Sour Cherry Mini Galettes, a buttery, and flaky homemade pie crust with a delightful, juicy and plump topping made of our homemade sour cherries in syrup. A lovely handheld dessert.
Song of the day: "Dog days are over" by the amazing Florence + The Machine.
Hello, everybody, how are you doing? I am finally feeling better and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It has been quite a cold, Loreto can attest to that, since, unfortunately, he couldn't escape his destiny (yes, I passed it to him, amongst some very generous people at work, poor guy!).
It's a week since we're back from Salt Spring Island, and even if both of us were not feeling 100 percent, we still managed to do a lot of stuff in the house, in the backyard, and of course, in the kitchen. The backyard is looking good, ready for some serious planting, although here they all have one thing to say: "Wait after May long weekend!". I've learned to trust that, during the years, because the weather likes to play some tricks on us and dispense some "white fluffy stuff" (I don't even want to mention it) on all our plants and flowers if we do some gardening before that time. So, I guess we'll wait a couple more weeks, and in the meantime, Loreto is hanging some vintage lights on the tree, cleaning the pond, getting the waterfall going, putting out the outdoor furniture. We want to have a backyard party as soon as possible, with some friends and lots of good food!
The oven is always going full throttle, and today I have for you some ultra cute and delicious Sour Cherry Mini Galettes with my favorite and trusted pie dough from the Duchess Bake Shop Cookbook. For the filling, I wanted to use up the rest of the sour cherries in syrup we did last summer (one day I will post the recipe). If you don't have sour cherries you can use any fruit you like or have in the fridge. It would be better to use seasonal fruit, naturally sweet and juicy, but that is not always possible, especially at our latitudes where unfortunately we have to rely -mostly- on imported fruit from other countries for most of the year.
Pie dough done and rested, I cut it into 4-inch (10 cm) rounds. The thickness, about ½ cm (¼-inch) not too thin, nor too thick. Arrange about a tablespoon of the fruit in the center of the dough and fold in the outer edge overlapping the pastry (making nice pleats), leaving the center filling exposed. For some additional color, I usually brush an egg/water mixture on the dough and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top (which will also give an additional crunch).
They say that meditation is good for you and makes you feel happy and peaceful. Well, baking for me is a meditation in one-pointedness in the moment. It makes me feel happy and peaceful and that in itself is good for me! Especially when these Sour Cherry Mini Galettes look so beautiful and knowing they are going to be delicious and people enjoying them brings me joy.
The rustic appeal and the texture of these Sour Cherry Mini Galettes always have my undivided attention along with my appetite. This is where patience is not my virtue and I want to bite in immediately (which I always do, lol).
Fresh out of the oven I anxiously put one on a plate, but no fork for me, I hold it in my hand and a bite reaches my mouth in no time. The look on my face tells the story to a "T" ahhhhhh, bliss. The crust crispy and light with a nice balance of buttery. The sugar caramelized, crystallized, and feels like candy to my tongue, then out of nowhere, I am awakened with the flavor and slightly tart sour cherries in all their plumpness and glory. I just love the pool of that syrupy juice that just glazes this fruit, and how the tart, sweet, and somewhat savory dance so well in unison, leaving me with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. If meditation is something that you have trouble with, or you just want some joy in your life, take out the baking equipment and start creating, then enjoying these Sour Cherry Mini Galettes!
Song of the day: "Dog days are over" by the amazing Florence + The Machine.
PrintSour Cherry Mini Galettes (and a Blogger Recognition Award)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: makes about 8-10 mini galettes 1x
Ingredients
- For the pie crust:
- 2 cups organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- ½ cup vegetable shortening, cold, cubed
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup ice-cold water
Filling
- Sour cherries in syrup
Topping
- 1 egg, beaten + 1 tsp water
- turbinado sugar
Instructions
- For the pie crust:
- Place the flour, butter, shortening, salt in a stand mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until the you see crumbles and the mixture seems a bit dry. Do not overmix.
- Add the ice-cold water and mix on medium speed until the dough just comes together. You should still be able to see lumps of fat in the dough.
- Shape the dough into 2 flat disks, wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. At this point you can freeze one disk if you want to make half the amount (it will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months).
- After the 30 minutes, or more, in the fridge, take the dough out, lightly flour your work surface and place the cold pie dough, sprinkling some more flour on top. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough from the centre outward.
- While rolling out your dough, keep rotating it, lightly flouring the surface under the dough as well as the top, as needed to prevent from sticking. Roll the dough to about ½ cm thick. Using a biscuit round cutter, cut rounds of dough and place it onto 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Arrange about 1 tablespoon of sour cherries in the middle, fold in outer edge, overlapping pastry, leaving centre filling exposed.
- Brush lightly the egg/water mixture on the folds and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Arrange racks in lower and middle position in oven.
- Bake at 375° F (190° C), rotating pans once, for about 25 minutes, or until pastry is evenly golden.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
And now about the Blogger Recognition Award:
What a surprise and honour to be linked into a blogger appreciation chain by Liz @ Bubble Tea for Dinner! Liz is a sweet girl from Montréal who makes incredible desserts (and other stuff, but you all know I LOVE desserts) that make me want to lick the screen. So, go check her out, you're going to love her. Thank you, Liz, for mentioning us!
Now, following the rules of the nomination, I must give a couple of blogging advice (these are things I remind myself frequently with):
- Your blog is a reflection of you and you are unique. Do not look at other blogs trying to make comparisons and questioning if you're doing it well. Just remember that you started because you love doing what you're doing, and have fun!
- Be patient, it takes time as you begin to develop your blog. You will learn so much about the blogging world both socially, and technically. Don't be afraid to reach out for help, the food blog world is a friendly and resourceful place.
Here are some wonderful bloggers, amongst many others, (in no particular order) who I would like to nominate for the blogger recognition award (participation is optional):
- Annika @ Conifères et Feuillus
- Mélanie @ The Nomadic Wife
- Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
- Pamela @ Brooklin Farm Girl
- Sean @ Diversivore
- Karrie @ Tasty Ever After
- Annie @ Ciao Chow Bambina
- Dana @ Killing Thyme
- Maria @ She Loves Biscotti
- Marisa @ Marisa's Italian Kitchen
- Kathy @ Beyond The Chicken Coop
That's how it works:
- Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
- Write a post to show your award.
- Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers (and maybe a brief story of how your blog started).
- Select 10-15 (or whatever number) other bloggers you want to give this award to.
- Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated and provide the link to the post you created.
That's it for today!
Ciao!
Disclosure: All links in our post are NOT affiliate links. They are only about products we normally purchase, or places and blogs we like.
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Milena | Craft Beering says
Nicoletta, these bring back so many memories! When I was born my granddad planted a sour cherry tree for me. He planted a tree for each grandchild. Growing up I was never a huge fan of the fresh fruit itself, but my grandma's sour cherry syrupy concoctions and preserves were amazing. She put them on crepes, inside cakes, you name it. I even remember eating ice cream with sour cherry syrup drizzled on top of it under the tree...So glad you are feeling better!
Thank you so much, Milena! We love sour cherries, and it's beautiful what your grandpa did for his grandchildren! I can just imagine how amazing your grandma's treats were!
Diane Galambos says
Anything with sour cherries - I love. Maybe it's the connection to European culture - they always use sour cherries. So, am adding this to my "try it" list. Great tips for new bloggers - only just had my year two anniversary - still learning all the time. Delighted to hear of your much deserved recognition. :)iane
Thank you Diane, despite my sweet tooth, I do not like sweets that are too sweet, and I find sour cherries to be the perfect complement to a buttery galettes. Hope you try them, thank you!
Jessica (Cooking in my Genes) says
These are just the cutest dessert! I actually have a jar of sour cherries from the farmer's market just waiting to be made into something delicious and now I have this perfect recipe to do so!
Aren't they super cute?? I love the look of mini sized desserts, and they also took some guilt out of eating sweets 😉 . Thank you!
Amanda says
These mini galettes look delicious! I agree they don't need a fork! So much more fun eating them from your hand!
Congrats on the blog nomination and I am so happy that you two enjoyed your well deserved vacation!
Glad you agree, Amanda, it's like eating a hand pie...you don't need a fork! 🙂 Thank you so much!
diversivore says
First of all, let me talk about this dessert. It's PERFECT. Everything Duchess does (including that cookbook) is exquisite, and you've done that dough a great service by pairing it with sour cherries. I adore sour cherries, especially in pie. I think it's a gigantic shame that more people don't know about them and how delicious they are. Hopefully with more recipes like this, people will become eager to try them out.
Secondly - congratulations on your blogger recognition award, and thank you SO MUCH for nominating me! I'm truly honoured. This community of ours is a wonderful one full of wonderful people and I'm so pleased to be considered by you, and alongside all those other wonderful bloggers. You guys are amazing. Cheers.
Thank you so much, Sean, I adore sour cherries as well, going to make more batches of jam and sour cherries in syrup as soon as we can put our hands on some.
Liz | Bubble Tea For Dinner says
Your pies look so inviting, your *backyard* sounds so inviting (with twinkly lights and water? oh wow). I bet you have the best dinner parties. I've never worked with sour cherries before, only sweet, but I do have a jar of them in my pantry, and you're making the idea of turning them into something crispy, crusty and handheld sound like the way to go. Thanks for the kind words as well, and I'll definitely check out all your nominations! ( I also find cooking to be a kind of meditation -_-)
Thank you Liz, our backyard is small but pretty and serene. we often have people in the neighborhood stop by just to have a look 😉 . The mini galettes are awesome with the sour cherries!
Denise @UrbnSpice says
These are delightful individual desserts and what a wonderful way to feature sour cherries, Nicoletta. It is a sure sign that you are feeling better when you want to bake something delicious. Congratulations to both of you on your blog nomination - it is so well deserved.
Thank you so much, Denise! I like baking individual desserts, and pies and tarts are my favorite.
annika says
Hope both of you are feeling 100% now. A cold can be such a nasty thing! I've drooled over your blog and tried quite a few of your recipes to not be surprised by any of the delights that come from your kitchen. And this dessert looks like another winner! I am sheepishly raising my hand to Sean's comment about not knowing sour cherries. Can you believe? I have never tried them but I will certainly be on the lookout for them now. Next, congratulations on your well deserved nomination!! You blog is a reflection of how much time and energy you put into it and more importantly, the passion that drives you so it comes as no surprise! Thank you also for sharing such amazing blogging tips. For someone who is relatively new at this, it's really encouraging to hear this from someone who is well established. Lastly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for nominating me! I am truly honoured and even more to be in such good company!
Still not 100 % but getting there. Thank you Annika! You have to try sour cherries, they are amazing to work with. Last summer we made these sour cherries in syrup and sour cherry jam, both gone now, they were incredibly delicious. And you and your blog are incredible!!
annika says
Glad to hear that! My husband comes from a European background so I asked him if he had ever had sour cherries... he informed me that he had and so did I! His grandmother would make an amazing cake with them, only I did not know that is what they were! I will definitely get some and start cooking/baking with them! By the way, my arugula is growing nicely... still babies but doing well.
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
I am such a sucker for mini desserts! There's something about them that is just so cute and it's like my very own sweet present, ya know? These come together so quickly and would be perfect for serving family and friends when they visit. How wonderful would it be to serve them this and some coffee? Thank you SO much for nominating me!!!! I really appreciate that and am truly honoured that you would consider me. Blogging has been a lot of work, but a wonderful learning experience. It has been so lovely meeting fellow bloggers such as yourself. Everyone is so supportive and it makes this whole blogging thing that much more fun. Many thanks! xo
You're welcome, Dawn! We met some incredible people through the food blogging experience as well! And yes, these galettes would be so good with an espresso, in the company of friends and family 🙂 .