Summer is like the unofficial official pie season, which makes these Mini Blueberry Hand Pies the perfect dessert! Loaded with blueberry filling, topped with a golden delicious pie crust and a sprinkle of sugar, these are the cutest (most delicious) mini pies you've ever held! Plus you won't be able to tell my secret store-bought shortcut!
To Lattice or Not To Lattice
Lattice topping is gorgeous, right? It's definitely a show stopper, for sure!
But, with all beautiful things, it can be difficult to make. So let me give you a few tips when it comes to lattice topping.
Tip Number 1: Don't stress the sweet stuff
Here's the thing: dessert is supposed to be delicious, not stress you out. If the lattice topping isn't working, then just roll it back out and leave it flat and simple. Pies are delicious regardless of what they look like. You can leave it plain with a sprinkle of sugar and I promise you, it's going to taste just as delicious as it would with a lattice topping.
Tip Number 2: Make it on a flat surface
Making lattice can be tricky, but to make things easier, I suggest to make the lattice topping on a flat surface and then transfer it to the pie when you're done. By making it on a flat surface you have way more control over the pie crust without having to worry about the pie crust getting messy and sticky from the pie filling.
Tip Number 3: You need more crust than you think
When it comes to lattice topping, you need way more pie crust than you would think. For some reason, cutting out those strips and spacing them even further apart takes up a ton of crust! So when I know I'm making a lattice topping, I buy extra crust to make sure I have enough.
Still feeling a little lost? Here's a quick video of my process on lattice topping that makes it super easy!
Store-Bought Mini Blueberry Hand Pies??
Confession time! I typically always buy pie crust from the store. I have a few reasonings behind this. Pie crust and I have a complicated relationship. Sometimes I can get my pie crust to be perfectly golden brown and flakey, and other times it melts all over the place. I find that I have mixed luck with my pie crust. I also think that the store-bought pie crust tastes really delicious so I think it's a pretty good substitute for the real thing. If you have a pie crust recipe that you love to make, definitely make that instead!
However, if you're like me, you can feel totally fine just grabbing it from the store!
If you want to make these incredibly easy and make this in like twenty minutes, you can take it one step further and buy blueberry jam at the store and use that instead of your filling!
Just buy a yummy jam, spoon some of that on the pie crust and bake like normal! A two ingredient marvel, am I right? Totally up to you on what you choose to do! Either way, make sure you take full credit for the whole recipe, deal?
Mason Jar Masterpiece
For this recipe, I placed the pies in a mason jar lid to help them maintain their shape a bit more.
If you don't have a mason jar, you could use a muffin tin! This is optional, they would be find just on a piece of parchment paper, but there the chance they could spread out some!
Blueberry Mini Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 1 package Pie Dough store-bought or homemade
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
Blueberry Filling:
- 1 bag Frozen Blueberries
- ⅓ cup Sugar
- 1 Lemon juiced and zested
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 ½ tablespoons Cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- To make the filling, add the frozen blueberries, sugar, lemon zest, half the lemon juice, vanilla, and cornstarch to a small saucepan.
- Turn the heat to medium low and cook the berries until they begin to pop, about 7-10 minutes. Take a fork and gently break some of the blueberries to create a jammy texture.
- Set the mixture aside to cool.
- Roll out one half of the premade pie crust, using a three inch cookie cutter, or whatever size your mason jars are, cut out the bottom crust.
- Place the circle on the bottom of the mason jar lid, gently pressing down and making sure there is still some pie crust slightly up the side of the lid.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the blueberry filling on the crust.
- To make a lattice topping, cut out thin strips of pie dough. Line up five strips about a ¼ of an inch apart. Pull down every other strip and lay a thin piece of pie crust horizontally across them. Then flip the vertical pie crusts back up. Repeat this process with the opposite vertical strips as last time.
- Once the whole lattice has been completed, use your cookie cutter to cut out the top crust.
- Gently place the top crust over the blueberry filling. Use a fork to gently press down the edges to make sure they seal.
- If you don't want to make a lattice topping, you can just cut out a normal circle, cut an x on the top and use that instead of the lattice.
- Make an egg wash using the egg and a splash of water. Brush the egg wash on top of the mini pies and sprinkle with the extra sugar.
- Bake in the oven for about 13-15 minutes. The crust will be a golden brown.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from the jar.
Isn't that so fun? I love a full pie moment, but there's something so special about a mini dessert, right?
Just keep in mind, if the lattice isn't working, don't stress the sweet stuff!
If you want to make this a total store-bought masterpiece, you can sub out the blueberry filling for blueberry jam! Makes this recipe delicious and SO easy!
Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
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