Mini Cherry Pies are the perfect dessert for pretty much any occasion you can think of. The crust is flaky, and the filling is sweet and tangy all at the same time. Because these are mini pies, you can literally take them on the go, and they fit in your hand perfectly!
Ingredients
For the Pie Dough:
2 1/2cups12 1/2 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1teaspoontable salt
2tablespoonssugar
12tablespoons1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2cupcold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
For The Pie Dough: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 pulses. Transfer mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. Using a folding motion, use a rubber spatula to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on floured work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut 12 circles out of the rolled dough. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting and chilling process with the remaining half of dough.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the plum and 1/2 cup halved cherries in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Strain puree through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract liquid; discard solids. Stir remaining halved cherries, sugar, salt, lemon juice, bourbon, tapioca, and cinnamon into puree; let stand for 15 minutes.
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature until just pliable, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Fit 1 dough round into bottom of each muffin cup. Pat down bottom with excess coming up sides.
Divide cherry filling among the muffin cups. With the remaining dough rounds, use a pizza cutter to cut thin strips of dough to create a lattice pattern on top of each pies. Place the muffin tin in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the chilled mini pies from the refrigerator and lightly brush with the egg wash. Bake until golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer muffin pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Carefully remove pies and serve.