French Onion Mini Pies

I love caramelized onions. I've shown something similar to these in an older instructable using phyllo shells. These really do deserve their own instructable, though. They hold up well, taste great warm or room temperature, and seem to disappear fast at potlucks.

I think pastry crust would be a bit heavy for these, so I tend to use plain bread. These are easiest to eat if they're baked in bite sized mini cupcake tins, with a toasted bread crust holding all the onions in.

To make these, you will need:

16 slices of bread
3 large onions (I use yellow, whether regular or sweet)
2-3 T butter
a splash of apple cider (maybe 1/4 cup, more if you want more apple flavor to brighten the onion)
1/2 C or more of beef stock, preferably low sodium
4-8 oz shredded white cheese, depending on how much you like to add - I suggest mozzarella, provolone, swiss, havarti, or a combination of any of those
a few grinds of black pepper
thyme (optional)
bay leaf (optional)

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Step 1: Make crust

I had a loaf of bread that got really squished. I cut one circle of each piece of bread I used. This left a lot of bread scraps. Don't waste these. Using a bread knife, cube them to toast for croutons (for homemade stuffing/dressing). If you won't use them in the next day, just bag up the bread cubes and freeze them.

Depending on your preference, you can either roll the circles flat with a rolling pin or squish them flat as you press them into the muffin tins. Either way, lightly butter the bottom side to keep them from sticking, and to add a nice golden brown color to the crust.