Mini Cherry Pies

I’ve been a bit swamped lately, and it shows in the backlog of photos waiting to be organized and posts needing to be written. My brain feels like a skipping stone on a pond—skimming across the surface without landing anywhere substantial. While I work on sorting through everything, I thought I’d share this scrumptious cherry pie recipe we stumbled upon recently.

Aliyah and I were at the local market when fresh cherries caught our eye. Before we knew it, we were snacking nonstop. Eventually, the idea of cherry pie popped into our conversation, and neither of us could shake it off. By the time we got home, the aroma of freshly baked pie was wafting through the kitchen. We didn’t have quite enough cherries for a full pie, so we made individual mini pies instead. I kept filling them until I ran out of cherries—and let me tell you, leftover cherry filling is a dangerous thing. Spoonful after spoonful, it’s like eating dessert straight from heaven.

The dough-making process is always a hit with the kids, though pitting cherries? Not so much. Without a cherry pitter, we sliced each cherry in half and manually removed the pits—a task that took a bit longer but was worth the effort. It’s messy, yes, but it’s also satisfying in its own way.

Individual Cherry Pie Recipe:

Yields 6 mini pies

Dough for single crust pie
3 cups pitted cherries
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
A squeeze of lemon juice
1 teaspoon cold butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a six-cup muffin tin.

For the filling: Combine the pitted cherries and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch thoroughly with a whisk to avoid lumps. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and lemon juice to the cherries. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a rolling boil, then cook for another minute until it thickens. Allow the cherry filling to cool slightly while you prepare the crust.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut it into disks. Gently press each disk into the muffin tin cups, ensuring the bottom is evenly pressed down. Spoon the cooled cherry filling into the crust-lined cups and top with a small piece of butter.

Using the leftover dough, roll it into a ball, re-flour your surface, and slice it into thin strips to create a lattice top. Lay the strips over the cherry-filled cups, pressing the ends into the bottom dough to seal them.

Bake until the edges turn golden brown and the filling bubbles up, around 12-14 minutes. Let the pies cool completely before removing them from the muffin tin.

Delicious!

There’s plenty more coming your way soon, including an exciting Father’s Day post this weekend. Keep an eye out for that!

Life is busy, but moments like these—baking with my daughter and creating something sweet—are what keep me grounded. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know how it turns out. Until next time, happy baking!

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