summertime! everything is so lush and lovely right now, including the fruit trees. it's hard to get excited about buying groceries when there is fresh fruit all around for the taking, if you have access to a tree.
fortunately, we have a local organisation called not far from the tree which connects tree owners with fruit pickers. the spoils get dividing between the owners, the pickers, and various charities.
i had been "wait-listed" for a bunch of picks, but finally got a chance to pick some cherries the other day. woohoo! it wasn't a giant haul - you never know what you're going to get, harvest might be anywhere from 5 to 50 pounds - but it was enough to make something. and with a planned picnic on the island with some friends, i wanted something portable.
and so: mini pies!
the great thing about these is that since i baked them in a muffin tin, they fit perfectly into a cupcake carrier for taking to the beach.
i used smitten kitchen's all-butter flaky pastry, and mixed the cherries with a bit of sugar and cornstarch.
the key to making this a weensy bit easier: waxed paper. strips of waxed paper (along with buttering and flouring the muffin tin) allowed me to lift the tarts out easily. and it was also the easy way to transport the woven lattice tops onto the top of the fruit.
once again, i overfilled them. sigh. a lesson i will never learn.
they look a little messy, but wow, do they taste of summer!
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