Fresh cherry pies packed with candied ginger and no refined sugars.
As part of my efforts to lower my impact on the environment I always try to buy foods that are in season. Just because you can buy a fruit or veggie year round, doesn't mean you should! It means that item had to travel far to get to your kitchen and alas, a large impact on the environment. So on that note since it's CHERRY SEASON, it's time to load up :)
These lil cuties don't use any refined sugar and are sweetened with only maple syrup. Specifically Runamok Maple's ginger infused maple syrup (YUM). The tarts aren't overly sweet, have a subtle tartness from the cherries and an extra ginger oompf from the candied ginger.
I like to use Bon Appetit's pie crust recipe, but of course use your favorite go-to.
Over the last two years I have been trying to find ways to cut out single use plastics in my life. If there's one thing that really upsets me it's using a plastic item for a few minutes, just to throw it away. Baking doesn't always make this easy, but I am always looking for ways to avoid this. Specifically using plastic wrap (I now refuse to buy it). So ONE eco-friendly baking tip you can walk away with today is you don't need to wrap your pie dough in plastic wrap when you put it in the fridge to rest!!! When your recipe calls for a lot of butter (which we all know, some do), save those butter wrappers to repurpose. In this case I split my dough into two smaller round and placed them on the butter wrappers to keep them separated.
I'm always looking for tips on how to limit my waste during baking so please, let me know any kitchen tips you use!
To get the cute tiny circles on the top of the pies I used a large piping tip! I used the narrow end on the larger pies (pictured left) and the wider opening for the smaller pies.
Use a chop stick or tooth pick to poke out the dough if it gets stuck.
Cherry Maple Ginger Pie
Makes about 2 Cups of filling
2 9in Rounds of Pie Dough
2 Cups Chopped Cherries
¼ Cup Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
¼ Cup Finely Chopped Candied Ginger
Pinch of salt
In a large bowl, mix together the cherries, maple syrup, and ginger.
Add a pinch of salt. Taste for desired sweetness.
Stir in cornstarch until fruit is fully coated. Put mixture to the side.
Roll out your dough till it's ¼ inch thick. Using a circle cutter the same circumference of your tart tin, cut out two circles.
Use one circle to line the bottom of your tin and press it up the sides to ensure it's entirely covered. Make sure there are no holes in the bottom for filling to seep through otherwise you will have trouble getting it out of the tin post bake.
Using a large piping tip cut small holes in the other round of pie dough. Great opportunity to take creative liberties :)
Place the cut round on top of your tin and press down the edges for a tight seal. Removing any excess dough from the edges.
For these small tins I baked them at 400℉ for 25 min, but this can vary based on the size of the pies you made. You want to make sure your oven is up to temperature and then keep an eye on them until they're golden brown.
Allow them to cool for a few minutes before flipping out of your tin.
Happy baking!