Make square modular pies to build up your periodic table of elements. This scientific discovery of making mini-pies will revolutionize the way you eat pies like the Munchkins did for donuts. You can't just eat one.

Note: I did not make the entire known range of elements from the periodic table. I will leave that to those cookie and cupcake makers who have done this before.

Step 1: Forage Like Early Man...

Who has time to make stuff from scratch? Gas up that Hummer of yours and get to the mega-mart to shop for your wholey-processed convenience foods. Be prepared to pay more if you want it certified organic. If you really want to do things right, you of course can make your pie dough from scratch and even make fresh pie fruit filling if desired. Just search for the instructables on those topics.

You will need:

Pre-made pie crusts
pie filling in various varieties
an egg to use as a glaze

square or rectangular baking pan
paper cupcake liners

optional for deocration:
grape jelly or food coloring if desired to play around with coloring the pie crust

You can use any kind of pie dish to form and bake in the oven.

CAUTION: Know how to operate your kitchen appliances, be careful with using sharp implements, know how to work with gas, clean up after yourself. If you can't stand the fn heat, get out of the fn kitchen.

Step 2: Round Things in a Square Hole...

Use a square or rectangular baking pan as your base.

Crowding them into a square baking pan gives them the square shape. The cupcake liners separate the individual mini-pies for ease of removal and consumption.

Use paper cupcake liners to fill the baking pan.

I was able to squeeze in 9 cupcake liners in this toaster-oven sized tray.

Cut strips of pie dough and start laying them in the cupcake liners.

Fill in the bottom and sides with strips or pieces of dough. Cracks and misjoints are okay since the cupcake liner will retain the spillage.

You can press the dough pieces to form it together.

When the cupcake liner sides are layered with dough, you can start forming them into a square cupcake shape.

Fill with your pie filling.

Cut out square cover pieces for the top crust.

Decorate with letters formed from scraps of dough. You may need to brush with water to get the dough letters to stick.

Use a toothpick to inscribe Atomic numbers and any other info desired.

You can glaze the top with jelly or pie filling sauce/gravy or food coloring to tint the background.

I was thinking of making them ravioli style for faster production and flip them over but corralling the soupy filling into a square spot would have been difficult. The dough edges would not have adhered together well.

Step 3: Exo and Endothermic Reactions

At this point you should glaze your coloring. A final egg wash goes over everything to give it that baked gloss.

Bake in an oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the elements. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. The pie filling may ooze over and make a mess so use a cookie tray as a drip pan. It makes it easier to get the pie out of the oven too.

Take out of the oven. Separate to cool.

Enjoy!