Now as much as I like bringing out a big pie to the holiday table, I absolutely LOVE serving mini pies.  They are just so darn cute!  I love making them during this time of the year, they just scream “holidays” to me.  And you can make more than one kind, makes your dinner table look super cute.  They also cook up quicker than the regular 9″ pies.  Aaaand… I definitely have the “Joey syndrome” and like having my own pie 🙂

You know how they say “easy as pie”?  well whoever came up with that was totally making a mini blueberry pie and blurted it out.  The filling takes about 5 minutes to cook up, I like giving my filling a head start because I don’t want to risk ending up with a wet pie, but you can definitely use the same recipe and not pre-cook the filling.  Also, you can totally use store bought crust, to make it easier for you.

Serving size: Makes 2 mini pies.

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 7 cups of blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 stick of butter, cut into small pieces

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks frozen butter, cut into small cubes
• 8-12 tablespoons ice water
• Also a bit of egg wash (mix 1 egg and a splash of water)

Instructions:

Make your Crust (you can always use your favorite store bought pie crust):

• Add flour, sugar, salt and cubed butter in a food processor.  Pulse about 10-12 times, until the butter is well incorporated.
• Pour the flour mix out and make a well in the middle.  Add about 6 tablespoons of ice water and lightly mix the flour.  Add more water if needed, until you can form a ball.  Wrap the ball of dough in a plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. ** See notes about storing dough.

Make the Filling (pre-cooking the filling is totally optional):

• Mix all the filing ingredients and put it in a small sauce pan, on medium heat.  Do not stir too much, as that will crush the berries and you want the berries to be as whole as possible.  Some will definitely pop.  Cook for about 4-6 minutes or until all ingredients are well combined and there isn’t any lumps.

Make the Pie:

• Preheat over to 375 degrees.
• Butter the pie dishes.  Cut the dough in 4 parts.  Roll out 2 parts into big circles, big enough to cover the bottom of the pie dish by overlapping the edges a bit.
• Once you’ve lined the pie dishes, pour in the blueberry fillings.  Dot the fillings with butter.
• Then roll out the remaining 2 portions of the dough and place them over the pies.  You can do any patterns you like.  If you leave it whole, cut a few slits so the steam can get out while cooking.
• Place the pies in the freezer for 20 minutes to overnight, until the crust stiffens a bit.  ** See notes about freezing pies.
• Take out the pie and brush the crust with the egg wash.
• Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake it for 25-30 minutes.  Until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
• Enjoy!!  🙂 🙂 🙂

**Note: 

1. One of most useful tip about pie crust is, DO NOT OVER HANDLE IT.  Don’t knead it or work it too much.  The more you handle the dough the heavier/tougher it’ll be.  You won’t get the flakiness if you over handle the dough.
2. Once you’ve made your dough, you can freeze it for up to 6 months.  Just take it out a few hours before and put it in the fridge to thaw.  Right before rolling it out, leave it in room temperature for about 15-20 minutes, for ease of rolling it out.
3. You can make your pies, stop right before the egg wash, and freeze it for up to 3 months.  When you are ready to bake it, just take it out, brush with the egg wash and put it straight in a oven.  But you’ll have add some cooking time, bake for about 40-50 minutes.