Well, I don’t know if this is one that counts as a d.i.y., but you can bake it yourself. For the last few Valentine’s Days I’ve been making Mini Cherry Pies for my hubby. He loves them, and they make a great dessert for the day.
All you need is enough pie crust for a two crust pie. You can make it yourself, or use the pre-made one. You also need one can of cherry pie filling. I used a large biscuit cutter to cut out the bottom crust, and rolled it just a bit with a rolling pin. I also leave the bottom crust a little thicker. The thicker crust makes it a bit easier to remove. Make sure you flour your surface well, pie crust dough is sticky stuff.
Pre-heat your oven to 375 F, and grab your favorite 12 ct. muffin tin. I like to add a little shortening to each of cups on the muffin tin, and dust it with just a bit of flour. Once your tin is prepared, carefully add in the dough circles. Patience is the key with this one. Gently press the dough into the bottom of the tins, and carefully up the sides. Leave a little crust at the top, so they are easier to remove.
Add in a small spoonful or two of the cherry pie filling to each of the mini pie shells, and top off the little treats with a decoration of your choice. Lattice tops are extra cute. I free-form cut little hearts for mine on Valentine’s Day.
Pop them in the pre-heated oven and bake them for 10 minutes. At ten minutes remove them from the oven, and top the entire muffin tin with aluminum foil. Return the tin to the oven, and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes. Keep checking it, so your crust doesn’t burn. I know every oven is different, I think my batch of 12 mini pies took about 25 minutes to be just right.
Once the pies are all finished baking, let them sit in the muffin tin to cool. Once they are cool, carefully remove them with a small spoon, and place them on a rack to cool.
Again, patience is key with removal. They are delicate, and some might not transfer perfectly, but you can eat those, or serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side if it isn’t just right.
Well I had better get to the kitchen, and start making some pie crust dough. Happy Valentine’s Day!
