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Recipe for Mini Cheese "Pies" with Roasted Plum Jam (Gluten-Free)

If you already have a pie crust recipe you love, feel free to use it here...and if you'd rather bake this into a non-mini version, a tart pan with a removable bottom will work best.
This recipe is seriously delicious, and I think it would be fun to serve these at a cocktail party. Or be like me and eat one for breakfast, snack, or dessert on any old day: you'll feel all "fancy" when you do.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 -10 mini pies

Ingredients

  • For the roasted plum jam
  • *2 pounds red plums
  • *1/4 cup organic sugar plus another 2 cups
  • *2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • *peel from 1 small lemon coarsely chopped
  • *juice from 1 small lemon

For the pie crust:

  • *6 ounces King Arthur Gluten-Free Whole Grain Flour blend or use a different gluten-free flour blend, or use all-purpose flour for a regular/"gluten-full" crust
  • *1 tablespoon organic sugar- optional I omitted it, thinking of these pies as more savory than sweet
  • *1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if using all-purpose flour
  • *1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • *6 tablespoons 3 ounces cold unsalted butter, sliced into 6 equal pieces
  • *2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • *1-2 tablespoons ice water plus more if needed
  • For the cheese filling
  • *6 ounces cream cheese
  • *6 ounces creamy goat cheese
  • *1/2 cup organic sugar
  • *grated zest of 1 lemon preferably organic
  • *1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • *1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • *2 eggs preferably organic and free-range

Instructions

For the roasted plum jam:

  • 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice the plums in half and remove the pits, then cut the plums into smaller chunks. Mix in a bowl with 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla extract, then spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until the plums are lying in a pool of bubbly juice and are quite fragrant.
  • 2. Carefully transfer roasted plums and roasting juices to a large, heavy-bottomed non-reactive pot. Add the rest of the sugar, the lemon peel, and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low-medium, and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The jam will darken and thicken quite a bit during this time.
  • 3. Ladle jam into jar(s) and refrigerate (leave about 1/2 cup out if using to spread over the pies sometime soon). The jam is easiest to spread when it's still warm, so if you've made it ahead of time, warm it in a pot on the stove (or in the microwave) before spreading it over the pies.

For the pie crust:

  • 1. Whisk together the flour blend, sugar (if using) xanthan gum (if using), and salt.
  • 2. Take half of the butter (3 slices) and cut these pieces in half once more. Work these small pieces into the flour mixture until it's crumbly "like cornmeal", with some larger, pea-sized chunks of butter remaining.
  • 3. Take the remaining butter and work it into the flour with your fingers by flattening the butter pieces down between your thumb and forefinger. You should be able to see pieces of butter "about the size of dried cranberries" in the flour.
  • 4. Sprinkle lemon juice over the flour/fat mixture and mix until dough begins to come together. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary, to bring the dough mass together.
  • 5. Dump dough out onto work surface and shape into a ball. Flatten into a round and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least an hour, or as long as two days.
  • 6. When you are ready to bake the pies, preheat the oven to 400°F and butter ten regular-sized (2 3/4- 3 inch diameter) muffin cups.
  • 7. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator, then allow to sit at room temperature until it's pliable (10-20 minutes). Unwrap the dough, then divide it into 8-10 equal pieces (I went with the 8, but I think I could have made the shells thinner if I wanted to make 10).
  • 8. Press each piece of dough firmly and evenly into a muffin cup (you could roll the pieces out first, but I chose not to and it worked out just fine), then lightly prick the bottom of each shell with a fork. Cut small squares of foil so you can press a piece into each one, covering each mini pie shells.
  • 9. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the dough is pale golden in color. Set the pie shells aside to cool while you make the filling, and decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

For the cheese filling and baking the pies:

  • 1. Place all filling ingredients in a blender and process until smooth (you could also use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or a food processor to do this).
  • 2. Pour filling into par-baked pie shells (don't overfill them). Bake the mini pies until the tops are set and a bit puffy, about 20 minutes. You will have some filling left over, especially if you only make 8 pies...you can bake the leftover filling in buttered muffin cups "crust-less", if you like.
  • 3. Allow the pies to cool down before running a sharp knife all around the edges and gently removing from the muffin tins (if you do this too soon, the crusts may be too crumbly to remove in one piece). Spread with jam while the pies are still warm.