Mason Jar Mini Pies

Our church was preparing care packages for the college students for finals week, and I wanted to make something special to include in them.  I had been wanting to try making pies in mason jars for a long time, so I finally decided to give it a try.  I was inspired by this post here.

First wash 12 four ounce mason jars, lids, and rims and dry.

Then make one recipe of Aunt Joyce's Pie Crust.  Find the recipe here.

Roll out half the dough into a circle and use the ring from your mason jar to cut the tops for your pies.

Then press dough on bottom and up the sides of the mason jars.  Place on a baking sheet.

Fill with filling of choice.  The recipe I was following recommended 1/2 cup pie filling per pie, but I found that I did not need that much.  I made the apple pie filling adapted slightly from Betty Crocker--8 Granny Smith apples, peeled & chopped, 1/4 cup flour, 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg & cinnamon.  (I had quite a bit of filling leftover.)  I recommend chopping the apples a little smaller than what you would for a regular pie--it makes it simpler to get the filling into the jars.

Place filling in crust and place a small pat of butter on top.  Then press top crust on.  I tried to do make some decorative marks on the sides with a fork, but I found that this dough will not hold the shape.  You can use a decorative stamp to vent the top or just make a couple of slits with a knife.  Sprinkle with sugar.

Then bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until browned.

Using hot mitts to handle the jars, wipe the rims with a wet cloth, place flats on top, and screw on the lids.  (I had to push some of the crusts down a little, but it worked fine.)

Let the jars cool.  All of mine ended up sealing.  Label and decorate as desired.  I used muffin liners on top of my jars--thank you Pinterest for the idea!

Here is our "Pearce Pie" label that Maddie drew!

Please keep in mind that these are not shelf stable--they should be consumed within a few days or frozen for later.  There's just something about that little "pop" you get when you break open a sealed jar, though!

I also made up some of these using my County Fair Pie recipe.  For this, only half of the pie dough is needed, because there is no top crust.  I also had plenty of filling with this recipe for 12 mini pies.

I am planning to try this out with pumpkin pies soon, too!  I always have more than enough filling for a 9 inch pie, so this will be a great way to use that extra filling!  Have fun experimenting with this one!