Sweetheart Mini Cherry Pies Recipe from Mini Empire Bakery

 Totally sweet! In addition to my interview(s) with Morgan and Christy of Mini Empire Bakery, wherein we discuss their adorable new book Mini Pies: Adorable and Delicious Recipes for Your Favorite Treats, they were also kind enough to let me share one of the sweetest recipes from the book: Sweetheart Cherry Pies! Now, you know my feelings about fruit in dessert (too much like health food!), but in this case, as the buttery crust-to-filling ratio is high, they have a cute upgrade from hearts being placed on top, and there is the chance of topping them with ice cream, I find them beyond acceptable--I find them excellent.

Sweetheart Cherry Pies

• 1 pound fresh sweet cherries, pitted and diced in 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Pie crust (for one pie)
• 1/4 cup soy milk

Procedure 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter or cooking spray.
2. Combine the cherries, 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
3. On a floured surface, roll out the pie crust to thickness of 3/16 inch. Using a 4-inch diameter round cutter, cut 12 crusts. Re-form and re-roll dough as necessary, keeping plenty of flour on the work surface.
4. Using a mini cookie cutter of your choice, use leftover dough to cut out 12 small shapes as pie toppers (suggested: hearts).
5. Carefully shape crusts into the wells of the tin, crimping the edges with your fingers.
6. Fill each mini pie with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cherry mixture. Don't fill in too much juice with the cherries, or they will bubble over. Top each pie with one of the toppers.
7. With a pastry brush, brush the crusts with soy milk, then sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for several minutes in the tin, then carefully remove from the tin and allow to cool fully on a wire rack. To remove, try first to spin the pies in the muffin wells. If they need some help, run a butter knife along the edge of the crusts to pop them out of the in.
9. Serve, or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.