Easter Bunny Pies

Hopefully the Easter Bunny has been and you are currently bouncing around the place due to over-indulgence of all things sugary. We started early and have been nibbling on these yummy pies all week. They are actually the signature pies of my company, Blueberry Pie, which have been topped with mini-mini eggs for an Easter Bunny twist. I really wanted tiny mini eggs for these but didn't think I'd have any chance of finding them when I stumbled across them in Tesco's (own brand). Here's my not so secret recipe....(and check out my work blog for more Easter inspired posts).

 

EASTER BLUEBERRY PIES

Makes 24

SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

225g plain flour

150g cold unsalted butter

75g icing sugar

1 egg

BLUEBERRY FILLING

150g blueberries

25g caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp cornflour

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp icing sugar + extra for dusting

24 mini mini eggs

2 x 12 hole mini muffin tins, lightly greased

To make the pastry, blitz the flour and butter in a processor to fine crumbs. Whiz in the icing sugar for a second and then add the egg in. The mixture will come together into a dough ball within a few seconds. Shape it into a smooth, flat disc. Cover & refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Tip the blueberries into a pan with the sugar and cinnamon and allow to cook gently for 6-8 minutes until they begin to pop. Blend the cornflour to a smooth paste with a tablespoon or two of water and stir through. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until jammy and then remove and leave to cool and thicken.

Back to the pastry, I usually divide the dough in half (one for each tray) to make it easier to manage and roll. Then from each piece cut out 12 discs with a 6.5cm straight sided cutter and also 12 with a 4.5cm fluted cutter. Refrigerate the pastry pieces for about 10 minutes until they firm up a little.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Use the large pastry discs to line the muffin tins, fill each one with a teaspoonful of the blueberry filling and then top with a smaller pastry disc. Brush the tops with the beaten egg to glaze and bake for 15-10 minutes until golden.

Leave to cool a little in the tin before easing out gently and leaving to cool completely (or not, if you can't wait!) on a wire rack. Meanwhile, blend the icing sugar with a 1/2 tsp of water to give a smooth paste. Use this as glue to stick a mini egg to the top of each pie. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

TIP

Obviously, you can make the full recipe and then refrigerate or freeze half of it to make some fresh pies another time.