Truly Cherry Pies

Remember crazy Maryann and her hold over Tara? And when she had taken over Sookie's house, Tara and Eggs ate a bloody souffle? Season two was a while ago...yet is the inspiration for this True Blood cherry pie post. And now Eric has finally lost his memory! Out with the old, in with the new!



Sour Cherry Mini-Pies with Brown Butter Almond Crumble
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

One Basic Pie Crust for a 9-inch pie, store bought or homemade

For the Brown Butter Almond Crumble:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup whole oats, ground to a flour in a food processor
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup unsalted whole almonds, coarsely ground in a food processor

For the Sour Cherry Filling:
2 ¼ pounds fresh sour cherries, pitted, or 2 pounds frozen sour cherries, partially thawed
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1. Roll the chilled pie dough into a 12-inch round. Cut out 6 (5-inch) circles. (You might have to re-roll some of the scraps.) Place each of the 5-inch rounds into 6 individual (4-inch) tart pans with removable bottoms. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes, or place in the freezer for bout 15 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Make the brown butter for the crumble: Heat the butter in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat until the milk solids on the bottom are dark brown, about 6 minutes. Stir while the butter is melting to encourage the browning. You will know when the butter is ready by the nutty smell and the foam starting to recede. Transfer the brown butter to a medium heat-proof bowl to cool, making sure to scrape all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Set aside.

3. Make the sour cherry filling: Combine the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl, set aside.

4. When the brown butter has cooled a bit, add all of the remaining crumble ingredients. Stir to combine, and then use your hands to encourage clumps.

5. Assemble the pie: Remove the prepared pie tins from the refrigerator or freezer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cherries to the chilled pie crust. Spread them out and pack them down lightly with the spoon. Pour the remaining juices evenly over the cherries.

6. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the cherries. Transfer the pie tins to a baking sheet. Bake the mini pies in the oven for about 50 minutes, or until the juices are thick and bubbling up through the crumble topping. Remove to a wire rack and cool to room temperature before serving. Makes 6 mini-pies or one (9-inch) pie.

Sour Grapes (or Cherries)

Sour Grapes!

You leave such a bad taste.

Sour grapes!

I don't need you anyways!

I love that song. It might date me but I don't care. That song solidified my decision to buy a mountain bike while I was in college. I notoriously comparison shop until no more comparisons can be done. When it came down to the final decision on my Trek, all the bike dude had to say was, "The color's Sour Grape." Umm...Sold!!!

Basically, I like everything sour, not just my bikes or music. I guess a sour grape would technically be a raisin, but I hate raisins. Sour cherries on the other hand...amazing! Fresh sour cherries have a very short season so might I suggest, dried sour cherries. And might I suggest stirring them into your baked goods.

With all of the weekend trips that people take during the summer, one tends to need hostess gift ideas (if you are a thoughtful guest!). I think that fresh baked scones make an amazing hostess gift. The thing is, these scones taste best the day of, so if you make them the day before, just pop them into a 350˚F oven for 5 - 10 minutes just before you serve them so that they can warm up and crisp up. OR...you can just wake up a few minutes before your hosts and whip them up fresh for everyone. They don't take very long to throw together and your hosts will be SO impressed!

This is a classic cream scone recipe. I used the recipe from The New Best Recipe for this batch, but The Joy of Cooking has an almost identical recipe which is equally good. Regardless, you shouldn't be frightened of making scones. You don't need a rolling pin or any special tools. And they don't have to look perfect. Irregular shapes and craggy edges are what make scones unique. I originally made these to enjoy during Breakfast at Wimbledon. I hope you enjoy them!

Sour Cherry Cream Scones

(Adapted from The Best New Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup dried sour cherries, roughly chopped (or other dried fruit)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Sugar

1. Heat the oven to 425˚F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

3. Use two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingertips, and quickly cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Add the dried cherries and mix just to combine.

4. Stir in 1 cup of heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until the dough begins to form.

5. Transfer the dough, and all dry flour bits, to a countertop and knead the dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball. Pat the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 3/4-inch thick circle (about 8-inches round). Cut the dough into 8 wedges. Brush the tops with the 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Place the wedges on an ungreased baking sheet.

6. Bake until the scone tops are light brown, 12 - 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.