Mason Jar Lid Pies
These individual little pies make a great snack when just craving "a little something" or don't want to ruin appetite before a meal.
They are also great for parties...no messy servers or fruit spillage trying to get onto a plate and no forks needed!
Ingredients:
12 regular-sized mason jar lids and rings 1 (21 oz.) can fruit pie filling
1 – 14-ounce box refrigerated pie crust (2 pie crusts) 1 egg, well-beaten Turbinado sugar
Note: Turbinado sugar is a coarse, light brown cane sugar is also known as “sugar-in-the-raw,” You can find it easily in the baking aisle of your local grocery store. (Hint: If you are a Starbuck’s junkie as I am, they are more than happy to let you take a few packets of the turbinado sugar, which is all you need)
Tips
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.
If making larger batch with different flavors, as I did, you may want to keep separated or score tops just a little differently for each flavor or you could be surprised as I was on those with slits that did not open much to reveal flavor.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the inside rings of the canning lids on it with their rubber seals facing down.
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. (see "Tips" if making multiple flavors)
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 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 bottom crust.
Cover each pie with a top crust. Pinch together with fingers, then using a fork, gently crimp the edges together.
Brush the tops of each pie with the egg wash.
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 10 minutes before serving.