Foodie Friday: Pie in a Jar

Every summer my husband and I go berry picking and get a ton of boysenberries. They're like a cross between a loganberry and blackberry. Since they're only in season for a very short time and super hard to find even frozen in grocery stores, I make a bunch of mini pies and freeze them so we can enjoy boysenberry pie throughout the year. It's a bit time consuming, but very easy!

Mason Jar Mini Pies

I use the same pie crust and filling recipe that I normally use, but I assemble the pies in small mason jars. Instead of baking it, I throw them in the freezer. When I want to eat one, I bake it in the jar in the oven and in less than an hour, it's done!

Here is my recipe for Boysenberry Pie, complete with a homemade crust. 

You'll need:

- small wide-mouth mason jars with metal lids (wide-mouth is VERY important)

- pie crust dough (the pre-rolled stuff won't work)

- pie filling

(My photos are from when I made mini apple pies.)

Using small pieces at a time, press the pie crust dough into the mason jar. I start at the bottom to form the bottom layer and then work my way around the sides. Keep it to a thin layer. 

 When you have all the crusts formed, add the pie filling. Don't fill them too much, you will need room to add the pie crust top.

Make the pie crust tops. Roll out the dough, then using the metal mason jar lid, cut circles. If you want, you can also create a lattice top instead. Sprinkle a bit of sugar on the top if you desire. 

Screw on the lids and freeze.

How to bake the frozen pies:

Remove the metal lid (including round disk piece). Place jars on a baking sheet in a cold oven. DO NOT pre-heat the oven. Doing so may cause the frozen jars to crack. 

Once the jars are in the oven, set the temperature to 350-375. Bake for ~40-50 minutes (including time it takes for the oven to heat up) or until crust is browned.

Finished pie! You can eat it straight out of the jar, though it will be very hot.

Or you can serve it on a plate. The pies did not always come out of the jar as nicely and this one did, so we usually eat them out of the jar.

Do you have a favorite kind of pie?