Sweetie Pies

I found this idea for creating individual servings of pie in a jar here last year but I didn't have time to make them for Valentine's Day.  I just bookmarked the post and saved it for this year.  Aren't they fabulous!

You will need the half-pint jars that are short and squatty.  I had a hard time finding these but I eventually did at Walmart.  If you live in my neck of the woods I may or may not have taken the only box from the Walmart in Jordan Landing!!!

These are incredibly easy to make if you do what I did and use ready made crusts and cans of fruit pie filling.  You can definitely use your own recipe for pie crusts and pie filling as well.  To make 12 jars I used three boxes of the pie crust dough and six cans of fruit filling (two each of cherry, peach, and apple).  Unroll your dough and use the lids of the jars to cut out the tops of your pies.  Then press the dough into the jars all the way up to the top.  Add about 1/2 cup of the pie filling to each jar.  Use a fork to create some vents in the tops and place on the filling.  Press around the edges with a fork or your fingers.  Brush the tops with some melted butter and sprinkle with some sugar.  Place the jars in a baking dish and put into a cold oven.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes.  For a step-by-step tutorial go here.

Allow the pies to cool completely.  The cherry ones were a bit messy but I just wiped any excess filling off the jars.  Add the lids to the jars and then decorate with these adorable toppers and some ribbon.  It took me about an hour to put the pies together, 45 minutes to bake them, and 30 minutes to decorate them once they had cooled.

These are all ready to be delivered to my loved ones!  Give them a try...you still have a couple of days before Valentine's Day!