Mini Cherry Pecan Pies Food

MINI PECAN PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, butter, brown sugar, whiskey, vanilla, salt and eggs in a bowl.
• Divide the chopped pecans among the pie shells. Pour the syrup mixture over the top and put a whole pecan on top of each. Bake until just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool.

MINI CHERRY PIES

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the shortening and 1 stick butter; pulse until the flour looks like coarse meal. Add the remaining butter and pulse until it is in pea-size pieces. Add the egg yolk and 6 tablespoons ice water; pulse until the dough just begins to clump, adding up to 2 more tablespoons water if needed. Transfer the dough to a large sheet of plastic wrap and gather into a 2-by-12-inch log. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Put a baking sheet on the middle oven rack and preheat to 400 degrees F. Make the filling: Combine the cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and juice, and almond extract in a large bowl; toss until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries are coated. Set the filling aside.
• Cut the dough in half; cut one half into 6 pieces (keep the other half refrigerated). Roll each piece into a 6-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease each round into a 5-inch pie plate, letting the excess dough hang over the edge. Evenly divide the filling among the bottom crusts (the pies will be full).
• Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator and use to make the top crusts (see options below); assemble the pies. Brush the top crusts with the beaten egg and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Refrigerate the pies until firm, about 30 minutes. Put the pies on the hot baking sheet in the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until the crusts are golden and the fruit is bubbling, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

MINI CHERRY PIES

Steps:

• For the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Pulse the processor until the mixture resembles fine sand. Remove the lid and add the ice water to the mixture. Run the processor just until the mixture rolls itself into a little ball. If the mixture is a bit dry, add more ice water by the tablespoonful until it comes together. Gather the dough into a ball. With a bench scraper or knife, divide the mixture evenly in half. Shape each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.
• Cook's Note: At this point you can keep the wrapped dough in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze for later use.
• 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 while you prepare the crust.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 24 cup mini muffin tin or 2 (12 cup) mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
• Roll the dough disks out into 10-inch rounds on a well-floured work surface. With a 1 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, edge lightly dipped in flour, cut 24 rounds from the first rolled out disk. With a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, edge lightly dipped in flour, cut 24 rounds from the second rolled out disk. You should have a total of 24 (1 1/2-inch) rounds and 24 (2-inch) rounds for matching top and bottom crusts.
• Gently fit the 2-inch dough rounds into the bottom of the prepared mini muffin tin. Make sure to pat down the bottom and the excess coming up the sides. Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon cooled pie filling into each crust-lined cup. Fit the top of each mini pie with a 1 1/2-inch dough round, pushing down gently and sealing the bottom crust and top crust by crimping the edges together with a fork. With a sharp paring knife, make 3 small incisions on the top crust, to allow the steam to escape.
• Bake until the edges are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack, and then remove from the muffin tin.

MINI SOUTHERN PECAN PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place pecans on a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
• Mix sugar, eggs, light corn syrup, dark corn syrup, butter, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl; fold in pecans. Spoon 1/4 cup pecan mixture into each pie shell. Place pies on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pies are slightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

MINI CHERRY-PECAN STREUSEL LOAVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Butter and flour six mini loaf pans (each 5 3/4 by 3 inches). Make streussel topping: in a bowl, mix streusel ingredients with fingertips until most clumps form. Place in freezer.
• Make cherry-pecan batter: In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk butter, sugar, sour cream, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Mix in dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in dried cherries and pecans.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared pans; spread to fill corners. Place pans on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, then remove from oven and quickly sprinkle loaves with streusel topping.
• Return loaves to oven; bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool loaves 10 minutes in pans; turn out of pans, and cool completely, streusel side up, on a rack.