Miniature pies are the latest and greatest of adorable desserts, but making them at home isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Many mini pie recipes call for very specific miniature pie tins, and while they’re cute, most of us don’t really have the storage room or funds to spare for such a hyper-specific baking tool. What to do if the mini pies still call to you? Make use of a common favorite of frugal bakers: mason jars! Specifically, their lids, which provide the perfect structure for making tasty, adorable pies like THESE. Best of all, you can make them whatever flavor you want. Watch how it works!
MASON JAR LID PIES
Makes 12 individual pies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
You’ll Need
– 12 regular-sized mason jar lids and rings
– 2 – 14.5-ounce cans berries in light syrup (cherries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.)
– ½ cup granulated sugar
– 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch
– 1 – 14-ounce box refrigerated pie crust (2 pie crusts)
– 1 egg, well-beaten
– Turbinado sugar
How To
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the inside rings of the canning lids on it with their rubber seals facing down.
- In a small saucepan, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Drain the juice from one of the cans of berries into the saucepan and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has started to thicken. Drain both cans of berries, then gently mix in both cans of drained berries and set aside.
- Unroll the pie dough. Using a canning ring as a guide, cut a circle ¾-inch larger than the canning ring itself. (Alternatively, you can also use a cookie cutter or other object to cut out circles that are 3-¼-inch in diameter.) Cut out 12 pie crust circles, rerolling the dough as needed. These circles will be the bottoms of your pies.
- Make the top crusts by using a canning lid as a guide and cutting out circles ¼-inch larger than the lid itself. Cut out 12 tops, rerolling the dough as needed. Score each top by making 3 slits in the center of the dough.
- Make sure each canning ring on the sheet pan is fitted with its lid. Place the pie crust bottoms inside the rings fitted with lids, pressing up the sides.
- Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of pie filling into each bottom shell. Do not overfill the pies or they will burst.
- With your fingertip, rub a bit of water around the edge of each crust. Cover each pie with a top crust and, using a fork, gently crimp the edges together.
- Brush the tops of each pie with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with the raw turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Tips
- Not familiar with turbinado sugar? This coarse, light brown cane sugar is also known as “sugar-in-the-raw,” and is made from pure cane extract by spinning it in a cylinder or turbine— hence the name! You can find it easily in the baking aisle of your local grocery store.
- Refrigerated pie dough needs to warm up slightly before using, otherwise it will crack when you unroll it. However, do not let it sit out at room temperature for too long, as the dough will become too soft to bake as goldenly crispy as you want!
- When you crimp the pie crust, use the edge of your finger to counteract the fork, rather than pressing the fork and the crust into the canning ring. You want to keep the crimped edge up off the canning ring, otherwise the crust may “melt” against the hot ring in the oven.
Recipe inspired by Lady Behind The Curtain
