The hardest part of this recipe is the crust, but it's really not that hard. Just do as you're told and it will work out just fine. (hee, hee)
Before I write out the recipe, let me explain the changes I made.
- I made the dough and cut it in 4 pieces (though you can do 1, 2 or 3) before refrigerating.
- The dough is a bit sticky because of the butter so I used 2 new pieces of parchment paper in rolling out each crust.
- I would separate each crust from both pieces of parchment and place on the cookie sheet before doing the spread and fruit.
- I grilled the apples separate from the berries because they take a bit longer than the berries.
- I switched out maple syrup for the honey called for (of course you can switch it back.
- I used my hands to mix in butter as my electric mixer is rather gimpy
- The recipe called for fresh Rosemary OR Thyme for the top after the pie came out of the oven, I chose Thyme.
Your choice of fruit to equal about 4 cups (this is a guess on my part)
2 Tbl melted butter
2 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
6 Tbl sugar (plus 1 T per pie for sprinkling if you want them sweeter)
1 tsp salt
2 sticks chilled butter (I chopped it before adding)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 container mascarpone cheese at room temperature
2 Tbl maple syrup
1 Tbl balsamic vinegar
3 pinches ground black pepper
Fresh thyme to sprinkle
DIRECTIONS:
To make the crust: Combine flour, cornmeal, 6 Tbl of sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until large crumbs form. Stir in eggs and vanilla and mix until you can gather dough into 4 balls. Chill for a few hours. While dough is chilling grill your fruit.
To grill fruit: Preheat grill to medium. As I said, I did apples in one grill pan and berries in another. To grill fruit, toss with a bit of melted butter. Place on a grill screen and grill for just a few minutes. You are not cooking these, only giving them flavor.
To make the Mascarpone spread: Make cheese mixture by combining cheese, maple syrup, vinegar and pepper in a bowl. Whisk until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
To roll dough: I roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll to the usual pie crust thickness and remember these are free form pies. After the pie crust is rolled, remove from the parchment and place on the cookie sheet.
Finishing touches: Spread a 1/4 of the cheese mixture on center of pie. Top with the fruit. Now fold the outer edges of dough towards the middle on to the fruit. Pat crust together; it's is very forgiving.
Chill the pies for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425. After pies have chilled, bake them for 20-30 minutes until crust is golden and fruit is bubbly. Sprinkle with fresh thyme while warm. It really makes the pie’s flavors pop!
And of course serve with whipped cream or ice cream if it suits your fancy. Are you hungry yet?