Mason Jar Pies

We had our new pastor and his wife and daughter to our home for dinner last night. I was planning on making a blackberry galette, but instead decided to do these cute individual blackberry pies. I had previously seen mini cakes in mason jars somewhere on the internet, and that served as my inspiration.

I just mixed up my homemade pie crust (but you could also use store-bought to make this really quick and easy) and lined the inside of each mason jar with the crust. At first I tried rolling out mini-circles of dough, but I found it easier just to take a bit of dough, stick it in the bottom of the jar and mold it up the sides.

Then I mixed up the blackberry pie filling (blackberries, sugar, a little flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice) and spooned this into the jar.

After filling each jar, I took another bit of dough and pressed it out with my fingers into a round shape which I then placed on top of the jar. I then crimped the edges - I did mine in a more rustic style. I definitely didn't get very fancy with my crimping. I prefer a more rustic, raw look when baking pies.

Using a sharp knife, I cut an x-shape into the top of the pie to vent the air. Make sure you do this step or your filling will erupt out of the top or your pie! Then I sprinkled the tops with a cinnamon/sugar mixture.

I placed the jars on a cooking stone and baked at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. I forgot to time how long it took, so make sure you check on them as they are baking.

After dinner, we whipped up some creamy, homemade vanilla ice cream to serve alongside the pies.

Oh, and I used 4 oz crystal-quilted mason jars. You could go with the half-pint jars, but I think that this size made the perfect serving size.

While I worked on the pies, Lily made her own little creation. When I make pies, I usually give Lily a bit of dough to make something with. She made a blackberry pastry roll-up yesterday. All her idea and all on her own.

I want her to know that it's good to be creative and try new things in the kitchen. I want to instill this love of kitchen creativity in her at a young age. I don't want her to be scared of trying something new or different. So giving her a little bit of dough and pie filling and letting her go at it inspires her in the simplest way to be creative.

And then, of course, I always let her taste-test her creations while they're nice and hot out of the oven!

Have a blessed Wednesday!