 circles.  Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and nest each of the larger circles into the wells of the pan.  Divide the filling equally into each well and cover with the smaller dough circles.  Pinch the ends of each mini pie to seal it and cut a slit on the top for steam to vent.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until the tops are a light golden brown.  Makes 6 mini pies.

13 comments:

  1. Summer fruit is dwindling down here too. It's sad to see it at the farmers market. I'm really going to miss all the summer produce including cherries.
    Nice to see a recipe for 6 little pies. Glad I kept my 6-cup muffin tin. I haven't used it in so long and thought about donating it. Nice to see there still are recipes out there for small batches.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh these pies. They need to be in front of me right now. And not just one! Since they're mini and all...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wait? You mean you tell me you put down all 10 pounds of the cherries you already had? Impressive! Also I like the idea of mini cherry pies, it's the perfect excuse to go for a second one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I need to stock up on some fruit before it's too late! I will miss them too..cherries and all the berries.
    These pies look fabulous Anita :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great idea! Pies overwhelm me. These little individual ones are just perfect. So cute too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These look terrific, Anita!!! Marvelous idea for the last of the summer cherries...sniff, sniff...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anita these are so great!! love that they are individually sized... =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like portable. This way, I can eat and walk at the same time. These are a definite winner!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sigh...the end of summer always makes me sad but I LOVE the fall and it just means Christmas is coming (wahoo!). These cherry pies look delicious, Anita. Plus they're small so that means I can eat more, right?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Big large pies are nice but these are nicer. cute idea and this one is keeper.

    ReplyDelete
  11. When I saw this on FB I knew I wanted to make them. Those are so perfect for me because I like lots of crust with my pie!

    ReplyDelete
  12. These are gorgeous. I wish I lived nearby so I could come over and sneak a few while you weren't looking.

    I scored some cherries in St Jacobs, but I know they won't last long. I will miss my favourite fruit. I wish I could eat them all year long.

    ReplyDelete

We'd love to hear from you!