MINI COCOTTE BLUEBERRY LEMON PIES

 

a little while ago after making a chocolate pie, i had a bit of left over pie dough that i didn't want to throw away. i hate having to waste any little bit of food! so i decided to test out the idea of making an individual pie in one of my mini cocottes. i absolutely loved how it turned out & knew i had to develop a blog post around it! any excuse to use my mini cocottes. for this particular recipe i did a blueberry lemon filling because i was inspired by the beautiful spring like weather we had this weekend! however, you can honestly fill it with what ever fruit pie filling you like best & decorate it as fancy or simple as you prefer. i took the time to get very detailed on my first pie, until the daylight started to end.. then i had to hurry up & get these bad boys in the oven before i lost all my light. anyways.. now you can eat a whole pie without any judgement:)

ingredients

(makes 4 mini cocotte pies)

for the pie dough

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon raw sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold + cubed
  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, cold
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup ice water
  • 1 egg, for egg wash (can also use cream)

for the pie filling

  • 3 cups fresh blueberries
  • 1/3 cup raw sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice + zest from half a lemon
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions

for the pie dough

  • using a food processor pulse the flour, salt and sugar.
  • add the cubed butter, shortening and vanilla. pulse until a crumb like mixture forms.
  • add the cold water one tablespoon at a time until the crumbs begin to come together. turn out onto a pastry board and shape dough into a disk. if dough seems wet, add a bit more flour. if the dough seems dry, add a bit more water.
  • wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for minimum 2 hours.
  • pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
  • on a floured surface roll out pie dough to 3/4 cm thick. cut out four circles & line greased/floured mini pie dishes/cocottes.
  • evenly distribute blueberry filling amongst the pies.
  • decorate top as desired with remaining half of dough.
  • brush with egg wash or heavy cream & sprinkle with raw sugar.
  • bake for 25-30 minutes. if top begins to brown too quickly, cover in foil.
  • serve hot from oven with vanilla ice cream!

for the pie filling

  • in a mixing bowl toss blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest & vanilla. set aside until ready to roll out the pies.

NOTE: you can use the ceramic or cast iron mini cocottes. if you don't have either of those on hand, mini pie plates will work as well!

almond + coconut + white chocolate granola

 

i feel like every time i have cereal or granola, i am constantly sifting through it trying to pick out my favourite things. the clusters from honey bunches of oats, the almonds from special k, the marshmallows from lucky charms.. okay sorry, i am THAT person. like when you go to have breakfast & all the good stuff is magically gone from the box, hi. so i decided to make a breakfast granola that was full of ingredients i wouldn't have to sift through! a little mash up of all my favourite things; almonds, coconut & white chocolate. this is a simple granola perfect for any morning. serve it with a banana, fresh berries + almond milk & you got yourself the perfect breakfast! i know, white chocolate isn't the most healthy breakfast thing.. but it contains a very small amount, chopped into small pieces. so every time you get a bite, it's like a little sweet surprise! if you want to make this vegan, sub out the honey for agave & the white chocolate for vegan white chocolate or dark chocolate.

ingredients

  • 3 cups whole rolled oats
  • 100 grams white chocolate, chopped finely (i used one lindt bar)
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 pinch cinnamon
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk
  • 1 egg white (optional)

directions

  • preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • in a large mixing bowl add oats, white chocolate, coconut, almonds, cinnamon & nutmeg. stir until combined.
  • in a separate bowl whisk oil, honey, vanilla, milk & egg white.
  • add wet ingredients to dry ingredients & toss until evenly coated.
  • on a parchment lined tray, bake for 45 minutes. stir granola every 10 minutes for even baking.

BANANA CHOCOLATE CAKE

 

hope you all had a great valentine's day & long weekend (even though it was thirty below zero in toronto)! why don't we kick off this short work week with a cake? there is an article, including the recipe for this banana chocolate cake over on pure green magazine! you can check it out here.

ingredients:

for the banana cake:

  • 5 very (very) ripe organic bananas, mashed
  • ½ cup organic unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup oil
  • 2.5 cups raw sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

for the chocolate frosting:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 cups powdered cane sugar, or to taste (can substitute equal parts regular powdered sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions:

for the banana cake:

• preheat oven to 325 degrees. • on a large mixing bowl beat mashed bananas, butter, oil, sugar, eggs & vanilla until light & fluffy. • sift in baking soda, salt, flour & nutmeg. Stir until lump free. • evenly distribute batter between two greased 8 or 9-inch cake pans. • bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted clean. • let cool to room temperature before removing from pans & frosting.

for the chocolate frosting:

  • in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat butter, cocoa powder, sugar & vanilla fluffy. about 5-8 minutes.
  • frost cake as desired.

note: it is important to use very ripe bananas in this recipe. it will add a natural sweetness & a moist texture.

like what you see? get it here. speckled plates | speckled bowl | cake stand