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One of my family’s favorite foods is berries. I can set a bowl filled with berries on the table and in the next instant they are gone. This time of year, we do not have access to the fresh berries they love, so I often buy frozen berries at the grocery store.
My children will just eat frozen berries right out of the bag, but my husband would rather have them as part of a recipe. So, I usually make a compromise – if my children help me make a recipe with the frozen berries, we will set some of the frozen berries off to the side for them to eat as a treat after they are done helping. Our recipe of the month for November is Mini Berry Pie and this is the perfect recipe for my children to help with and get their treat at the end.
Here are some ways that children can help with Mini Berry Pies:
- Spray tortillas with cooking spray,
- Stir cinnamon sugar mixture and sprinkle it on the tortillas,
- Fit the tortillas into the muffin tins,
- Add berries, sugar, and cornstarch to the saucepan (mom does the cooking),
- Older children can pour the berry filling into the tortilla bowls.
I enjoy having my children help out in the kitchen because it teaches them about the food they are eating, makes them more likely to taste the food, and teaches them basic cooking and safety skills. For more about including children in the kitchen, check out this video and this handout.
Mini Berry Pie
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 5 whole wheat tortillas (6″)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen mixed berries (2 ½ cups)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Lay tortillas flat. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray.
- Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture on the tortillas.
- Place the tortillas in the muffin tin. Fit them into the muffin bowls. The cinnamon and sugar will be on the inside of the bowls. Bake the tortillas for 13 to 15 minutes. They will be light brown and crisp.
- Put berries in a medium saucepan over low heat.
- Stir sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add mixture to thawed berries.
- Cook over medium heat. Mixture will start to get thick and bubble. Cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
- Put 1/4 cup berry filling into each tortilla bowl.
- Mini pies have a great fresh taste in the middle of winter.
- Make tortilla bowls ahead of time. Store in an airtight container. Do not add filling until serving.
- Add a spoonful of yogurt to the top of the filling.
