A petite and rustic take on the classic cherry pie, these Mini Cherry Galettes are so much easier to make than their pie counterparts! A little dark chocolate and almond might just give them an edge over the classic!
There is nothing like a cherry pie on a warm summer day, I mean, it’s literally as American as it gets. But making a full cherry pie can be a bit intimidating and finicky. That’s where these beautiful, rustic little galettes enter the chat.
Much more casual than these spiced hand-pies, galettes embrace a more made-by-hand style. But what is a galette?
Galettes are a flat pastry crust with the edges folded over a filling. They bake on a baking sheet instead of a pie pan and they can be sweet, like this blueberry galette, or savory like this 4-cheese zucchini galette version.
Ingredients
There are two basic components of these cherry galettes – the crust and the filling.
The crust is more-or-less that of a classic pie crust. I like a 50/50 split of butter and shortening in my pie crusts. I think it’s the best of both worlds between flavor and flakiness. Here’s everything in the crust:
- All-purpose flour.
- Unsalted butter & shortening. Together they make the best pie crusts!
- Apple cider vinegar. Distilled white vinegar also works here. It’s to tenderize the crust and prevents toughness!
- Icy cold water. Super cold water is key for a great flaky pie crust.
Next, the filling, because what is a pie without the filling?! Cherries shine here without much interfering.
- Cherries. Fresh or frozen cherries work here. When available, I like to use a split of half sweet and half tart cherries for a depth of flavor. Otherwise all sweet cherries are great.
- Granulated sugar.
- Cornstarch. Cherries release a lot of juice when baking. The cornstarch will thicken the juice as it bakes to prevent a sloppy galette.
- Lemon juice. Brightens the flavors.
- Almond extract. Because we have some almonds in the topping, adding a little almond into the filling is a nice combination. And cherries and almonds are just a match made in heaven.
- Butter. A little pat of butter on top before baking gives you just a richness and shine.
Making a Galette
Making these mini rustic cherry pies are very simple. Rolling out individual crusts is the most time-consuming part, but with galettes, perfection is not required!
To make the filling, simply stir everything together and allow to sit for a little bit. This will pull a lot of the juices out before baking so you can leave it behind when building the galettes. Soggy bottoms be gone!
How to Pit Cherries
Unless you make 100 pies a year, you probably don’t have a cherry pitter tool in your cabinet. If you do, more power to you! If you don’t, there’s a few simple ways you can pit fresh cherries:
Personally, I like to use a piping tip. I set the tip facing up and just push the cherry down on top. This breaks the cherry and pushes the pit out and splits the cherries in half, so no cutting necessary.
You can also use a skewer or chopstick to push the pit out.
Third option is to slice the cherries and pop out each one my hand.
Pro tip: Don’t wear your favorite white shirt when pitting cherries. They are notorious for being a bit messy.
Making the Pastry Crust
This pie crust is pretty forgiving to make, but there’s a few tricks to keep in mind for making the best possible crust.
The golden ratio. This crust uses a pretty classic ratio for 3:2:1 for pie crusts: 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part water. Every time I stray, the crust just isn’t quite as good. Either it isn’t flaky enough or it’s too greasy. This is a golden ratio for a reason!
Cold ingredients. Keep your butter and shortening chilling until you are ready to combine with the flour. I prefer a pastry cutter for this, but you can also use a food processor or just your fingertips. The pastry cutter breaks up the butter and shortening and gives you nice big flakes.
Icy cold water. A quick tip for measuring ice water, pour more water than needed into a cup and add ice cubes, let sit for 5 minutes. Then measure out 3/4 of a cup of this icy cold water.
Chill the dough. Before rolling out your dough, chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Or wrap tightly and freeze until ready for use. It’s best to divide the dough and work on rolling one piece of pastry at a time while the others remain in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Just let them defrost fully before using.
I would recommend breaking this recipe into 2 larger pies instead of 1. It will be a bit too large to cut and slice properly.
Yes! You can wrap the unbaked pastry crust in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe bag. Defrost in the refrigerator before rolling. You can also freeze the baked galettes (but I would wait to drizzle the chocolate until ready to eat). Defrost completely in the fridge and refresh in the oven if desired (350°F [175°C] for 5-10 minutes).
Baked galettes can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
Galettes are wonderful because they are great at room temperature, cold or warm from the oven.
Mini Cherry Galettes
Ingredients
Pastry Crust
- 360 g all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 113 g unsalted butter cold and cubed
- 120 g shortening cold and cubed
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar
- ½ to ¾ cup ice-cold water
Cherry Filling
- 600 g sweet cherries pitted and halved (fresh or frozen)
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter cold
- Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water)
- Sparkling sugar optional
Chocolate Drizzle
- 56 g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped not chocolate bars
- ½ teaspoon canola oil
- sliced almonds optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Pastry crust. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Using pastry cutter or fingertips, cut in butter and shortening until pea-sized pieces remain. Add in vinegar and 1/2 cup of water, stirring to form a dough. Add more water a tablespoon at a time as needed until dough comes together. Avoid a sticky or wet dough. Shape dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.360 g all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 113 g unsalted butter, 120 g shortening, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1/2 to 3/4 cup ice-cold water
- Cherry filling. About 1 hour into chilling the dough, make the cherry filling. Mix together all ingredients of cherry filling, except butter. Allow to sit to release the juice.600 g sweet cherries, 100 g granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Make galettes. When ready to make galettes, preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and divide into 6 equal portions.
- Work 1 portion of dough at a time, keeping the remaining portions of dough covered in the fridge. Roll dough into a 1/8"-thick circle, approximately 7" wide. Repeat with remaining portions.
- Strain cherry filling, discarding the juices. Divide filling equally between 6 discs of dough, leaving a 1" border clean. Fold pastry dough border over the cherry filling to create the crust of the galette.
- Divide 1 tablespoon of butter into 6 equal pieces and place on top of each cherry filling. Brush pastry crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.1 tablespoon unsalted butter, Egg wash, Sparkling sugar
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown on bottom.
- Chocolate drizzle. When ready to serve, melt chocolate in microwave on 50% power in 30 second bursts, stirring between. Stir in canola oil. Drizzle over galettes and top with sliced almonds.56 g semi-sweet chocolate, chopped, 1/2 teaspoon canola oil, sliced almonds
Notes
- Galettes can be served warm, cold or room temperature
- Unbaked pastry crust can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 3 months. Continue with step 2.
- Store galettes at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the fridge for up to a week. Galettes can be refreshed in 350°F (175°C) oven for 5-10 minutes.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
Looking for other cherry desserts?
Try this cherry almond cake or cherry chocolate scones too!
