Mini Blueberry Galettes (The Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

So here’s the torture I’m faced with anytime I have to figure out what to call a recipe: Basically, what these are are mini flat blueberry pies. But when I typed “Mini Flat Blueberry Pies” I didn’t really think it rolled off the tongue. So then I typed “Mini Blueberry Pies” and I thought that was nice and simple, especially because I have a hangup about not wanting to create overly long recipe titles (i.e. “Miniature Flat Blueberry Pies with Fresh Lemon Zest, Sweetened Whipped Cream and Mint”) but the problem is that “Mini Blueberry Pies” isn’t exactly accurate. To me, a mini blueberry pie would be a pie made in a muffin tin or a ramekin—while a mini flat blueberry pie would be just that: a mini flat blueberry pie.

So then we’re back to square one: I don’t like the way “Mini Flat Blueberry Pies” sounds. Or reads. Or walks. Or talks.

So then I decided to rearrange the words. Mini Blueberry Flat Pies. Flat Mini Blueberry Pies. Pie Mini Flat Blueberry. None of them clicked for me.

So in the end, I decided to call them Mini Blueberry Galettes, since a galette is basically a flat pie, and since that title uses only three words and helps me sleep more soundly at night. Except “galette” isn’t actually a word I really like to use very often, because to me it’s so much easier just to say “flat pie.”

Be glad you don’t have to live in my head. It’s a complete mess in here.

Here’s the recipe for the miniature flat blueberry pastry pie galette things! They’re delightful…despite the mighty struggle it took for me to name them.

First, make the blueberry mixture: Add blueberries to a bowl…

With 1/4 cup sugar. A good start, I’d say!

Now, the blueberry mixture needs a little help thickening up, so grab some cornstarch…

And add that in.

Next, grab a lemon and a zester. And yes, my index finger looks very weird laying very rigid and straight atop this lemon. But these are the maneuvers I have to execute in order to use one hand to take a photo of myself holding a lemon and a zester with the other hand.

The plight of a foodblogger. Between this and trying to figure out how to describe a recipe in three words or less, my blood pressure is through the roof!

Not really.

Add the lemon zest…

Then squeeze in the juice of half of it…

And stir it around a bit.

Then add a little vanilla for a bit more deliciousness…

And stir the berries around until all the other ingredients are totally combined. Set this aside for a minute, and try with all your might not to eat any of the berries, because they’re exceedingly irresistible at this stage.

Okie dokie…pie crust purists, avert your eyes! And let me just say one thing: I actually very, very, very rarely use storebought pie crust. There’s nothing terribly wrong with it, but I just find it easy to make homemade pie crust and the storebought stuff is never as flaky and rustic/homemade as the stuff you make yourself. But for some reason, the storebought stuff works really, really well with these mini flat pies. The dough holds together really well through all the folding over and fiddling, and besides that…it’s so darn quick!

So use your own crust if you’d like…but just for kicks, try it with the storebought stuff first! Take a walk on the wild side.

One at a time, roll out the two crusts. And by “roll out,” I do not mean fish the rolling pin out of your cabinet and use it to form a ball of dough into a flat disk. I mean place the roll on a surface and use your fingertips to roll it out.

Now, if you have a 5-inch round cutter, you can use it. Or you can just find a bowl with a 5-inch rim…

And use a sharp knife to cut around it.

You should get three 5-inch cuts per round of dough (so, six total for the package.)

Then just lift up the circles…

And place them on 2 baking sheets lined with baking mats.

Now, you’ll have scraps left over…

So you can roll it out and you’ll get two more circles out of the deal!

Use a 1/4 cup measure (and scantly fill it) to place the blueberries onto the center of each round. (Give the berries another stir before you measure so all the juices are distributed!)

Then, one by one, fold the rim of the dough over toward the berries.

Fold up one little bit, the fold up the little bit next to it…

Then fold up the little bit next to that, pressing lightly as you go.

Keep going until you’ve got all the dough folded up and you have a cute little mini flat pie.

Adorable! Here’s one pan.

Here’s another pan.

Now just mix an egg with a little water….

Lightly brush the dough…

And sprinkle it lightly with sugar.

The sugar just gives the crust a little pop of sweetness…and a little sparkle, too.

Now just pop the pans in the oven…

And bake ‘em until they’re golden and bubbly! And don’t be concerned about the natural juices that bubble up and wind up on the pan. It’s just a sign of the deliciousness to come.

I let them cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transferred them to a platter to cool slightly. (I don’t want them to stick to the pan, and because of the juices, I wanted to loosen them pretty quickly.)

A little sprig of mint always makes everything purtier.

And so does a dollop of whipped cream!

Mmmmm. So lovely! What I love about them is that they’re nice and compact, so you can have a nice sweet treat that isn’t overly huge or decadent. And they’re gorgeous enough for company…and, of course, such a cinch to make.

Here’s the handy dandy printable!

Recipe

Mini Blueberry Galettes

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time:
Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 package Storebought Pie Crust (2 Rounds Of Dough)
2 cups Blueberries (generous)
1/4 cup Sugar, Plus Extra For Sprinkling
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 whole Lemon
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch Of Salt
1 whole Egg
1 Tablespoon Water
Whipped Cream, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Stir together blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, juice of half the lemon, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Set it aside once it's all combined.

Unroll the two discs of dough. Using a 5-inch round pastry cutter (or you can trace a knife around a 5-inch bowl) cut three rounds of pastry from each disc. Re-roll the scraps and cut 2 more. Place them on 2 baking sheets lined with a baking mat or parchment (4 rounds each pan). Evenly distribute the blueberry mixture between the six discs (approximately 1/4 cup per round).

Gently fold the over the edges of each crust, folding the dough in on itself to create a small rim of crust.

Make an egg wash by beating together the egg and water. Brush edges of each pie with the egg wash and sprinkle the crust with sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden and bubbly. Remove from the oven and allow pies to sit on the pan (they will leak a little juice while baking, but this is fine!) for 5 minutes. Remove to a platter and allow to cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream. Divine!

Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on July 28 2014