Heart Shaped Cranberry Pomegranate Mini Pies

“Hello cuteness!”  Yes, that is exactly what I said as I made these pies!

While I’m not a frequent baker I do love making fun, seasonal food!

I originally had Cranberry Pomegranate Mini Pies on my list to make for the holidays.  Cranberries, pomegranates, great winter fruits!  But alas, with all of the Mini Cannoli’s, Glitter Fortune Cookies and Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies, my dessert card was full over the holiday season!

Not to let this marvelous idea go to waste, I decided that I could make them heart-shaped for Valentine’s Day! The filling was the perfect color for the holiday and the heart shape design took them to 0ver-the-top cuteness!

Ingredients

• 12 oz cranberries
• 1 pomegranate (seeds and juice)
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Pie Dough

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup cold butter (quartered)
• ½ cup ice-cold water

Begin making the pie dough by mixing all of the ingredients together either by hand or in a food processor.

Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, begin the filling for the pies. Combine the cranberries and pomegranates in a skillet over medium heat with ¼ cup water.

Once the cranberries begin to burst add the sugar, brown sugar, corn starch, honey and an additional ¼ cup water.

Mix together well, then add the cinnamon and lemon zest.

Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from burner and cool.

At this time, grab the pie dough from the refrigerator, roll it out on a floured surface and begin cutting it into heart shapes using a cookie cutter.

Once the pie filling has cooled begin placing a spoonful on top of half of the pie hearts.

Take the other half of the pie dough hearts and cover the filling.

I used the edge of my pastry cutter to seal the edges, but a fork or your fingers will work also!

Place the mini pies on a baking stone.

Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes.

Now look how adorable those little cutie-pies are!  (Get it? Cutie, pies! haha, I’m so clever sometimes )

I uploaded a picture to Instagram yesterday and they’re already a hit!

If you’re like me and don’t have a Valentine, I hear these pies are also very popular with roommates, family members, friends and co-workers

♣ Vegetarian Option: This recipe is vegetarian.

♦ Gluten Free Option: The filling is gluten-free. Substitute gluten-free baking flour for traditional flour in the pie crust to make this recipe gluten-free.

♥ All pottery seen on the littleleopardbook can be purchased by visiting www.longaberger.com/muffetbond or e-mailing keepsakebl@sbcglobal.net.