What it is about mini cherry pies that makes them so much tastier than the regular sized ones? Perhaps they are easier to eat. Or the tiny crust-to-cherry filling ratio is better. Maybe it’s the cute factor.
For whatever reason, these mini pies were one of the most popular dishes at my sister’s book-themed baby shower last month. I made them using my standby pie crust recipe (seen here and here) and a jar of wild cherry preserves homemade by my aunt in Carlisle, Iowa.
The process for making mini pies is pretty simple as long as you have some biscuit cutters and a mini muffin tin. Here’s what I did:
- After rolling the pie crust to 1/4 inch thickness, I used a 2-5/8 inch biscuit cutter to cut the top and bottom crusts.
- Then I placed a bottom crust into each well of a mini-muffin tin, using my fingers to press the crust flat down into the tin.
- I put a 1/2 teaspoon of cherry preserves in each pie and brushed the edges of the bottom crusts with egg wash.
- I placed the top crusts on the filled pies, pinching the crust edges together with my fingers.
- Finally, I used the tip of a paring knife to cut four vent holes in the top of each finished pie before giving them a final brush with egg wash.
- I baked the pies for 35 minutes at 350, until the crust was golden brown.
A full recipe of double crust and 1 cup of cherry jam yielded 32 tiny pies.
This assembly method was effective, but next time I’d like to experiment to get a prettier finished product. Although the pies stayed sealed, I wasn’t happy with the fluting effect I got with my bare fingers and the muffin tin, plus the tops of the pies were lumpier than I wanted.
None of the guests at the baby shower complained about the fluting, so I’m not sweating the cosmetics here too much. Still, I’m eager for the next time I have occasion to make these so that can figure out a better way to attach the top crust. Any advice, fellow pastry-obsessives?