Ok cherry I can do my husband likes cherry. I haven't had the best luck making it from scratch, but I can always buy filling right? Wrong that would require me to pay attention at the store and I bought plain cherries. Yikes! But don't you worry, my second attempt at making cherry pie filling was a huge success. Yahoo :)
Then came the problem of making pie pops... Enter in the internet! I saw the idea of using a jar @ Our Best Bites. Genius ladies, absolutely genius. In their tutorial they use 8 oz jars, since it's the middle of winter I was limited on my selection so I used 4 oz jars (Note to self, buy jars in the summer for a greater selection). I crossed my fingers put them in the oven and... da da da da.... Success.
Print Recipe
Mini Cherry Pies in a Jar
12 4 oz (short and fat not the tall and skinny kind) mason jars, washed1 recipe of your Favorite Pie Dough (or refrigerated)
1 recipe Cherry Pie Filling (or 2 15 oz cans)
baking sheet
Makes 11-12 mini 4 oz pies
Preheat oven to 400˚ F.
Divide the dough in half.
Generously flour a flat work surface and roll out a piece of the dough thin. Use the ring from the jars to cut 12 pie tops.
If you have a small cookie cutter you can cut a decorative shape in the middle or you can use a knife to make a few slits in the top before you bake.
or
To make a lattice top cut the dough into strips about 1/4"-1/2" wide. Arrange 1/2 of the strips lengthwise spacing a little between each. Then arrange the other 1/2 horizontally.
Weave the pieces alternating the strips from top to bottom.
This creates a lattice top.
When the dough is woven together use the ring from the jar to cut the tops.
Use the remaining dough to make the crust in each jar. No grease is necessary, there is enough fat in the dough that there should be no problem with sticking. I didn't find a really easy way to prettily get the dough in the jar. Just take small pieces of the dough and press them with your fingers to fit the shape of the jar.
Make sure that the dough goes almost completely to the top.
Each Mini Pie takes about 1/4 cup of filling. I used a generous 1/4 cup and I made 11 pies, if you didn't use quite a full 1/4 cup you probably could get 12...
Using a small spatula (Thank you Pampered Chef Mini-Serving Spatula!) transfer the precut tops to the top of each pie. Gently press down around the edges with your finger to secure in place.
If you want to make a decorative crust, you can use a fork to crimp the edges.
If you used a cut out you can place it back on the top however you think looks fabulous.
At this point you can place the lids on the pies and freeze them, I chose to go right ahead and bake them.
You can brush the top with butter and sprinkle with sugar. But of course this was an afterthought... Oh well, it still tasted great even without the extra sugar :).
Place your jars on a baking sheet for easy moving in and out of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove from the oven and cool.
Save some for a friend.
Or top with a big dollop of whipped cream.
Take a big bite, and Enjoy!
In my defense I did give most of them away...
Oh and FYI, my neighbor didn't care that they weren't on a stick! :)