Cheerwine Cherry Goat Cheese Mini

By Ashley Lankford, Pastry Cook and Hannah Lily, Pastry Team Member at The Omni Grove Park Inn 

Recipe:

Cherry Pie Filling

• 1 1/4 c Tart dried cherries
• 1/4 c Cherries in juice, drained
• 1/2 c Cheerwine soda
• 1/2 c Cornstarch
• 1/2 tbsp Cinnamon
• 2 tbsp Vanilla paste
• 2 tbsp Citric acid
• 3/4 c Sugar
• 1 oz Goat cheese crumbles (set to the side)

Goat Cheese Cream

• 5 oz Goat cheese crumbles
• 3 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 c + 1 tbsp Sour cream
• 1/4 c Honey
• 3 - 4 Pre-made pie crusts
• Sliced almonds for toppings

Blind bake pie crusts at 350⁰ to a light golden brown. About 15 minutes, not too brown as they will be baked again with filling. Let cool 15 minutes.

To make filling. Mix all filling ingredients in a saucepan and bring to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Let filling cool and then fill your baked pie crusts with filling.

Using the 1 oz of goat cheese set to the side, crumble the cheese on top of the pie all over the filling. Place pies back into the oven for 15 minutes or until the pies are bubbly and cheese is slightly browned. Let pies cool completely.

To make goat cheese cream. Combine goat cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and honey in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk together until smooth.

After pies are completely cooled, use goat cheese cream to decorate and pipe however you desire. Use a petal tip for a fun swirl or a large French tip for some cute gnome hats. This is your chance to make it your own and have fun with it, so get creative. Once you have decorated the pies, sprinkle almonds on top. And finally, enjoy!