Apple-Cinnamon and Pecan Pie Pops

Two weeks ago, I made some tiny little pie pops for the speakeasy. I sold them separately for people who wanted to bring some home for loved ones, and they were quite a hit. When I do these again, I will probably do only super-sweet pies because the ratio of crust to filling is strongly in the crust's favor. You need a filling that would normally smack you in the face, like cherry pie or pumpkin pie. The pecan pie worked very nicely as well, and I highly recommend that.

Here are the supplies you need to pursue a similar project:

• Ingredients for regular pie filling (or you can do store-bought, but you're hella cheating), cut into one quarter the amount
• Pre-rolled pie crust
• Lollipop sticks (you can buy these at Michael's)
• Rolling pin
• Patience. Worlds of patience.
• A cookie cutter, about the size of caramel apple pop

This is how they'll look before they go in the oven.

Some of the filling may spill out. It's okay.

And here is me making sure to secure the sticks in place.

The final product! Well worth the effort!

Pecan was by far my favorite, so I'll give instructions for that.

Pecan Pie Pops

inspired by bakerella

Ingredients: 

What is listed above (pie crust, lollipop sticks, rolling pin, etc.)

For filling:

1/3 cup dark corn syrup (I use half corn syrup and half molasses)

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1/3 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup chopped pecans (dice these if possible)

For brushing: 

1 egg white

brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all filling ingredients together in one bowl (I love how easy pecan pie is).

2. Roll out the crust and use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut out circles in the dough. Make sure you have enough for the top and bottom of the pie pops. 

3. Place one circle down and press the lollipop stick into the middle of the circle to secure it in place. Place about 1/2 tbsp of filling into the CENTER of the circle. 

4. Take another circle and place it on top of the bottom circle, pressing into onto the lollipop stick. Then press the top onto the bottom with the end of the lollipop stick to make a pretty design. 

5. Use a pastry brush to cover the top crust with an egg white and then sprinkle with brown sugar.

6. Place back in the fridge for a few minutes before baking to set up. 

NOTE: You may need to place the dough back in the fridge before putting the top circle on. This is because the crust is much easier to deal with when it is cold. 

7. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned, just before the juices start to bubble (this timing is an art that takes practice).

Settling Down

Things are finally starting to settle down after a long and eventful weekend. The Speakeasy as Pie event was a success beyond my imagination. Everything was beautiful and just as it should have been. And then all my friends and co-workers and even my family made it out to celebrate. It was just lovely.

Some stats:
$220: Money raised for Urban Sprouts
<1/2: Bag of garbage
9: Pies eaten
9: Hours the party lasted
50: Attendees, about half in costume

Here are some of the photos we took before the night began:

 The famous pie pops

 The pie of the evening: bourbon apple, just in time for fall

The table setup before dark

Some of our lovely accents: floating candles in mason jars (where I normally store lemon curd and pie filling), flowers, recycled crates

The two drink choices at the bar: The Newsboy and The Exotic Lady

The aerial view of the bar

Maria's zine stand

That's me awaiting guests at the pie stand. I'm not crazy about being in photos.

One Day, Ten Varieties of Mini Pies

This wasn't even the messy part

Today I baked 10 varieties of mini pies. It took me about 9 hours total, not including the extra time I took to go for a run in the middle and to bake a batch of peanut butter cookies for a sick friend and an order I am shipping off to Los Angeles in the morning.

Why did I make 10 varietes of miniature pies? Who the hell does something like that? Is that what you're asking? Well, I had an order of two dozen mini pies today, and I wanted to showcase all my best work. The list went as follows:

1. Banana Cream Pie (so. effing. cute. the layers! the wafers fit perfectly! the whipped cream!)
2. Peanut Butter Cream Pie (the essence of comfort food)
3. Blueberry Lemon Curd Pie
4. Pecan Pie with Sorghum
5. Date-Pecan Pie
6. Apple-Pear Pie
7. Strawberry Mint Pie
8. Blackberry-Nectarine Crumble-Topped Pie
9. Lemon Chess Pie (oh, of course!)
10. Peaches and Cream Pie (my favorite... it tastes like peaches on homemade ice cream)

Now I'm sipping on a lemonade with fresh mint in my bed, saying goodbye to this exhausting day

Hello, Monday. You always arrive too soon.

Songbird Apple Pie

Last week, my roommate and I (and our respective friends) stayed up until 2 AM decorating this pie for her Speakeasy as Pie Mix Tape cover and our Pie Speakeasy coming up in September. Maria is one of those endlessly creative people who keep me inspired even when I feel like I just want to give up. I had almost dropped this Speakeasy project (which I'll explain in a future post) for a few weeks because things got stressful, but her excitement is infectious.

This pie is for her and for her beautiful voice. I'm lucky enough to hear her sing almost every day.

Maria hard at work

Cutting out the leaves

I used a mixture of Gravensteins and Golden Delicious to get a smooth pie with chunks of crunchy, cinnamon sugar-covered apples

Close up on the songbird

Close up of the handmade leaves

The final product