How to Make Mini Blueberry Pies
About a month ago, we picked and froze about 20 pounds of blueberries after a fun blueberry picking adventure on our trip to Michigan. Yesterday, my daughter Olivia and I grabbed two of our premeasured bags out of the freezer, let them thaw for a couple of hours, and made mini blueberry pies! It was a lot of fun and of course, she made her own little creations with the extra pie crust at the end.
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Pick Them Fresh & Freeze The Rest for Later
If you’re able to, I would highly encourage you to take time to go fresh fruit picking. It is so much fun to pick your own fruit before diving into some fun and delicious recipes. Olivia and the rest of us picked blueberries and peaches on the same day while we were up in Michigan over the summer. We filled out bellies with fresh blueberries while we were picking and came out with 30 pounds of blueberries between all of us!
We did NOT rinse them before freezing but we did lay them all out to dry them a little bit and to pick some of the stems and leaves out before putting them in baggies to freeze. There are 2 cups in each bag and we’re looking forward to using them for jams, pies (especially mini blueberry pies because I couldn’t resist buying these adorable Pioneer Woman Mini Pie Dishes), turnovers, bars, and smoothies! Keep a lookout for these recipe posts in the future!
Let them get their hands dirty!
There’s a lot of room for independence with this recipe! Olivia really enjoyed being able to do almost everything on her own or with a little bit of help. She measured out the ingredients, put the crusts into the pie pans, and made two of the lattice tops! Making mini blueberry pies was fun for both of us. Because there were four, we could each have our own to work on together. She worked on her lattice tops while I worked on mine. We each got a chance to do them our own way.
I’m always trying to find ways to let Olivia’s independence shine and allow her to do things for herself. This is a big part of our lives and our Montessori lifestyle. What it means for me is that I have to let go of some of the control. This is difficult for me sometimes because as an adult, I know that I have a little more experience and practice in doing things so I may be able to do it “better.” Allowing our kids to have these experiences and practice will help them increase those skills as well as aid in independence and confidence. So, if you’re a bit of a perfectionist, like me, turn your head if you have to but DON’T INTERFERE! (unless the child is in danger, of course)
Putting the Mini Blueberry Pies Together
This is such a simple recipe and that’s why I love it so much. Honestly, most pies are pretty simple! You could replace the blueberries with another berry for this recipe too if you have some other berries on hand, or even a mix would be delicious! Check out Lisa’s Homemade Brown Sugar Recipe to add to the pies!
Extra, Extra, Read All About It!
We had a little extra pie crust and OF COURSE, Olivia came up with some ideas of what to do with it. The oven was already on and all the ingredients were already out so why not let her do a little experimenting and creating with the extras. She created little cinnamon bites and a blueberry turnover with some of our extra berry filling too. This was a fun way for her to be creative while our pies were baking. She LOVES making her own recipes. They tasted pretty good too!
We ate the treats up pretty quickly except for the two mini blueberry pies we gave away. They were a hit to the receivers who thought they were really cute! Reheat the pies and add a little ice cream and you’re in for a delicious treat. If you’re looking for another treat to try, check out my post about Black Raspberry Bars!
Mini Blueberry Pies
Equipment
- 4 5 1/2 inch mini pie pans
Ingredients
- 4 cups blueberries
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 premade pie crusts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º
- In a medium pot, heat fresh (or frozen and thawed) blueberries, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch over medium heat. Stir until the juices of the berries is released. Stirring occasionally so the berries don't burn, allow mixture to come to a gentle boil and cook until all the sugar dissolves. Mash the berries as you stir.
- While the berry mixture is cooking, put a bottom pie crust in each of the four mini pie pans. Poke holes in the bottom of the crusts with a fork and bake for 10 minutes.
- Cut 1/4 inch strips of pie crust to make the lattuce tops. Set aside.
- Pour the pie filling evening into the crusts. Layer the strips to make lattice tops. Put the pies in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and the lattice top is beginning to turn golden.
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