Mini Cranberry Meringue Pie
I made these a little bit ago when I was on my cranberry kick, but they were too good not to share. The combination of the pate sucree (the pie crust), cranberry filling, and meringue in one bite was delicious. This comes from a Martha Stewart recipe.
Pate Sucree
- 1 1/4 C Flour
- 4 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 C Cold Butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 Lg Egg Yolk
- 2 T Ice Water, plus more if needed
Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add yolk; pulse. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube; process until dough just holds together (no longer than 30 seconds). Shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
Ingredients & Directions:
- Flour, for work surface
- Pate Sucree
- 3 1/4 C Fresh Cranberries, (12 ounces)
- 1 1/2 C Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Orange Zest, plus 1/4 Cup Orange Juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- Pinch of Ground Cloves
- 3 T Cornstarch
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- Pinch of Cream of Tartar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick.
Cut out 4 1/8-inch fluted rounds, and fit into cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Pierce bottoms with tines of a fork. Freeze 15 minutes. 
Line each shell with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans (I used almonds and saved them for another cooking project). Bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Return to oven; bake until bottoms are just turning golden, 5 minutes more. Transfer to wire racks; let cool 5 minutes. Remove shells from tin; let cool completely.
Bring 2 cups cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 5 minutes.
Pour through a coarse sieve, or cheese cloth; discard solids. (You should have about 1 3/4 cups; if you have less, add water).
Bring strained cranberry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, the zests, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining 1 1/4 cups cranberries to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir cornstarch, orange juice, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl; whisk into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 1 minute.
Divide among prepared shells. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour (up to overnight).
Preheat broiler. Put egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar into the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch. Attach to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until foamy. Raise speed to high. Add cream of tartar; beat until medium, glossy peaks form.
Divide the meringue evenly among pies.
Set pies under broiler until tops are browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
(Steven)
