These are individual-sized pies made in little glass jars that can go straight from your freezer to your oven to your mouth. SO cute. You can make these with store-bought crust and canned filling or jazz it up with homemade like we do. And just for added cuteness we teamed up with crafting expert Lolly for some personalized tags. These are just about the best little gift from the kitchen you could share with someone!
Pie in Jar
This is the type of jar you’ll need.
They’re half-pint jars, but short and squatty instead of tall and skinny (Ya know, like me as opposed to my mother. Why oh why did I have to get the other parent’s genes??!) Mine are made by Kerr (Here’s the link to buy them from Amazon). They’re stinking cute as is, don’t you think? Something about a short squatty jar makes me giddy with the thoughts of fun things I could put inside. Ya know, like PIE. (And also cupcakes.)
Step 1: Pie Dough
The first thing you’ll need is dough. You can use any pie dough you like. Here’s a great tutorial on making a basic crust. That particular recipe will make 4 jars. You can also use the all-butter crust from this post. Or if you’re really in a pinch, even a store bought crust will do.
Step 2: Make a topper and line the jar
Roll out a small handful of dough. This is just for the tops of your pies, so eyeball about that much. Grab the ring part of your jar and use that as your cookie cutter. Brilliant, right? Cut out the tops and set aside.
Use the rest of the dough to line the jars. (No, you do not need to grease them) The great part is that there’s no rolling required! Just take little pieces and press them in. Make sure it’s pressed all the way up to the top of the jar, or pretty close to it.
Step 3: Fill ‘er up
You’ll need about 1/2 C filling for each jar. You can use any filling your little pie-craving heart desires, even (gasp) canned! You can also use the same method shown in the galette post to use any fruit you happen to have around.
Here’s the basic recipe (for 4 pies)
2 C prepared fruit (pitted, diced, peeled, etc.)
2 T sugar- brown or white (use more or less depending on sweetness of fruit)
2 T flour- (again, more if your fruit is super juicy like cherries, less if it’s pretty dry)
1 T butter (divided between the pies)
Seasonings/flavorings- cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extract, citrus zest etc)
Play around with it and come up with something yummy! I made 2 different pies in my pictures: one, a cut-down version of Kate’s Apple Pie and one with fresh cherries and almond extract.
When your filling is all combined, divide it between the jars and dot a pat of butter on top (about 1/4 T)
Step 4: Top it off
Make sure your “lid” has a vent so steam can escape. You can use a knive to make a couple of slits or a tiny cookie cutter to make it decorative. I am in LOVE with these little Autumn Leaf Pie Crust Cutters that my sister gave to me last fall. Oooh, I just saw this year’s set has an acorn in it! I might have to get that one too–how cute is that little acorn??! My little maple leaf is pretty darn cute, too.
When your topper is ready, slip it onto the top of the pie. It will be large enough that the outside edge goes up the side of the dough-covered jar a bit, as show in the picture below. Then use your finger, or a fork (as seen above), to press the 2 pieces of dough together to seal. And nobody even think about mentioning the state of my fingernails.
Another option is to do a crumb topping. I put a basic crumb topping on my cherry pies and they were sooo yummy.
Crumb Topping (for 4-6 pies)
1/4C brown sugar
1/4 C flour
2 Tbs oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs cold butter
Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter. Add oats and stir to combine.
And I couldn’t help but try a mini lattice on one. Eeek! Dying of cuteness overload. (Click here for a how-to on a lattice pattern)
** Optional step here that I HIGHLY reccomend: Brush pie tops with butter and sprinkle with sugar at this point. Yumminess highly instensified!
Step 5: Freeze ’em!
Ready for this? When your pies are all done and topped, place metal lids back on and seal them tight.
Then pop these little cuties in the freezer. There they will stay until you find yourself having an insatiable craving for home-baked goodness. You’ll be reaching for the crumbs at the bottom of the keebler box when suddenly your eyes will light up because you remember you have THESE sitting in your freezer.
Or when you have unexpected guests in need of impressing, or a friend needing to be cheered up, or it’s Thursday…I can think of a million reasons why one should have a constant supply of fresh pie in the freezer.
Step 6: Bake ’em
Now first let me say that one of the biggest concerns from everyone is about the jars breaking in the oven. All I can say it that I’ve baked hundreds of these and never once has a jar broken. These are canning jars- they are designed to be boiled, pressure cooked, etc. So it’s different than putting any ol’ piece of glass in the oven. They bake just fine!But if you’re freaking out then my advice would be this: remove lids from jars and place jars on a baking sheet. Place baking sheet in a COLD oven. Then turn the oven to 375. That will give the jars a chance to warm up slowly as the oven preheats. If you’re really worried you can always let them sit at room temp for a bit first before putting them in a cold oven. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the middles are bubbly. If you’re baking them fresh and not frozen they take about 45 minutes.
Depending on your filling you can pop them right out of the jar and onto a plate like so:
Or just eat them right out of the jar. There’s something way more fun about eating it right out of the jar…
And if you have oozing cherry filling, that might be the only option!
Change out your cookie cutters on top for cute holiday versions
Lolly is the brain behind Lollychops. Some of you may remember last year when she designed these cute cute Christmas tags for us to put on our goodies. So of course, I instantly thought of her when I realized that I could not sleep at night knowing these mini-pies could be better dressed. They needed just a touch of Lolly. And she delivered like always with these adorable tags!
All of the directions are right on the tag and you can write a little To/From on it. Plus in true Lolly fashion there’s like, a million different versions to go with any flavor you could possibly imagine.
These little pies are perrrrrrfect for giving. So once you have these cuties made up, download Lolly’s tag set, and get your cute on. People will think you are amazing because not only did you come up with the brilliant idea to make a mini pie in a jar, you also made an adorable personalized tag. Talk about moving up a notch on the popularity ladder.
–> CLICK HERE <– to head over to the Lollychops blog and get all of the instructions and details on downloading and using the tag sets. And here is a direct link to the tags.
All of the rest of you- get baking and have a great week!
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Questions & Reviews
Anyone have any recipes to share for these ?
Brandi- yes, the jars are quite hot after coming out of the oven, so be careful! But because they are small, they also cool off pretty fast too. By the time the jars are okay to handle (10 minutes or so) the pies will be ready to eat too.
So cute! I have a question – how long do you need to let the jars cool after baking before serving? I would imagine that glass is pretty hot once it comes out of the oven!
This is awesome! I'm seriously going to try and make these as hostess gift for my bridal shower. Thanks so much!!!
You're like the most creative person ever. My sister and I can't wait to make these!!
Does anyone know how to fix Pumpkin pie in these, thats my favorite. Can't wait to make some and give them out as teachers gifts, cool idea.
made a bunch of these apple pie style with your crust recipe and pie filling recipe to the lake cabin this past weekend…a serious hit! they all think i'm a genius. (don't worry I gave you guys all the credit!) 🙂
This is so cute I can't stand it! I am a huge pie lover and love anything mini! I want to make these right now!
Chatt-town mommy- not a silly question at all! You can give them frozen or unfrozen. If you've got a stash in your freezer than you can whip them out any time you want to give one away and just tell people to pop it in the freezer until they're ready to bake it. Or you can make them all and give them unbaked and that way people can either keep them in the fridge for a day or two or save them in the fridge for later. Whatever!
Erin-
I've never mailed them so I don't know! I wonder how long they'd take to get there though, because they'd need to be refrigerated and they might spoil before arriving. Whatever you send your hubby give him a big thank you from everyone at Our Best Bites! We sure appreciate our nation's servicemen and women.
I love these little pies and I wondering, my husband is stationed overseas right now, would it work to bake these and mail them to his troop??
i can't WAIT to try this! and i think i need to have a stash for new mamas – what a great thing for them to have in their freezer and pop in the oven whenever they get the CHANCE to eat!
I wrote about this and you and linked to you, too.
thanks!!
Hello, these are cute and I got my 4oz jars at the local grocery store for 8.99/set of 12. Anyways, This may be silly but if your giving as a a gift, do you give frozen, room temp or what?? I am confused…
You will need 8 oz. widemouth jars. $ oz. are the tiny jars.
4 oz. jars are the tiny jars.
Just wanted to let you know I am linking to you on my blog… there are some gorgeous tummy rumbling recipes on here, and lots that my daughter can have a go at too – she recently proclaimed that her main interest was cooking, so I said in that case she'll have to branch out a bit from chocolate fridge cake!
Adorable! I love this idea. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm linking this post to my blog so I can do this over and over again. Love your blog, by the way.
Yum! I had to blog about this! Its so yummy! I would be more than happy to receive this as a gift…
-chelsey
I love this idea, its great. I cant wait to try some including the chicken pot pie idea. Thanks to your amazon link, purchasing those jars was really easy. But I'm curious… If I dont bake them before giving them as gifts.. how long will they stay frozen for handing out to people? Might be a little annoying to need a freezer in order to take some to a christmas party. 🙁
love, Love, LOVE this idea. I think I need an entire freezer dedicated to these mini pies. Now, where are my jars…
A. No greasing required!
Ok, so maybe I missed this, but did you guys grease the jar, or does the butter in the crust make it un-necessary? I absolutely cannot wait to try these!
Every year my family celebrates Pie Night on the evening before Thanksgiving (we like to eat our pie BEFORE we're all stuffed up with turkey and mashed potatoes). This is definitely what I will be bringing this year…so adorable!
these are amazing. i just shared this fantastic idea and you're great blog with my readers. thank you for the great inspiration!
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Emily: Thanks so much!! I'll be trying it out this afternoon =)
Ms. Joanz- nope, no greasing necessary!
Do you grease the jars before pressing the crust on the sides and bottom?
Those mini pies look so good! I like that leaf pattern on top.
Yum. You think if I hide them way in the back of the freezer I might actually get one? My family will consume these so fast.
Hello My first time here… glad I found your blog… I love the pie in a jar,, that is just so great,, I will be making some for gifts this Christmas season…. have a great weekend… oh by the way I book marked you so I can make another trip back….
Hugs;
Alaura
Sheena: I made pumpkin pies last night. I used the same baking instructions and baked them all before freezing. I figured that was easiest since I didn't want the filling sloshing around. They turned out great!!
You are a freakin culinary genius! I will be doing this this weekend to impress everyone! Love your guts!
I would absolutely love to make pumpkin pie in a jar for my dad! Has anyone tried it? I'm jut not sure of the baking time (since with regular pnk pie you have to bake at a higher degree for so many minutes then lower the temp for so many more minutes) Any ideas? Thanks!!!