Sitting around planning the New Year's Day meal, a thought occurred, we should have pie! Of course, we didn't plan it so we had to scrounge the cabinets to see what we had to work with.
I originally thought I would use a premade phyllo dough that was also in the fridge but then I remembered I saw a cream cheese crust that was quick, easy and didn't require refrigeration before use. I didn't find the exact recipe that I was thinking of but I did find Mom's Mini Cherry Tarts on the Hellow Little Home website. This is the first time that I've been on this site and looking around, there may be some other bakes from this site. We didn't have cherries to use, but we had canned peaches.
Using the butter and cream cheese crust recipe from Mom's Mini Cherry Tarts on the Hellow Little Home website, I prepared the 12 cup muffin pan.
Next, I took the peaches, placed them in a bowl with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cornstarch, butter, and peaches (cut in half or quarters depending on the size) including the syrup, then microwaved for 2 minutes or until there was a thickening of the syrup. Filling the crusts, I put them in the oven for 15 minutes. The recipe calls for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
So how were they? My guest loved them. I thought they could have been a little sweeter. I really liked the crust, the first time making it with cream cheese.
Here's the full recipe I followed.
Crust
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon (aka pinch) salt
Filling
- 15 oz can of peaches, cutting each piece in half
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Directions
- Mix together butter, cream cheese, flour, and salt together to form a ball.
- Divide into 12 equal pieces.
- Spray the muffin pan with nonstick spray, then place the 12 pieces in each muffin tin.
- Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides.
- Combine the filling into a microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave the filling for 2-3 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes.
- Divide the filling evenly into each muffin tin.
- Bake tarts for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
- Let tarts cool.
- (Optional) Top with whipped cream.
I sprinkled a bit of confectioner's sugar.
