Good Food
My #WildBlueberrySide
I have such fond memories of a summer spent road tripping with my four kids for 3 weeks picking every kind of berry imaginable in Oregon, Washington State, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alberta, Canada. All of us especially loved the wild blueberries and huckleberries we discovered when we ventured off the beaten path into the woods.
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In fact, on that trip a few years back I brought a hot plate, large canning pot and mason jars along in the trunk of our SUV and each evening at our roadside motel cleaned and canned the day's pickings while my kids relaxed and watched TV. By the time we arrived home, we had dozens of jars of canned fresh berries to enjoy all through winter.
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Wild blueberries are indeed a blessing from nature, they taste delicious and they are rich with anti-oxidants so they are really good for you and your kids to snack on right off the bushes. The taste is definitely unique: a cross between nutty, tart and sweet. Lucky for us all that these are also widely available in the frozen section of many markets year round -- when buying them just be sure the label says "Wild Bluberries" so you know you're getting the real thing.
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Not only are the wild blueberry types more natural and never genetically modified, they are smaller, more flavorful and richer tasting than their domesticated common blueberry cousins that are plentiful in the produce department during spring and early summer.
My own teens raved about the homemade Wild Blueberry Hand Pies I baked this afternoon while they did their homework. I hope you'll give this easy, yummy and original recipe I've created a try. If your family is anything like mine, I'm betting they'll disappear in no time.
Recipe
Wild Blueberry Hand Pies
Time to Make: 1 hour
Makes 16 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen puff pastry dough
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour+ extra flour for rolling out
- 1/4 t. cinnamon
- 1 Bag 16 oz frozen Wild Blueberries (approx 3 cups)
- 1 egg white
- 1 T. sanding sugar
- Pan spray
Directions
Pre-Heat Oven to 400 degrees
1. Open puff pastry dough and thaw for 30 minutes on counter following package directions
2. While dough is thawing, prepare hand pie filling by stirring dry ingredients together in medium bowl including sugar, flour and cinnamon
3. Next add frozen wild blueberries to dry mixture and gently toss with hands until well coated, set aside
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4. Using a rolling pill on floured cutting board to prevent sticking, roll puff pastry to approximately 1/16" thick
5. With a 3-1/2 inch biscuit cutter or a small bowl of that diameter, cut out dough circles and carefully transfer with a bit of space in between to a foil-covered cookie sheet that has been slightly greased with pan spray
6. Place a teaspoon full of the wild blueberry mixture onto half of each circle of dough, then dip your finger into water and gently dampen the circumference of each hand pie before folding into a half circle
7. Use a fork to seal the edges of each hand pie together and then use the fork again to lightly prick the top of each so air can escape during baking
8. Separate an egg and mix the white only with about 1 T. water then using a pastry brush paint onto each hand pie and sprinkle with sanding sugar to garnish
9. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly brown, being careful to watch so pastry does not get too dark
10. Cool slightly, serve warm and enjoy!
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About Wild Blueberries
The Wild Blueberry Association of North America is a trade association of growers and processors of Wild Blueberries from Maine and Canada that is dedicated to bringing this power berry's health story and unique wild advantages to consumers and the trade worldwide. You can always find Wild Blueberries in the wild, but you can find them inthe frozen fruit section of your local grocerystore, too. Just make sure the package says “wild”. By the way, 99% of the Wild Blueberry crop is frozen fresh at harvest, locking in their nutrition and taste. Awell-known retail brand to look for is Wyman’sWild Blueberries. The retail prize for a 15-ounce bag of Wild Blueberries starts at $3.59 while 3-pound bags retail for about $10 each. To find a retailer near you, visitwildblueberries.com. Learn more by following Wild Blueberries on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
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FTC Disclosure: I received products free fromthe sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer to facilitate this post. However opinions here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of this product.See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's home page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.
