COOKING WITH KIDS: MINI PEACH RASPBERRY PIES

It’s no secret I like to cook kid-friendly foods for my children (see here and here and here). But I also enjoy involving them in the kitchen and getting them hands-on with making the food. Getting kids to cook is a fun learning experience where you can teach them about the food they’re making and preparation techniques. Not only that, I find my kids are much more interested in eating what they make and take pride in sharing it with others, which sets a good example of what food should be about.

To encourage little ones to cook with you in the kitchen, I’m kicking off a series of posts titled Cooking With Kids where you’ll see step by step how kids can get hands on with easy, delicious kid-friendly recipes.

I hope these recipes and techniques inspire you to cook with your own children!

First recipe up in our series is easy Mini Raspberry Peach Pies. This recipe takes advantage of fresh seasonal fruit with easy steps along the way that kids can follow. Plus, who can turn down pie?

Easy Mini Raspberry Peach Pies – Ingredients:
(makes 24 mini pies, adapted from Martha Stewart)

– 4 prepared pie crust circles (you can purchase ready made or make your own)

– 12 oz fresh raspberries

– 2 lbs fresh peaches, diced

– 1/4 cups flour

– 1/2 cups brown sugar

– 1/4 tsp salt

– 1 egg + 1 tbsp milk (to brush on top)

– 2 tbsp butter, diced (to dot on top of each pie before baking)

– sugar (for sprinkling top of crust before baking)

You will also need:

– muffin tins

– 3.25″ circle cutter

Steps:
(preheat oven to 400 degrees)

1. With your circle cutter, help your child cut out 24 circles. If the dough gets too warm, place it back in the refrigerator to firm up. By making mini pies, kids can help with stamping out dough which is fun for them. With the leftover pie scraps, cut them out into about 3″ x 3/8″ strips. They don’t have to be perfect. Chill the strips as well.

2. Place each circle into a muffin tin cup and show your child how to press around the sides. Give them a chance to do several, working alongside them.

3. Place the muffin tins with dough in the refrigerator to chill while you work on your fruit. For older children, show them how to dice peaches and give them their own cutting board and safe knife. For younger kids, they can help by washing the fruits and placing the berries inside the bowl.

4. Once the raspberries and peaches are in the bowl, add the flour, sugar, and salt. This is a great time to teach your child about different cup measurements. They can then easily dump the ingredients in the bowl and help you mix them up.

5. Ask your child to scoop 1/4 cup of the fruit filling into each muffin cup.

6. Dot fruit filling inside muffin tin with a couple dices of butter. Show your child how to make lattice tops.

7. Have your child brush the lattice tops with the egg/milk wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Mini pies about to go in the oven. Yes, I know the lattice tops aren’t perfect, but they were all made by a 5 year old so they look pretty good to me!

Freshly baked out the oven with the crust nice and brown. Let these cool a bit before taking out. With the help of a knife, they should slide right out.

These mini pies were so delicious and not too sweet, perfectly sized for kids to enjoy and bursting with summer fruit flavor.

We brought these to a friend’s gathering and served them topped with vanilla bean ice cream. The pies got rave reviews from both kids and adults and big compliments to the little chef.

Mini pies are so much fun for kids to make and you could easily switch up the fresh fruit with other ones such as blueberries, nectarines or blackberries.

What are some fun ways you involve kids in the kitchen?