PRINT
Farmer Cheese Pie Recipe
Recipe created by Four & Twenty Blackbirds
Oprah.com   |   March 16, 2012
Farmer Cheese Pie
This pie from Four & Twenty Blackbirds in Brooklyn is straightforward yet sophisticated, and is the perfect combination of hearty cheese, subtle herb, and gentle honey. It makes a wonderful hors d’oeuvre or lunch pie and is especially good when paired with a cornmeal crust, though a butter or lard crust is an excellent choice, too. The filling puffs as it bakes and becomes a lovely light gold. If you cannot find farmer cheese, ricotta cheese or cottage cheese can be substituted. These pies can also be made in jars.

Makes 12 to 16 pies

Ingredients

Directions


Have two 12-cup standard muffin tins ready. Remove the dough from the refrigerator.

Lightly flour a clean work surface. Unwrap the dough, place it on the floured work surface, and flour the top lightly. Roll out the dough into a large circle about ⅛ inch thick. It will be about 14 inches in diameter. Using a round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out as many circles 4 to 5 inches in diameter as possible.

Handling the dough circles gently, lift each circle and press it into a muffin cup, leaving a ⅛- to ¼-inch overhang and patching any tears by pinching them together or plugging them with a dough scrap. You can crimp the dough that extends beyond the edge of the cup with fork tines or your fingers so it adheres to the top of the tin and forms a rim, if you like, but it is not necessary. Gather the dough scraps, form into a ball, roll out, and cut out more circles. (Reroll the dough only once or it will bake up tough.) You should have 12 to 16 circles total. If you don’t have enough dough circles to fill every cup in a muffin tin, stagger the crusts rather than clustering all of them at one end of the tin. If you’ve filled one tin, refrigerate it while you line the cups in a second tin, then refrigerate the second tin.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cheese and eggs until smooth. Add the half-and-half, honey, and salt and beat until thoroughly combined. (Or, use a large bowl and a handheld mixer or a wooden spoon.) Generously sprinkle in the thyme and stir to mix. (The filling can be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated.)

Remove the dough-lined cups from the refrigerator. Place 3 to 4 tablespoons of filling in each cup. Refrigerate the assembled pies for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the pies until the filling is slightly puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. The filling should jiggle slightly when a tin is gently shaken. Be careful not to overbake or the filling will crack.

Let cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Run a sharp, thin knife around the edge of each pie to loosen it from the cup. Then, using the knife tip or a fork, gently pry each pie upward so you can grab it with your fingertips and lift it out of the tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The pies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes before serving.

Ricotta Cheese or Cottage Cheese Variation

Substitute ricotta or cottage cheese in the same amount for the farmer cheese. Scoop into a sieve placed over a bowl and drain in the refrigerator for 2 hours before using.

From Handheld Pies (Chronicle) by Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton.

More Grilled Cheese Recipes
Printed from Oprah.com on Friday, May 24, 2013
© 2012 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.