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Darcie Bakes //

September 3, 2017

Mini Mixed Berry Pies.

mixedberriespies_cover

First of all, Happy Labor Day, friends! I hope you’re enjoying your day off, while also remembering why we celebrate Labor Day in the first place. I’m currently roaming around my hometown, but we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s talk about mini pies.

closeupminipieI have made these mini pies multiple times, but these photos are actually from Memorial Day weekend {yeahhh, back in May}, but I am sharing them now because we’re embarking upon Labor Day. I think they’re just perfect for any kind of “patriotic” holiday. But really, they’re perfect for pretty much any occasion. I just decided to get all ‘MERICA with them here.

sprankles
{Patriotic sprinkles! I found these at our beloved Target a while back.}
pieniceream
{Melting ice cream + warm pie = one of my favorite combinations on this earth.}

Pie is awesome. And mini pies are slightly more awesome. Why? Because anything miniature is just so darn cute! They’re also quite easy to make: you just roll out your chilled dough, toss a circle of dough in a cupcake tin, add your filling, and then add your top crust. Once you’ve assembled several, throw ’em in the oven to bake! Super cute, super impressive, and much easier than they look [also a heck of a lot less fussy than a whole pie, but you didn’t hear that from me].

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// Mini Mixed Berry Pies.

Yield: I doubled the crust recipe (below) to get about six mini pies that will fit in cupcake tins. You may also use the recipe below as is, and make two mini mason jar lid pies [just reduce the amount of filling].

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
  • 3 TBSP. unsalted butter, cold
  • 1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 2-3 TBSP. ice-cold water

For the filling:

  • 1 pound mixed berries [You can use frozen if you wish.]
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Cornstarch slurry
For the tops of the pies:
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • Coarse sugar (e.g. turbinado sugar)

Instructions:
For the crust:

  1. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and salt with a fork. Cube the butter into 12 chunks, and add half of them to the flour mixture.
  2. Stir gently, and then add the remaining butter chunks. Next, using your thumb and index finger [make the “snapping” motion] in order to incorporate the butter chunks into the flour mixture.
  3. Work the butter into the flour for quite a while, making sure it’s evenly incorporated and the dough almost comes together in clumps when you squeeze it in your hands. [The warmth of your hands is bringing the dough together, so if it’s still flour-y, keep working it.]
  4. Finally, add the vinegar and 2 TBSP. of the ice-cold water. Stir with a fork and the dough will easily come together into a mass. You may need a bit more water, depending on the humidity in your area on a given day.
  5. Scoop the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a disk and store it wrapped in the fridge for 30 minutes, while you make the filling.

For the filling:

 

1. Make the filling while the dough is chilling: In a small pot on the stove, add your mixed berries, sugar, and lemon juice.
2. Cook on medium low heat for 12-15 minutes until the berries are soft and can be mashed down. The filling will still be too liquidy so make a cornstarch slurry (a few tsp. of cornstarch with some water) and pour it in the pot.
3. Stir the mixture until it thickens up nicely. Set aside for it to cool a bit before assembling your pies.

To assemble the pies:.

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and lightly grease 6 muffin cups in your muffin tin.
  2. Once dough is ready, take it out of the fridge and let it warm up for a few minutes.
  3. Roll out one half on the counter top and cut out circles with the largest biscuit cutter you have (or use a large glass; the circle just needs to be larger than the muffin cup).
  4. Place the circles in the muffin cups and crimp down the sides.
  5. Place the cooled filling into the cups, almost until full.
  6. Take the other half of the dough and roll it out. Using a ravioli cutter, cut thin strips of dough to create a lattice pattern on top of the mini pies.
  7. Once you’re done assembling, beat an egg for the egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the pies with the egg wash. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top for extra crunch, if desired.
  8. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until they’re nice and golden brown on top.
  9. Allow the pies to cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes before trying to remove from pan.

// Recipe Inspiration + Resources:
+
Mixed berry filling recipe + muffin tin baking method inspired from Table for Two Blog.
+ Pie crust recipe from Dessert for Two.

piecut
{A beautiful mess.}

Leave a Comment Filed Under: blueberries, butter, cherries, mini pies, miniatures, mixed berries, pie, strawberry

May 25, 2015

Vegan Blueberry Muffins.

blueberrymuffins_cover

I’m no writing expert, but even I sometimes hit a wall. I think they call that “writer’s block.” 😉 There are just times where – even if I enjoyed a recipe or felt inspired by it – I just don’t know what to say about it. That’s how I’m feeling today.

muffins_closeupblueberrymuffins_plantI got my less-than-great photos edited and uploaded. I wasn’t having a great photography day when I took pictures of these muffins a few weeks ago. Then I waited about a week to actually begin writing after the photos had been uploaded. {In fact, I’m a bit embarrassed to even post them. But I decided to just roll with it, because I think this muffin recipe is an interesting one.}

Actually, one of my favorite parts of baking and food blogging involves simply experimenting with various recipes. I even get sick of making certain things over and over again [I kind of hate routines, which makes adult life interesting]. It just gets super boring to me. I’m not vegan, as I think most of you are aware. However, I did decide to make these vegan muffins, just for kicks. I was seriously worried that they wouldn’t turn out, because the batter was slightly off. I may have done something wrong; who knows. I’m pretty sure I was in a daze when I made these muffins, because I forgot to even write down any notes based on my experience with making them.

muffinopen

I even fretted when I put them in the oven, unsure as to whether or not they’d turn out. But lo and behold, the baking gods smiled upon me, and they turned out great! You wouldn’t even necessarily know that they’re vegan. The texture of the muffins is actually quite nice – they’re your typical, soft muffin texture.

muffinwithoutcover

Plus, I think it goes without saying that blueberries and muffin batter were simply meant to be. If you’re feeling adventurous and vegan [or you are actually, you know, vegan], then try these muffins out. They might come in at a close second to my favorite [very non-vegan, butter y’all] blueberry muffin recipe [which I need to post soon!]. 😉

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Vegan Blueberry Muffins.
Yield: 
10-12 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:
– ¾ cup all-purpose flour
– ¾ cup white whole wheat flour {Note: You could also just use all AP flour for this.}
– ¼ cup light brown sugar
– ½ cup granulated sugar
– ½ tsp. salt
– 2 tsp. baking powder
– ⅓ cup vegetable oil
– 1 large banana, mashed [about ½ cup]
– ⅓ cup non-dairy milk [I used almond milk, and I actually needed more like 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk. If the batter seems too dry or extremely thick, feel free to add a bit more liquid to thin it out to a better consistency.]
– 1 cup fresh blueberries [I used frozen; if you use frozen berries, do not thaw them prior to throwing them into the batter.]

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with 10-12 liners, and set aside.
2. Combine the flours, sugars, salt, and baking powder. Add in your milk of choice, bananas, and oil. Stir until just moistened. {Note: As aforementioned, I ended up needing WAY more liquid in my batter than the recipe called for… Just use your best judgment. Now, muffin batter is supposed to be a bit more thick and lumpy, but if something seems way off, add a bit more liquid.}
3. Gently fold in your blueberries, and fill the muffin cups about 3/4ths of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
4. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove muffins from pan to cool completely. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.

– Recipe from Bakerita.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: blueberries, breakfast, muffins, vegan

August 27, 2014

“Single Lady” Blueberry Cobbler.

As a self-proclaimed chocoholic, I sometimes forget how much I adore a simple, rustic fruit cobbler.

Blueberry Cobblers
Please pardon the crappy iPhone photos. Right as I was about to start snapping pictures, my DSLR’s battery decided to die. And since I recently moved and am extremely disorganized, I can’t find my dang charger. Excuses, excuses, I know. 

In fact, I think the last time I actually made a cobbler was probably several years ago. Then one fine evening back in February, I stumbled upon this recipe for single lady blueberry cobbler from my fellow ginger, Megan. I made the blueberry cobblers for a friend {shoutout to Chanel – these are for you, girl!} and myself for our “single ladies Valentine’s day” get-together. We were both amazed at how delicious the cobblers are.

IMG_4523Blueberries are so pretty.

IMG_4536
You should most definitely make these a la mode with some vanilla ice cream. To quote Super Troopers, 1..2..3.. dooo iiitttt.

I was literally in awe – like, “OMG!!” – as to how good the cobbler tasted. {And I’m not really that easily impressed/excited. Okay, that’s debatable. But still.}

These cobblers are made up of tasty blueberry gooeyness [spellcheck informs me that “gooeyness” is not a word… whatevs.] combined with that deliciously sweet, drop biscuity cobbler topping. And the best part of all? There’s not too much of it, so it’s a perfect little dessert for one person. Or if you want to be kind and share, I suppose you could share it with another person. The recipe also easily doubles, which I’d advise that you do double it if you plan on being generous and sharing.IMG_4535
Getting all up in dat blueberry + ice cream action. <insert heart-eyed emoji here>

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“Single Lady” Blueberry Cobblers

Yield: Two small ramekins, or one larger ramekin. Either way, this cobbler is totes acceptable as a single serving. Let’s just put it that way.

Ingredients:

Berries:

– 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

– 3/4 tsp. cornstarch

– 1/4 tsp. lemon juice (or a little splash)

– 1 cup fresh blueberries

Cobbler Topping:

– 1/4 cup flour

– 3/4 tsp. granulated sugar

– heaping 1/4 tsp. baking powder

– tiny pinch of salt

– 1 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter

– 2 tbsp. milk

Make the Cobbler!

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. To make the blueberry filling, add the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat until the juices begin bubbling, and allow the mixture to boil for one minute. Stir to ensure that it doesn’t get scorched [I usually keep the heat at medium-high for this]. Spoon the hot berries into a small, oven-safe dish, two small ramekins, or one large ramekin.
  2. To make the cobbler topping, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Mix in the butter – to do this, you can use a pastry cutter or a fork. Mix until you get a crumb-like consistency [think like a biscuit or scone]. Add the milk and mix until combined. Drop the cobbler mixture on top of the hot berries.
  3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cobbler topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Enjoy!

Recipe from Megan at Take a Megabite.

Screen Shot 2014-08-26 at 8.57.39 PM
One of my Instagram pics from when I made the cobbler back in February. 

PS: I love cute ramekins.

 

Leave a Comment Filed Under: blueberries, cobbler, desserts, single serving

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I'm Darcie. In a nutshell: I'm a baker and mental health advocate in the tech industry.
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