Mini Berry Pies for the 4th of July (hey that rhymed...)

The 4th of July is our FAVORITE holiday around here. We love everything about it -- the flags, the food, outdoor activities, the fireworks, the decor, the patriotic music. I decorate for the 4th before Memorial Day so I can have my flag decor up through Flag Day and the 4th of July. So of course when I read on a couple blogs I follow about a 4th of July recipe linkup, I knew I had to join in!

(Check out these blogs for more recipes from this linkup: Nat Your Average Girl, Running From The Law, Meet the Sullivan's, Strawberry Swing and Other Things, This Woman Cooks, Everyday Love, Love and Life Simplified and Words About Waverly.)

I absolutely love a berry pie in the summer. The colors make it such a fun dessert for the 4th of July. And do you know what's even better than a berry pie for your 4th of July party? Miniature berry pies! Everybody knows that bite-sized food makes a party even more fun.

I used my strawberry pie recipe for this, and just used a mixture of berries instead. I prefer strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. You can use raspberries if you want, they're just not my fave.

You should note that the filling in this recipe is for a full-sized pie, usually deep dish. I only made 12 mini pies, but the filling could have made many many many more. You could also use this recipe for one 9-inch deep dish pie.

Mini Berry Pies

Ingredients:

Two 9-inch unbaked pie crusts

1 1/4 cups white sugar (if you like it a little sweeter then use 1.5 cups)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 cups of berries (mixture is your choosing)

2 tablespoons of butter

Mini pie tins of your choosing

Star cookie cutter for top crust

Biscuit cutter (not pictured)

Cut up berries to the size you want. If you're doing a full-sized pie, you can just quarter the strawberries. I decided to chop the strawberries and blackberries really small so I could fit as much fruity deliciousness in those tiny tins as possible.

Add all your fruit to a big bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the white sugar, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add your dry ingredients to your fruit in small batches, mixing as you go, so that the sugar/flour mixture is evenly distributed to all the berries.

Let your berries sit in the sugar/flour mixture for about 15 minutes while you get your pie tins ready.

Roll out your dough a little before you cut your circles. Yes, I used store-bought pie crusts because I am pregnant and I can. Making your own pie crusts is more than acceptable. 

I wanted to roll out the dough to be a little thinner because a heavy crust wouldn't really fit in my tin and isn't so desirable for a bite-sized dessert.

I used my biscuit cutters to cut the circles to use for my bottom crusts. I experimented with sizes and discovered that the biggest cutter actually worked the best. I automatically assumed I'd be using the smaller one, but I have terrible spatial reasoning, so clearly I was wrong. Don't forget to grease your tins before you put the bottom crust in if you want to be able to take them out of the tin.

At this point I tasted my berry mixture and determined the level of sweetness was perfect for my taste. I don't like really super sweet desserts, so if you do, then definitely add more sugar either when you're mixing your dry ingredients or at this step.

Chop up your two tablespoons of butter into little squares. I poured my berries into my tins and then topped with a small little pat of butter.

 

Roll out your top pie crust. I rolled out this top crust to be a little thinner too. I used the star cookie cutter to cut out stars for the top crust of my pies.

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425. Keep an eye on them because the crust is thin and they're smaller, so they'll bake pretty fast.

Pull them out and voila! Let them cool completely before you remove them from their tins. They will settle as they cool and not be so messy.

Just out of the oven:

After cooling:

Happy 4th of July!

Mini Berry Pies

Ingredients:

Two 9-inch unbaked pie crusts

1 1/4 cups white sugar (if you like it a little sweeter then use 1.5 cups)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 cups of berries (mixture is your choosing)

2 tablespoons of butter

Mini pie tins of your choosing

Star cookie cutter for top crust

Biscuit cutter (not pictured)

Instructions:

1. Cut up your berries and add them all to a bowl. 

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the white sugar, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon. 

3. Add your dry ingredients to your fruit in small batches, mixing as you go, so that the sugar/flour mixture is evenly distributed to all the berries.

3. Let your berries sit in the sugar/flour mixture for about 15 minutes while you get your pie tins ready.

4. Roll out your dough and cut your circles with either a round cookie cutter or a biscuit cutter. Grease your pie tins. Place bottom crust in tins.

5. Chop up your two tablespoons of butter into little squares. 

6. Pour berries into tins and then top with a small little pat of butter. 

7. Roll out your top pie crust. Use the star cookie cutter to cut out stars for your top crusts. 

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425. Keep an eye on them because the crust is thin and they're smaller, so they'll bake pretty fast. Let them cool completely before you remove them from their tins and serve.

Yield: 14-16 mini pies