Have you noticed that dessert wise, mini is it? Mini is super fun. Mini cupcakes, macarons, cake pops, mini scones. We like mini. I like mini. Frankly I’m kind of mini dessert obsessed. With mini you can enjoy with no guilt. Just don’t eat 14 minis. One great thing about mini desserts is, there is no cutting. This is really handy when you are entertaining, everyone can help themselves. We are coming up on the season of family gatherings. Family reunions, graduations, backyard barbeques. Mini is your friend when entertaining.  Caterers have known this for years. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still love the look of a beautiful full size pie and they have their own glory. Bringing someone a full size pie as a gift is a beautiful thing. For years commercial food marketing dominated super size. Super size fries, Big Mac, Big Gulp as an example. I know we are talking dessert here, but I think as consumers now we’ve gone to the other extreme and we figured out that when it comes to mini; mini is it. Having mini desserts at weddings is very in. Cruise around the internet and search among wedding blogs and you will find dessert tables with mini treats are really en vogue.  Mini is here to stay. Get in touch with your inner mini and bake up some minis…

See my recipe for All Butter Pie Crust

Blueberry Mini Pies

yield: ~ 8-10 mini pies

recipe adapted from “Mini Pies” by Christy Beaver and Morgan Greenseth

One recipe of my All Butter Pie Crust (see above)

Blueberry Filling:

3 Cups blueberries

1/4 sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 Tbsp.  flour

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. culinary rose water (optional) (if you don’t like rose; just replace with water)

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

milk for brushing pie crusts

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Generously grease a 12 cup standard size muffin tin with butter or cooking spray. 

2. Combine the berries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, rose water, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl. 

3. Roll out the pie crust to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Using a 4 inch round or scalloped edge cutter, cut 12 crusts. Re-form and re-roll dough as necessary. 

4. Carefully shape the crusts into the wells of the muffin tin, crimping the edges with your fingers. 

5. Fill each mini pie to the brim with the blueberry mixture, about 3 tablespoons for each pie. Top each pie with a decorative mini cut out if desired. 

6. With a pastry brush, lightly brush the pie crusts with milk and then sprinkle with sugar. 

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin, then carefully remove the pies from the pan and place on a wire rack to finish cooling. To remove, first try to spin the pies in the muffin wells. If they need a little extra help, run a butter knife along the edge of the crusts to pop them out of the tin. I like to pop the cooled pies into pretty paper muffin liners- it makes it handy to have something to eat out of helps protect the pies from cracking. Since the pies shrink a little during baking they fit nicely into paper lines without any problem.

8. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days. 

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