Quick and Easy Blueberry Picnic Pies

Pies are great picnic food because they sort of come in their own pastry packaging. Little individual pies like the ones here are easy to transport and store and there is no hassel serving them. No plates required!



I love blueberries. I grew up picking them every summer and the flavour and colour bring back such lovely summery memories. Unfortunately, where I live now they are not a native plant and are quite expensive. I opt for the frozen ones here because the fresh ones are too precious to waste baking them!

The recipe below will give two large-ish pies. One for you and one for your paramour. This is The Dinner For Two Project after all!



But if you work out how much goes into a single pie you can easily adapt this recipe into a veritabe pie assembly line for your next pot luck or church picnic.



Why are these pies and not tarts? They are pies because they have a lid! Albeit a rather rough one. Tarts are the open face sammich of the pastry dessert world.



Now I have to confess here that I used ready made pastry. It really is the easy entertainer's best friend. If you can get a good quality one, then for a small pastry like this in an informal setting it won't make a difference.

I have found that it can also be cheaper. Butter is quite expensive where I live and to make the equivalent amount of pastry it actually works out to be more even with out taking the labour costs into consideration.



Now! On to the PIES!



The Ingredients

½ cup frozen blueberries (thaw but do not drain)
150 to 200 grams jus? roll, ready rolled, ready made so you don?t have to make it short crust pastry. How much you need will depend on the size of your muffin tins. You need enough to line the tin with enough on the edge left over to cover your pie
2-3 tbsp all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1-2 tsp butter
1 pinch oil (for greasing your muffin tin)


The Tools

Mixing bowls
Oven
Muffin tin
Rolling pin
Pallet knife


The Method

Put your frozen berries in a bowl and let thaw in the fridge
Once thawed mix them up gently with the flour. Add just enough flour to soak up the juices.
Gently stir in the sugar and set aside
Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended by the pastry packaging (you are probably looking at about 350 F) and grease your muffin tins. You will only need two.
Roll out your pastry to about 1/8 inch thickness on a floured counter top
Cut two equal squares
Press the squares into the tin. Can be rough! Do not trim the edges.
Divide your berry mixture between the two pies
Add a dot or two of butter to each
Take up the edges of the pastry and roughly pinch closed
Prick the tops with a knife to let the steam escape
Bake for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is light golden brown and the juices are bubbling out of the top
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes
Carefully remove by running a palette knife around the sides to loosen and then lift out
Once fully cooled store in an air tight container in the fridge


The Result









The Plan



These little babies can be made up a couple of days ahead and sit in the fridge all fat and happy. The only danger with that is you might eat them BEFORE the picnic.



Just don't forget to get your pastry and berries out of the freezer in time for them to thaw.



Recommendations



You don't have to use ready made pastry. You can go for it and make your own. I have been known to do so myself but in this instance I simply did not have the time.



This is why it is a great idea to have some ready roll pastry in your freezer. If you are having guests on short notice just get it out the night before or the morning of and it will be ready to go.



If you don't like the, uh, RUSTIC nature of these you can measure and cut your pastry and have round lids for the pies but it IS for a picnic. It is all about being Au Naturale.



To scale up this recipe factor in per pie: 1/4 berries, 2-3 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp flour, 1 tsp butter, 50 grams pastry (depending on the size of your muffin tins)