Because it’s cherry blossom time in DC, because I had been wanting to try this for a while, because I opened a jar of cherry pie filling for Belgian waffles on Sunday and because cherry pie is amazing… I made mini pies the other day.

I did it the easy way — using refrigerated pie crust and pie filling from a jar. If you have time, it would be better to make your own crust. But I have made a lot of cherry pies from scratch and I still think this filling is is better, assuming you can’t find/buy sour cherries where you live. And (sadly) I’m not being paid to say that. You can get some here if you want.

You can make these super teeny by using a mini-muffin pan, but I used a regular muffin pan because I wanted a lot of filling. I found that my largest biscuit cutter didn’t make a big enough circle for the bottom layer of crust… and we don’t seem to have a protractor. So I traced the bottom of a large can of tomatoes on a piece of parchment paper and then cut around it to make a stencil. That wasn’t quite bit enough either, but it was close.

You’ll have a bunch of little pieces of crust left over from cutting the rounds for the bottom layers, so you can make more pies total if you do lattice tops (or hearts-and-crossbones) instead of full crusts with pieces cut out. Or, if you make your own crust, you can re-roll the scraps. Either way, try to wait until the pies cool before removing them from the pan. They come out a lot better that way.

Mini pies (Idea from Bakerella)
Pie crust (Refrigerated or homemade — enough for a double-crust pie)
Cherry pie filling (or whatever pie filling you prefer)

Spray or butter a muffin tin. Preheat oven to 425.

Roll out pie crust. Using a large biscuit cutter or large round stencil and a sharp knife, cut rounds large enough to fill muffin cups and hang slightly over top edge. (You should be able to do at least seven if using a regular-sized muffin tin)

Fill crust almost to top with pie filling, then cut crust scraps into strips or shapes and place on top in lattice or other decorative pattern. Press edges together and trim excess.

Bake until crust is golden brown (probably about 20 minutes, but check after 10). Allow to cool before removing from muffin tin.