Mini Blueberry Pies (vegan, gluten-free)

Red, White & All-American Blueberry Pie -- what's more patriotic than that?

My family always gets together for 4th of July. Note about my family: when you ask who's coming to a gathering, the go-to response is always "just us", which really means 50+ people. So 4th of July is "just us". We usually make pizzas in the brick oven, and enjoy other typical BBQ and grilled foods.

Ever since I was little, I was always the coordinator of activities for me and my cousins to do together. There was 12 first cousins on my mom's side, so it was always quite an ensemble. We would put on shows and dances, make movies, and for 4th of July, a parade. I would spend the days leading up to 4th making homemade patriotic signs, and buying little flags from the dollar store. I would group my cousins together to rehearse "God Bless America". I'd hand out the signs and the flags and we'd parade in front of everyone around the yard, as they took pictures, cheered, and sang along.

As we all got older, no one was really down for the parade anymore, so I had to get creative. New activities the cousins and adults could participate in. One year we played a "Newlywed Game" with all of my aunts and uncles, and cousins in relationships. Another year, we had a pie contest. I called it the "American Pie 4th of July". Whoever wanted to participate could bake a pie and I chose 3 people to judge them anonymously. As the judges deliberated, we put the pies out for everyone to eat. The pie that most people ate was crowned "Fan Favorite", a separate prize from the winning pie. The pie that won 1st place turned out to be a store-bought fruit pie from ShopRite! That gave us a good laugh- a bunch of us baked our favorite pies, and the store-bought pie won the whole thing. I can't remember specifically what the fruit was, but in my mind, it was blueberry.

Although things will look a little different this year, I wanted to make something that reminded me of that special 4th of July. I made them mini so they're easy to share germ-free. They are dairy and gluten allergy friendly, made with almond flour instead of regular flour, and coconut oil instead of butter. I hope you have an American Blueberry Pie 4th of July!

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INGREDIENTS

Blueberry Filling:

• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, washed and dried

• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar

• 1/2 teaspoons tapioca flour

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• pinch of salt

Almond Flour Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour

• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water)

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, room temp or cold

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or mini tart pan with coconut oil.

2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, flax egg, coconut oil, maple syrup and salt.

3. Split the dough in half. Add 1 tablespoon of the dough to each vessel (makes about 8). Bake for 4-5 minutes.

4. While the bottom crust par-bakes, combine the blueberries, coconut sugar, tapioca flour, lemon juice and salt in a medium bowl.

5. Add the blueberry filling to each mini pie, and top with another tablespoon of dough.

6. Use a sharp knife to create an 'X' in the top of each mini pie.

7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the crust looks slightly golden.

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