Truth be told, I am not much of a baker…
As much as I love watching the Great British Bake Off or various other baking shows, I am, at best, an average home baker. Baking from scratch is an art that requires patience, attention to detail, and following instructions — none of which I am particularly good at.
All that to say, my husband and I love a delicious baked good, so I thought it was time that I beefed up my baking muscle and gave it a go. And what could be a better way to break into baking than trying my hand at a blueberry pie!
Now, before you roll your eyes and think booooring, get excited because these are MINI pies! More specifically mini blueberry & lemon cocotte pies and they are equal parts delicious and adorable.
I picked up these mini Staub cocottes (because everyone needs a set of these — they are perfect for a dinner party!) a while ago and while I’ve cooked in them, I have never baked in them. They are absolutely adorable for an individualized dessert, a portion controlled piece of dessert, or just to make because they are super cute and mini.
Either way, this recipe is hands down delicious and if you don’t have time to make your dough from scratch, the frozen crusts work just as well. So, roll those sleeves up, it’s time to bake!
Mini Blueberry & Lemon Pies Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Raw sugar
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- .75 cups Unsalted butter, cold + cubed
- .33 cups Vegetable shortening, cold
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- .5 cups Ice water
- 1 Egg, for egg wash (can also use cream)
- 3 cups Fresh blueberries
- .33 cups Raw sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Freshly squeezed lemon juice + zest from half a lemon
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the Pie Dough: Using a food processor pulse the flour, salt and sugar. Add the cubed butter, shortening and vanilla and pulse until a crumb like mixture forms.
- Once it’s nice and crumby, add in the cold water one tablespoon at a time until the crumbs begin to come together. Turn out onto pastry board and shape dough into a disk (NOTE: if dough seems wet, add a bit more flour. If the dough seems dry, add a bit more water).
- Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for minimum 2 hours.
- About 20 minutes out from your dough being ready, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- On a floured surface roll out pie dough to 3/4 cm thick and cut out four circles (I used the lid as a cookie cutter and left a little extra hangover room) & place inside mini cocottes.
- For the Pie Filling: In a mixing bowl toss blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest & vanilla and evenly distribute the filling amongst the pies.
- Cut another layer out from the dough and place on top of your filling, pinching the sides to seal the two doughs together.
- Brush with egg wash or heavy cream & sprinkle with raw sugar and cut a small X in the middle for the heat to escape.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Serve hot from the oven with vanilla ice cream on top!
