After making this pie filling I have come to one conclusion.
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Blueberries and Lavender should, never, ever be separated. They go together so well it’s almost a little ridiculous. The sweet, fruity, tangy berries are the perfect other half to lavender’s heady floral aroma. I couldn’t stop sticking my head in the bowl to smell the filling as I was assembling these pies. And as if it didn’t smell good enough then, my whole house smelled like a miracle while they were baking.
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I. AM. SMITTEN. Smitten Kitten.
BLUEBERRY LAVENDER HAND PIES
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There is no fancy steeping used to get the lavender flavor, no dried lavender involved. I simply used a lavender essential oil. When using essential oils for cooking, make sure that the brand you use is pure enough for consuming.
I use doTERRA oils for cooking, which are certified pure theraputic grade. Their lavender is perfectly safe to use in cooking. I love putting a little in my lemonade for a gorgeous, lavender scented drink. But yes, make sure you use a safely sourced oil.
They key to not having the filling run out everywhere as you try to put the pies together is making sure the filling is cold before you start. That way, the sauce with be thick and cling to the berries, allowing you ample time to top it with a crust round and seal it in before the sauce starts to spread.
I like to put at least 2 T. of filling in the hand pies so that you get more of a domed look instead of a flatter pie. Make sure you really seal the crusts together well as these pies can get a bit messy if all that dark filling runs out. You will have a few streams of juice running out anyway, from the slits in the top, so seal those edges like a vault. 😉
These are great on their own, and fantastic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as well.
Just don’t expect them to stick around for long.
Is it possible for a food to taste beautiful? Because that’s what I get from these lovelies. It must have something to do with the lavender, but these pies are really just one big bite of beauty!
- FOR THE FILLING:
- ¾ C. Sugar
- 3 T. Cornstarch
- ¼ t. Cinnamon
- 1 T. Water
- 1 C. Blueberries
- 1½ C. Blueberries
- 1 t. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 4-5 drops Lavender Oil(use a pure grade that is safe for consumption)
- FOR THE CRUST:
- 1½ C. Flour
- 1 t. Sugar
- ½ t. Salt
- ⅛ t. Baking Powder
- 5½ T. Shortening, chilled
- 4½ T. Butter, chilled
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 2 t. White Vinegar
- ½ C. Cold Water
- 2-3 Ice Cubes
- 1 egg
- 2 T. Milk
- FOR THE FILLING: Place the sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and mix together. Add the water and 1 C. blueberries, mixing into the sugar mixture and smashing up the berries a bit.
- Heat the pan on medium heat, cooking and stirring until the blueberries start to give up their juice, pressing them down to help pop them as you stir. Make sure you stir frequently so that the sugar doesn't stick to the bottom. The sauce become thick and glossy, with most of the berries burst and deflated.
- Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1½ C. blueberries. When the filling is cool, stir in the lemon juice and lavender oil. If you are a little timid about the lavender flavor, use 3 drops of oil. If you would like a bolder lavender flavor, use 5.
- Refrigerate filling. It should be cold before using it to fill the crusts.
- FOR THE CRUST: Place the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. Place the lid on and pulse the mixture a few times to blend.
- Add the butter and shortening to the crust, 1 T. at a time, pulsing a few times with each addition(don't run the processor consistently). When the butter and shortening are added, pulse a few times more, or until the butter is cut down to pea sized pieces.
- Mix together the cold water, vinegar, egg yolk, and ice cubes. Let chill for a minute or two. Add 3½-4 T. of the mixture to the dough 1 T. at a time, pulsing a few times after each addition until the dough comes together, but is not too wet. Chill immediately while you prepare to roll out the dough.
- Place a sheet of waxed paper on your work surface. Take half of the dough out of the fridge, place on the paper and flatten into a disc.
- Place another piece of waxed paper on top of the dough. Roll the dough out thin, at least ⅛" thick, or thinner, if desired.
- Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and cut circles out of the dough that are at least 2-2½" in diameter. Place dough circles on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper.
- Roll out the other half of the dough in the same manner. Cut out circles of dough that are at least ½" larger than the dough circles on the baking sheet.
- Working one at a time, place 1½-2 T. of the cooled filling in the center of a dough circle. Gently place one of the larger dough circles on top of the filling and seal the edges by pressing your fingertips around the edges of the dough circle. Press the tines of a fork around the edge of the circle to fully seal in the filling.
- Repeat this procedure with the remaining dough and filling.
- Place the egg and milk in a small bowl and beat well.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the pies with the mixture.
- Sprinkle a small amount of kosher salt on top of the pies.
- Bake the pies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
More Pie? These are so tasty.
Find more blueberries with this fresh dessert.
Or these blueberry topped panna cottas.
Or give these Strawberry Scented Cupcakes a go =)
Love, Beautiful Pictures. Great Post. Amazing Pies. =)
Thank You, Handsome!
Your hand pies look ridiculously pretty…though I’m still skeptical about flowers in my dessert – maybe you should send me like a whole bunch of them to taste test? 😉 Thanks for the tip about cold filling, btw…I can never figure out why my hand pies are so flat and leaky! Will have to give that a try this weekend.
Thank you so much, Tina! You’ve got to give these a chance, haha =) I like a lot of lavender flavor, but you could always try just a hint. And then send them to me if you don’t like them. 😉
These look amazing! I’m hoping to give them a try tomorrow. Is there a way to use dry lavender instead of lavender oil? I have some dried stuff left that I’d like to use.
Thank you! You might be able to steep the lavender in the 1 T. water(used in the sauce) for a half hour or so before making the sauce. Just make sure it’s boiling hot before adding about 1/2 T. lavender flours to it and then let it steep. Then discard the flours and use the water in the sauce. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Those are some seriously gorgeous pies and also fantastic photography. I love using lavender in cooking but have not done so in many, many years. Easy to get distracted by other things.
Thanks for the inspiration, I get the feeling that these will be on the menu when blueberries come on here, as we live in a production area for them. Probably time to work on some savory tarts for spring as well.
Thanks again,
James
Thank you so much, James! There are so many great ingredients out there, it’s easy to get distracted! I hope you get a chance to make these when blueberries come around =)
Soooo beautiful! I love anything with lavender but these are especially wonderful…
Thank you so much, Aimee! Lavender is magical! =)
what a lovely flavor combination and they look amazing too!
Thank you so much, Dina!
These look gorgeous and scrumptious! I noticed the amount of blueberries is written twice with 1c then 1 1/2 c. What is tgevanoubr needed? Thanks !
*the amount…
Thank you Kat! The blueberries are listed in two amounts because you use the first amount to cook down with the sugar and cornstarch. The second amount is for folding into the blueberry sauce after it’s cooked. So all together you would need 2 1/2 C. =)
Could you make this without shortening and 100% butter?
Hi Krystyn! You could use all butter, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The shortening is really what makes the crust flaky…I use half shortening and half butter spread(like canola harvest, etc) to get the best results. Thanks for stopping by! =)
Do you add the cinnamon with the sugar and cornstarch?
Hi Aubrey! Yes!
Oh my YUM!!! I just found this recipe! Guess I was having a baby or something when you posted this one…so somehow it slipped in the cracks until now : ) haha anyways these are getting made soon…oh so soon! Love your guts you talented lady!
Oh Rachel, you are my favorite girl ever. Haha. How dare you not check blogs while birthing those beautiful babies of yours 😉
I just returned from a lavender festival in Concho, Arizona with culinary lavender in hand…AND there are 2 big boxes of fresh blueberries in our frig. Question…I don’t have the oil but want to use the culinary buds that I purchased. How much would I add? We made lavender ice cream and it was a very successful first try at cooking with this delight herb! Thank you so much…Happy July 4th tomorrow! Sincerely, Linda Storey Tucson, Arizona
These look incredible! Do they freeze well?
Sincerely,
Carol from Alberta, Canada
Thank you! They should freeze well, I would think. 🙂
Amazingly delicious.
I didn’t have all the ingredients for the crust (shortening) but handy puff pastry in the fridge, and they were just awesome.
Thank you for the recipe.
Azucena, from Guadalajara, México.