Mini Pies in a Mason Jar (The Cheater Method)

Photo by Carly Taylor

I've been wanting to make mini pies in a mason jar for quite a while. And once my Mom informed me that she read pies were the new cupcake, well I just had to jump on the bandwagon. Thanks Mom!

I started making these little guys at 10 o'clock the night before I hosted a recent baby shower. I had grand plans of making my Nana's pie crust recipe from scratch, with a top and a bottom crust but time was not in my favor and plan B was formed. So, I pulled out the frozen Trader Joe's ready made pie crusts (that I had bought in case of emergency) and mixed berries, set them to thawing and made 8 pies in about 15 minutes.

Here's my disclaimer: I am generally a "from scratch" type of baker so don't judge me on using store bought ingredients this time. These were insanely good and I'm a tough critic when it comes to pie crust. I've actually never used a store bought crust before and Trader Joe's did not disappoint, as usual.

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen, I used cherries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

Zest from 2 lemons

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter plus more for brushing the tops of the pies

Sanding sugar (optional)

2 ready made pie crust, thawed according to package directions

8 wide mouth half pint mason jars (found here)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place mixed berries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest in a bowl and stir gently until combined. Let sit for 15 minutes if you are using frozen berries.

3. Fill each of the mason jars about 3/4 of the way full with the mixed berries. Note: Skipping the bottom crust was a serious time saver. It might be even tastier with the crust but this was so easy and tasted great. 

4. Dot the tops of the berries with the butter. 

5. Place your thawed dough on a clean work surface and use the ring of the lid to create the perfect size top crust. 

6. Place the crust onto the mason jar and carefully push the center down a tiny bit and press the crust against the walls of the jar. This is kinda tricky to explain so see the picture below.

7. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the pie crust against the wall of the mason jar and use a knife to cut two slits in the center of the crust. 

 

8. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sanding sugar. 

9. Place pies on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. If the tops start to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

 Photo by Carly Taylor

Here is the last sneak peak of the desert table from the baby shower. Can't wait to share the whole party with you later this week!!!

 Photo by Carly Taylor