Pie in a Jar

Step 5 Freeze or Bake

You can't store these in the freezer forever - they're not sealed like jams are. But you can certainly make them up well ahead of time and freeze them for a bit.

When you're ready to bake these, take the jar out of the freezer and turn the oven on to preheat it at 375^oF. Take off the lid and put the frozen jar on a plate or baking vessel so you'll have less thermal shock when it goes in the oven. Put a ring of foil around the edge of the pie for the first 45 minutes, take it off for 15.

Let it cool and either eat it out of the jar or run a knife around the edge to get it out.

And lastly, a note from Simple Simon, our inspiration:

The whole "glass shattering from temp changes" fear is the thing to worry about when you put the glass into direct contact with the change in temp, e.g. the stove, a campfire, boiling water, etc. A hot oven isn't the same thing at all because air has lousy heat transfer. Consider how you can stick your hand in a 210^o oven for several seconds. Now consider sticking your hand in boiling water. Same temperature, but one causes a little discomfort while the other causes severe burns. The reason is that water transfers heat very well, as does metal (like a stove).

Don't ever stick your frozen jars into warm water. Don't ever stick your glass jar on the stove. Don't ever stick your hot glass jars into even room temp water. But frozen glass into a hot oven? Go for it. Cooks Illustrated (and their sisters, ATK and Cook's Country) have several recipes for things that go straight from freezer to oven with no trouble in the test kitchen, and they are where I got that information.

Comments

[foxyfabulous]

So I made these (delicious!) and then I made them again but used a no-bake cheesecake recipe instead. And WOW -- the tiny cheesecakes were a huge hit. Thanks for this awesome idea!!

[artquilter]

What a fabulous idea! Do you really need to boil everything if you're not actually canning it? Maybe just put it in the dishwasher instead? I also think it's amazing that you can put a frozen pie into a hot oven, but the other thing that amazes me is that a pie frozen solid takes the same amount of time to bake as a fresh made pie at room temperature.

[scoochmaroo]

Nah. Like I said (somewhere below), I just boiled them to save myself t he time it takes to wash them. Plus I guess it does sterilize them, so I figured what the heck. I ended up baking my un-frozen pies for a little less time. about 15minutes less, really. I should probably mention that. . . :)

[houghchrst]

I was wondering if I could just set the lid ring on the top, if it will fit, instead of trying to get the little ring of foil to stay on. I have tried the ring of foil thing and while it always works, if it stays on, it is a pain in the heinie.

[Lauren Sommerer]

It's nice to see that this idea is still alive and strong. Your pies look scrumptious! Thanks for linking back. Lauren (of the Simple Simon post)

[katherine123]

I can't wait to try this! I am having a get together soon and these will be perfect, thank you.

[LordOlimar]

Just for clarification, when you say "Put a ring of foil around the edge of the pie" what exactly do you mean? Are we putting the foil around the top edge of the jar? Are we covering the top of the jar/pie with foil? I'm loving this idea and am planning on attempting this at home, I just want to make sure I'm doing this step right!!

[scoochmaroo]

Just means aluminum foil. A general tip to keep the edges of your pie crust from burning, but honestly, I didn't bother, and they came out fine!

[bFusion]

I think you're putting the foil around the "lip" of the crust so it doesn't burn. I have never made a pie in my life, but I think that's the general idea with pies is that outer lip above the pan (or, in this case, jar) tends to burn very easily. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong :)

[Notags]

Exactly correct!