We have been having problems with school hot lunch. One problem is I don’t know how much my child eats. Another problem is I don’t know what she eats (such as staying away from vegetables when I’m not watching). Feeding my family and keeping them as healthy as possible is one of my top responsibilities. To solve the problems, I had to do away with school hot lunch and keep an eye on recipes of food that my child can take to school and will actually eat. When I stumped on scoochmaroo’s Pie Pops, I knew I must try it. What I didn’t know is years have passed before I finally tried it for this Valentine school cold lunch for my child. So this is an extension and adaptation to scoochmaroo’s original Instructables.

As a family we don't do Valentine cards, flowers, or big celebrations, so having heart pie pops in lunch box might made the biggest Valentine Day in my daughter's life. (One good thing of living a life with low-raised bars I guess, no expectation, no disappointment).

I tried several fillings and decided on 4 fillings to use often interchangeably or to make each pie pop have different filling, which hopefully makes the heart pie pops more lunch-able.

To make these pie pops, I started with my favorite and easiest filling: (store bought) red bean paste. So you’ll need:
1 9” Pie crust (store bought)
1 Can of red bean paste
1 4” by 4” heart cookie cutter
1 Egg
6 Lollipop sticks
Basting Brush
Cookie sheet
Rolling pin

Supplies

Note: This article contains affiliate links as references for the same or similar products used in this project. If you click on the links and make purchases I could receive a small amount of commission from the affiliate company with no extra cost to you.

Step 1: Roll Out Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Roll the pie crust thin and large enough to cut out 9 hearts. Knead the cut out scrap together and roll it thin to cut 1 more hearts. So one 9” stored bought pie crust will make 5 hearts.

Step 2: Assemble Pie Pops

Gently press sticks into crust. For added security, you can use a scrap of crust to cover the stick. Add a small or large (whichever your preference) lump of filling to the center. Dip a fingertip in a bowl of water, wet the edges of heart crust so water glues the two shells together. Press edges together securely. Using the end of a lollipop stick, crimp the edges.

Step 3: Make Slits on Top Shell

Make slits on top shell to add character and to vent heat during cooking.

Step 4: Brush Egg

Crack the egg in a bowl and stir it well. Brush it around the pie exterior or areas you want them to be darker when cooked.

Step 5: Bake

Transfer pies to cookie sheet to bake at 375F for 15 to 17 minutes until egg brushed area becomes golden brown.

Pack a couple of hear pie pops in your child’s school lunch box and expect no crumbs left.

If you like sweet pies, here is a site for some ideas: http://luxirare.com/float/, or check out the award winning pies on Instructables: https://www.instructables.com/id/Award-Winning-Pie-Recipes/

Below are a few non-sweet fillings for those who don’t or can’t have sweet tooth.

Step 6: Raw Shrimp Filling

Ingredients:
12 oz Shrimp
1 oz Bamboo shoot (optional)
3/4 tsp Salt
½ tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp White Ground Pepper
¾ tbsp Potato Starch

Procedure:

Cut the shrimp into fine dice
Put the shrimp into a mixing bowl with salt and potato starch
Mix until become sticky and elastic
Add in the rest ingredients, and mix well

Step 7: Cooked Shrimp Filling

Ingredients:
12 oz cooked, peeled large shrimp
1 tbsp prepared horseradish
Ground white pepper
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp sour cream

Procedure:
Blend together the shrimp, horseradish, white pepper, the tomato paste, lemon zest and sour cream in a food processor to produce a dense but very smooth puree. (Put the puree into the refrigerator to chill to use in cold sandwich pinwheels I mention at the end of this Instructables).

Step 8: Cooked Spinach Filling

Ingredients:
1 bunch of spinach leaves, wased
¾ cup low-fat ricotta cheese
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
Procedure:
Plunge the spinach into lightly boiling water for a few seconds, until it is bright green in color and slightly limp. Rinse immediately under cold running water, drain and squeeze hard. In a food processor, blend the spinach with the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, and salt to form a speckled green puree. (Put the puree into the refrigerator to chill to use in cold sandwich pinwheels I mention at the end of this Instructables).

The good thing of the last two fillings is that they can be used as the filling for cold sandwich pinwheels shown in the picture.

These are a few out of several fillings that I tried and liked. They can be eaten cold too. People with hungry school kids may try them. Your kids may like having Valentine heart more than once in a year I think.