Pot Luck Mini Carmine Pies

These "Grab-and-Go" mini cherry pies are perfect for large gatherings too menage unit of measurement or church potluck dinners. The dough tin live made days ahead and baked off when you lot select around "extra" time, which is a large help.

Guests (at to the lowest degree mine) appear to appreciate PIE at a potluck, but traditional pie tin live messy to serve, especially for children. These trivial "two bite" beauties are perfect. This recipe makes 24 pies, but the recipe doubles easily.

 

 

CRUST

1/2 cup butter  (room temperature)
3 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup flour

Mix amongst electrical mixer (I purpose my stand upwards mixer amongst paddle attachment) until you lot larn a smoothen dough. Wrap it inwards plastic too chill for nearly an sixty minutes (will also perish along good inwards refrigerator for several days).

FILLING

(1)  14½ ounce tin tart pie cherries packed inwards H2O
3/4 loving cup granulated saccharide (divided)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn starch
pinch of tabular array salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (do non exit out)
1 teaspoon butter

Drain the cherries, reserving the liquid. Pulse the cherries inwards the nutrient processor until fairly good chopped thus drain in i lawsuit again (I fifty-fifty press on the cherries a trivial to take excess liquid): ready aside.

 In a saucepan, combine 1/2 loving cup of the reserved cherry juice, HALF of the sugar, the cornstarch too a pinch of salt. Whisk till smoothen too select to a boil. When this mixture gets super thick (it volition rank FAST in i lawsuit it starts to thicken), take from estrus too stir inwards the balance of the sugar, the chopped cherries, the almond extract too butter. Stir until good mixed; allow cool piece you lot shape the crusts.

 Preheat oven to 375°. Cut the chilled dough into 24 pieces too roll each piece into a ball. Place one ball inwards each mini-muffin cup (no need to grease the pan).

Now, you lot select to purpose your fingers and push the dough across the bottom too upwards the sides of each mini-muffin space.  Better yet, if you lot select tart tamper or something similar, this measuring volition larn MUCH faster (just dip it inwards a trivial flour betwixt each use).  I purpose the rounded halt of the wooden tool that came amongst my Kitchen Aid meat grinder, it plant absolutely perfectly. Try too larn the crust edges but a trivial taller than the edges of each muffin loving cup (see 2d photo).

Fill each mini-crust 2/3 amount of the cherry filling. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes on the TOP RACK of your oven.   When the edges of the crust are lite golden brown, they are done. 

IMPORTANT:
Don't endeavour to take the cooked pies from the pan correct away. The filling stays hot for a while, thus allow them cool for a expert 25 minutes or so. You tin purpose a butter knife to assistance "lift" the pies out of the pan. 

BETTER YET: job the mini-muffin pan amongst mini-cupcake papers too that should solve any/all problems.

 

Delicious too FUN to Serve!!