Thursday, July 25, 2013

Mini Blueberry Pies



Blueberries are nature's candy and summer has given Vancouver a bounty of beautiful blueberries this year. In the past three weeks, I have picked just under thirty pounds. What to do with all these berries? We ate most (so good for us!), I froze a few pounds and the rest I have baked into fruit crisps or mini blueberry pies. In fact, I have baked these mini blueberry pies 3 times in the last 4 days. They are that good! We are eating them for breakfast, snack & dessert. True story!☺

The berries I've picked are so incredibly sweet, only a tablespoon of sugar is required (if at all) compared to what most cookbooks recommend: 1 full cup. I never add the full amount of sugar, as I think the pie would be way too sweet to eat and a waste of good berries. But if you have a major sweet tooth, then by all means - add the full amount of sugar!

I like to bake my individual pies in a muffin tin. I also use a two crust pie recipe to have enough pie to top the pies and have enough pie crust left over to make some cinnamon-sugar topped pie crust cookies. Better to have too much pie crust than not enough!☺

Mini Blueberry Pies
1 recipe for a two crust pie
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 egg, whisked with 1 tsp of heavy cream, for an egg wash
Turbinado sugar

In a medium size bowl, toss blueberries with the flour, sugar & lemon juice. Set aside. Make your pie crust & cut with a biscuit cutter or large glass to fit the size of your muffin tin. Press the pie crust firmly into each muffin cup. Fill each mini pie with approximately 1/4 cup of berries. Top each individual pie with a crust & press firmly to seal.  Brush each pie with the egg wash & sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake in a 375* oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the pie crust is a golden brown and the berries are bubbling. Let cool for a bit then serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

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