Mini Blueberry Pies

Since starting this Blog, my family has grown accustomed to me being in the kitchen and baking something new and different almost every night. It's funny how much they look forward to it. My son, Nick, will pop his head out of his room, take a deep whiff, venture into the kitchen and ask "what's tonight's masterpiece, Mom?". Really, those are his exact words. On the nights when I'm tired from work and don't feel like baking, I hate to see their disappointed faces when there's nothing baked so most of the time I'll muster the energy to get up and bake. Sometimes I'll have to come up with something on the fly based on the ingredients I have in my fridge and pantry. Last night I had a couple of packages of refrigerated pie dough and some blueberries that needed to be used up so I made these adorable mini blueberry pies.

How cute are these?

One of my favorite short cuts is using refrigerated pie crust even though I have made pie dough from scratch. I admit that I like the taste of homemade better, but when you're in a rush, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and the ready-made dough is a great option. I've used it many times and get compliments on the taste so don't feel guilty using it.

Adorable Mini Blueberry Pies
Makes about 24 mini pies

Crust Ingredients:

2 boxes of your favorite brand ready made pie crust (2 crusts in each box)

Filling Ingredients:
2 cups of blueberries, washed and dried
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon flour, mixed with a little water to form a slurry
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
A mixture of granulated sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

Make the Blueberry Filling:

In a medium size saucepan, combine the blueberries, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Stir to combine.

Cook and stir over medium heat for a few minutes until the berries break down. Add the butter to the pot and gradually pour in the flour slurry while stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Continue to cook and stir for a few minutes more until the mixture is thickened. Stir in vanilla extract and remove from heat. Allow mixture to cool before assembling pies.

To assemble the pies:

In a small bowl or ramekin, beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water.

In another small bowl or ramekin, combine 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Bring crusts to room temperature per the instructions on the package. Working with the crust one at a time, roll out slightly to about 1/8" thickness.

Cut into your desired shape using a cookie cutter. The cookie cutter I used had scalloped edges and was about 3 1/4" wide.

Use 2 of the pie crusts to cut out tops and 2 pie crusts to cut out bottoms making sure you have an even number of cut outs. I was able to make 24. You could probably make more if you re-roll the dough scraps but I didn't do that because I was in a hurry.

Place the bottoms onto prepared cookie/baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper. I used 2 baking sheets fitting 12 pies on each sheet.

Place approx 1 teaspoon of the cooled blueberry mixture in the center. Then brush around the filling with egg wash and gently place the tops on each pie and seal the edges with your fingers. Crimp using a fork to create a stronger seal.

Lightly brush the tops of each pie with egg wash. Then sprinkle with a little of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cut a few small slits in the top of each pie.

Bake at 375 for approx 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from baking sheets and place on a cooling rack.

Leftovers should be stored lightly covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. I don't like to tightly cover my pies because it can make the crust soggy.