Need smaller portions? – mini blueberry pies

I’ll have to bring a delicate subject up today: my pants are getting tight. Really tight. I’m not gonna lie to you and say my jeans are shrinking,  I have big bones or water retention. I’m now looking to you all in the eyes and confessing: I ate too much and I need to stop.

Talk about bad timing: right at this chubby moment of my life, I’m engaged in my very first food blog event, the Flavor of the Month, hosted by Bake at 350°’s Bridget.  And this month’s theme is PIE.

And how could I have my pie and keep my pants? I’ve decided to go for the smaller portions of everything technique, and turned my huge blueberry pie recipe into four cute little pies, muffin size.

Harmless? I don’t know about that, but the guilt is now reduced to four little cute pieces, muffin size.

Blueberry Mini Pies (makes 4)

If you were invited to a picnic in a beautiful summer day, these would make an awesome treat. I’d bring every pie with a spoon tied up with string, pretending I’m Martha Stewart and thinking how life is just perfect.

Pie dough (adapted from eggbeater)

• 1 cups all purpose flour

• 2 Tablespoons sugar

• big pinch of salt

• 4 ounces/ 100g/ 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in cubes and frozen

• ice water

Egg wash

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• sanding sugar to sprinkle

Filling

• 2 cups blueberries (I used frozen and thawed)
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp sugar
• zests of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp room temperature butter

Make the dough

Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. On low speed, add the frozen butter a few pieces at a time, and beat until it resembles coarse meal, with larger bits of butter the size of peas. Add the ice water in a slow stream. Stop adding water the moment the dough just begins to come together.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and push the pieces together. Dough overwork or knead, or the butter will melt and it will become a tough pastry. This dough can be used right away or kept in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, for 3 days, or frozen for a month.

Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut rounds of dough and cover 4 mini pie tins or 4 cups of a muffin pan, pressing to bottom and sides. Let the tins chill a bit in the fridge while making the filling. Wrap the rest of the dough in plastic and save it in the refrigerator too (you gonna make the pie tops later).

Make the filling:

In a medium bowl, mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cornstarch and lime zest, tossing with your hands or a large spoon. Divide this filling between the prepared bottom crusts. Dot the berries with butter.

Roll out the remaining dough, and cut rounds to cover the pies, or make a lattice top, like in here.

Gently press top and bottom edges of dough together to seal, and then pinch sealed edges. Repeat with remaining rounds. Transfer pies to a rimmed baking sheet, and freeze or refrigerate until firm, 15 to 20 minutes, while you preheat your oven to to 375°F/190°C.

Bake until golden and juices are bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.