Prep Time
Pie Crust: 1 hours 20 minutes
Whipped Cream: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 8 minutes
Assembly: 20 minutes
So for July 4th 2020, we weren’t able to do our usual family BBQ due to COVID-19 restrictions. So we just had a nice little BBQ with my own family. I didn’t want to go overboard with a dessert since it was just us; so I decided to make something small and bite-sized. These little berry pies are so fun, tasty, easy, and versatile. I made them with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream since it was July 4th. However you could fill these bad boys with vanilla or chocolate pudding and any type of fruit you crave.
Ingredients and Directions
View our Pie Crust recipe
- 2-½ cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (very cold butter)
- ¼-½ cup of ice cold water
- 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar
A couple key points about making pie crust at home – besides that it is so much more delicious than store bought, even though there are some great options out there when you’re in a rush! Your butter and water need to be COLD. You do not want your butter to melt as you’re working with it. The chunks of butter that you will see in your dough is how you end up with a flakey pie crust. The addition of vinegar helps tenderize the dough and make it softer and I find easier to work with. If you’re missing vinegar in the house – you can definitely make this recipe without and still be successful. Lastly, I usually use a pastry cutter, but a food processor would also work well and quickly.
- Add flour, sugar and salt to a large bowl.
- Add 1 cup of cubed and very cold butter.
- Cut the butter and dry ingredients together with a pastry cutter or food processor until you obtain the consistency of peas
- Add vinegar to your ice water and combine.
- Add water/vinegar mixture to the dough 2 tablespoons at a time. You do not want very wet dough. You want just enough water to bring the dough together.
- Once you achieve this, transfer the dough to a flat surface to work it into a rectangle. Depending on the recipes I have in the pipeline, I usually separate the dough into 2 or 3 flat discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using. Remember – this dough should go into the oven cold!
- Lastly, you this dough freezes quite well, just thaw in the refrigerator before using.
View our Whipped Cream recipe
Making the homemade whipped cream for holidays has been my job since I was a child. It’s so simple to make and tastes so amazing. It’s a wonderful cake filling as well!
- 1 cup heavy cream (cold)
- 2 tablespoons whipped or block cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add all the ingredients to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat with whisk attachment for about 5-10 minutes until the cream is whipped. Don’t over mix or you’ll end up with butter!
- Overtime I’ve taken to adding a small amount of cream cheese to my whipped cream to give it a little more form. This is helpful if you want to pipe your whipped cream into any desserts. Plus it’s tasty; but if you wish – you can exclude the cream cheese and still have an amazing whipped cream.
Bite-sized Berry Pies
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Roll your chilled dough on a floured surface to about ⅓” thickness
- Cut circles of 2.5”-3” inches
- Add these circles to your non-stick or greased mini-muffin pan. Gently push the dough down with a mini tart tamper (or just use your hands and a fondant rolling pin like I do!)
- Bake for 7-8 minutes. Half way through, you may need to push the dough down with your tamper or rolling pin. You can also do this after you take them out when they finish baking.
- Let cool and pop them onto a cooling rack.
- While cooling, prepare your chosen fillings. I piped fresh whipped cream into the tarts. Then placed slices of strawberries, 2 blueberries and star foil sprinkles. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. These are best prepared right before you serve them – however everything can be prepared beforehand to save you time!
