Gluten Free Pie Dough:In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening and butter using a pastry cutter (or the flat paddle attachment on a stand mixer or a food processor).
Add the vodka/water gradually to make the consistency you need to form a ball – err on the side of it being wetter rather than crumbly, but it should not be sticky, so add liquid slowly so you don’t add too much. Form a disc with the dough, wrap in plastic and set aside on the counter for 30 minutes while you make the filling.
To Make Cherry Filling:Bring cherries, gluten free flour blend, sugar, lemon juice and water to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Stir frequently so the mixture does not burn. Once boiling, lower the heat to cook another 5 minutes while stirring, or until thickened.
Remove from the heat to cool while preparing your gluten free pie crust; refrigerate or place in the freezer if necessary to cool the mixture down before making mini pies.
To Make Apple Filling:Peel, core and slice apples. While you are slicing the apples, put cut apples in a bowl with cold water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to keep the slices from turning brown while slicing the rest of the apples.
Drain the apples and toss with the remaining ingredients. Set aside to help juices form while rolling out the crust.
To make Gluten Free Pie Pops:Preheat oven to 375° F. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper.
Dust a clean counter or pastry mat and rolling pin with Jules Flour or gluten-free starch (cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca starch, arrowroot powder). Roll to a thickness of 1/8 – 1/4 inch.
Using a large (at least 4 inch in diameter) cookie cutter, cut circles from rolled out dough (2 same-size shapes for each pie pop). Add scraps together to roll out again for more circles. For each pie pop, you should have two matching cut-out pieces of dough — approximately 10 matching pieces for 5 pops.
Place a dollop of fruit filling in the center of one from each pair of cut out dough circles. Leave a 1/2 inch border between the filling and the edge to allow for sealing with top piece. Dampen the border of dough with a moist finger and lay a matching piece of dough on top, pressing down on the edges gently with your fingers to seal.
Lay each mini pie onto the prepared cookie sheets and brush with milk of choice. Sprinkle demerara (or other granulated) sugar on tops and cut a small slit or two in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape during baking.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove to cool before making pops.
To make the pops, gently insert a tongue depressor or popsicle stick into the seam between the two pressed pieces of dough. Insert 1-2 inches, or until stable.
To Make Gluten Free Pie CupsPlace individual circles of dough into un-greased muffin cups by gently pressing into the bottom of each cup.
Over-fill each cup with fruit filling – it will bake down to just over the top of each cup. Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 14-15 minutes – do not overbake!
Allow to cool before removing from the muffin cups.