mini (blueberry) pies (made in a cupcake tin!)

lo and behold, the epitome of baking problem solving lies right before your eyes...

it was rather fortunate that neither my roommate nor myself thought, "hey, we need a pie tin for our apartment, you know, because we're gonna be baking pie!" because otherwise, this post would've never come into existence, and therefore, i would never have the joy in life to experience cupcake-sized-mini-pies. trust me, when it comes to handheld pies, turnovers are cool, hand pies are chill, and fruity empanadas are awesome...but this takes the cake. er. pie. anyway, if you want the complete pie experience in micro-gastric form, you have come to the right place!

if you're also pressed for time, cooking skill, money, or a combination of the three, then you can  and use canned pie filling. of course, i will always recommend a homemade filling, in which i will always suggest you use your favorite, divine filling recipe for your mini pies - but i will never, ever judge you for using premade filling. well of course, because i did the same thing once (ahhh, college budgets and college schedules, such sweet things in life).

before i start on the instructions, i have a quick, funny (kind of) story about pie and me.

last year was my first year of art school, art foundation, in which i took classes (think gen ed of art) to create a portfolio that decided which major i would officially be placed in for the next three years of college. basically it's applying for the art school again and it's a mix of learning to be a versatile artist and a huge weeding out process. 

anyway, in my spring semester drawing studio class, we had to create two dual self-portraits in charcoal that somehow connected to each other. we had to also alter our appearance in some way that was creative and out of our comfort zone. of course, i got some crazy idea that lead to a shopping trip at the nearest grocery store which resulted in a more-than-happy roommate to...pie me in the face. yes, you did not read that wrong. she pied me straight up in the head, in all of my crumbly, cherried splendor. i shrieked, she was a mix of feeling guilty and feeling thrilled that she had this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. it was g r e a t.

the shower i took afterwards was one of the strangest hygiene experiences of my life. having sickly-sweet, cherry-scented hair was an interesting by product of my pie-ing. long story short, the other half of my dual portrait duo resulted in me layering strips of raw pie dough over my face and having a classmate drizzle cherry pie filling over that. i was aiming for jennifer-becomes-the-pie but to be honest, i ended up looking like i came straight out of a horror film. and not even remotely in a possibly good way. and then the rest of the semester people always thought of pie and me as a package deal. 

SO okay enough of me rambling, here's what you really want! 

ingredients!!!

for the filling

4 pints of fresh blueberries, divided in half

2 tablespoons of cornstarch
3/4 cups of white sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold butter
-
2 teaspoons of ginger
plus
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
or
1 teaspoon of nutmeg 

for the pie crust (my go-to by the ever-amazing williams sonoma)

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon white granulated sugar + more for sprinkling (about 2 tablespoons)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

3 tablespoons of ice water
egg wash
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water 

what to do!!!
1. preheat your oven to 400 degrees (f). i'll redirect you to how to assemble this pie crust - just follow the instructions in part one and you will be perfectly set!
2. meanwhile while you set your pie crust to chill, place one half of your blueberries, lemon juice, cornstarch, nutmeg/orange rind, and sugar into a pot and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and bubbly. when done, add in the remainder of your blueberries and the butter, toss gently to combine, and set aside to cool.

3. roll out your pie crust on a prepared surface until it is 1/8 inch thick. using a floured glass or a large circle cookie cutter, cut out circles. with the remainder of the dough, cut thin strips if you want to make a lattice. i aimed to make my strips the width of a match stick and at least the length of the diameter of the cups. i know, we're bringing in mathy stuff, but it's gonna be worth it.

4. press the circles gently into your muffin tin (which you can either butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray), making sure that the edges are evenly pressed against the sides of the cups.

5. spoon in your filling so it reaches 3/4 of the way up. DO NOT (i know, i brought out caps so this is u r g e n t) fill it up anymore than that otherwise your pies will flip out and splatter and it will not be as pretty. they'll still taste good.
6. lattice away with your strips if you want to do that! then scramble your egg in a separate bowl and then mix in the water to create your wash. lightly brush it on with a pastry brush or with the back of a spoon. then sprinkle on your reserved sugar.

7. pop your little pies into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes! then let it cool before popping them out (if you need help, i used two spoons to get 'em out - twist, then lift). eat warm or...cold. in the middle of the night. while watching sappy romantic tragedies (i really recommend the 2013 version of romeo and juliet).

e n j o y!