While some fresh fruits are available year round, such as apples, oranges, peaches, bananas, fresh cherries are only available for a limited time during the year. June is when we begin seeing the best ripen fresh cherries, but we do not have to wait to make delicious personal cherry pies with our grandchildren now.
Remember, this Grandma is perfect at making reservations . . . at restaurants. If this Grandma is going to make a recipe, it will be with grandchildren, and must be quick and easy to make. This Grandma was so excited to find a simple cherry pie recipe, which makes individual cherry pie cups. This is perfect for grandchildren as they do not have to fight over the size of the piece and each grandchild can make his or her own cherry pie. We do not have to wait until June to enjoy cherry pie, and can enjoy it now and later and learn the taste difference between canned and fresh cherry pie filling.
The personal cherry pie recipe comes from “Pillsbury: The Big Book of Easy Baking with Refrigerated Dough,” and has simple ingredients: 2 refrigerated piecrusts (from 2-crust box), softened as directed and one 21 ounce can of light cherry pie filling.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remember to cover the counters and floors in the kitchen with old towels for easy cleanup. With a 3 ½ to 4″ round cutter, cut 6 rounds from each crust and discard the scraps or just bake them on a baking sheet with some chocolate chips as an extra treat.
Fit the rounds into 12 ungreased regular size muffin cups, pressing gently. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of pie filling into each crust lined cup. Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until edges are golden brown and filling is bubbly. Makes 12, with each about 136 calories. Not a bad calorie count with light canned pie filling, but we must remember the vanilla ice cream to spoon on top!
Even the youngest grandchildren can participate in the entire recipe, once grandma opens the can and puts the cherry pie filling in a mixing bowl from which to spoon out two tablespoons.
The hardest part is getting the grandchildren to wait until they cool a bit.
But that is better than waiting until June for the fresh ripen berries. Then, just substitute fresh cherries as follows:
Filling: 4 cups fresh pitted cherries 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
For the filling: In a saucepan, combine the pitted cherries and 1 cup water over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Using a whisk, swirl the ingredients together, making sure that there aren’t any lumps in the cornstarch. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and lemon zest to the cherries. Cook the cherry mixture until it comes to a rolling boil. Cook 1 minute more, until thickened. Allow the cherry filling to cool slightly before filling the cups to bake.
Using fresh cherries came from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-thornton/mini-cherry-pies-recipe.html?oc=linkback
Of course, teaching grandchildren about taste differences between fresh and canned cherries is most fun when baking sweets. Try the recipe now with canned cherry pie filling and in June with freshly made cherry pie filling. Double the fun and double the
Joy,
Mema
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