Pie Pops!!

I recently overcame one of my biggest fears. What was that fear, you ask? Being alone? Dying a slow, painful death? Sleeping with the closet doors open? Pie Crusts? Yes! That's right - pie crusts. Oddly enough I've harbored an intense, irrational fear of making pie crusts. 6 years ago I ventured into the art of baking and attempted a lattice crust apple pie for a 4th of July celebration. The pie ended up coming out decently enough. But the recipe I found online was so intricate and specific that I (temporarily) developed heart palpitations over being nervous about entirely screwing up that damn pie and (pseudo-permanently) developed a hatred toward making pie crusts. I vowed to never deal with them ever ever again! But of course, if you know me, you know that it would bother me so much that I failed at this seemingly simple venture that I would have to try again.... eventually....

And eventually came 6 years later in the form of "Cherish Teters to the rescue!" (and, yes, she does have a Super Woman cape, fyi). She's quite the pie expert, and I learned much from Obi-Wan-Teters on this star-crossed day where she helped me conquer my fear of pie crusts and make 60 pie pops (apple and pecan) for my sister's bridal shower and our personal consumption! These little treats are seriously bite-sized morsels of pure awesomeness. Just the perfect amount of pie to satisfy your palate.  :)

Now I finally get what they mean by "as easy as pie." 

Pie Crust Ingredients:
Yields 2 double-crusted pies (i.e. 4 crusts) = 40 pie pops (10 pie pops per crust)

4 cups flour

1 1/3 cup Crisco shortening*
2 t salt

3 or 4 T stick margarine

1/4 cup or less sugar**
12-13 T water

1. In bowl, add all ingredients except water

2. Use pantry blender to mix together

3. Pour in about 12-13 tbsp cold water, and mix quickly

- if the dough appears too wet, add in a little more flour and mix

4. Separate dough into 4 sections

5. Take one section and roll out on floured surface to 1/8" thickness  

*I tried with all my might but couldn't find a healthier substitute for Crisco without sacrificing that delicious flaky crust. Sometimes ya just gotta deal.

**I replaced granulated sugar (GS) with Turbinado. It's a healthier alternative - less processed so it retains more of its minerals. Turbinado is formed as larger crystals and has a more molasses-y taste than GS, but once baked you can't even tell the difference! Also, GS and non-raw brown sugar (which is merely GS w/ molasses added back in for color) may both be processed through bone char (cow bones) to whiten and decolorize it, making them questionably non-vegan. 

Filling Ingredients:

Note: When making the pie pops, I made WAY more filling than necessary. So this is my approximation of how much filling you should make for 20 pie pops for each type of filling. I apologize if the measurements are off. Further, I adopted the pecan filling recipe from a pecan tart (not pie) recipe, but feel free to look up your own pecan or apple filling recipe and incorporate. 

Apple Pie Filling: 

4 cups sliced, peeled baking apples (about 1.5lbs) (I used Granny Smith) 
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup Turbinado (or 3/8 cup white sugar, 1/8 cup brown sugar) 
1/8 cup flour
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together, set aside. 

Pecan Pie Filling: 

1 cup pecans
1/4 cup Turbinado (or white sugar)
1/4 cup light corn syrup**
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients together, set aside. 

**I substituted corn syrup with agave nectar. Agave offers more health benefits, and can be used as a substitute for other common sweeteners as well. To substitute for corn syrup, I used 1/2 the amount listed and added 1/3 amount of the other liquid - so 1/8 cup agave + 1/12 cup water.

Pie Pop Assembly Instructions: 

From Bakerella  

Preheat oven to 375*

1. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/8" thickness
- The convenient part about pie pops is that you don't need to roll your pie crusts into perfect circles, since you'll be cutting out circles anyway!


2. Lightly dust with a little bit of flour on bot sides - it'll make the dough easier to work with and move around.
  
3. Use a cookie cutter and cut out your circles


4. Save the dough scraps, roll flat and re-use to cut out more circles

5. Place one layer of circles on a baking sheet

6. Place lollipop sticks on circles, about halfway up (or a little higher if you prefer), and press down to secure.  

7. Place filling in the center of each circle. If you put too much, the filling will seep out of the pies.


8. Place second set of circles on top, and press around edges to seal. Make sure to press around the lollipop stick to secure.

9. Use an extra lollipop stick to press around the border for that pretty dowel-edged look.
 
10. Brush egg whites onto top of crust before baking. ( Another option is to brush with a mixture of 1 egg yolk + 1T milk) 

11. Bake at 375* for 12-15 minutes or until the tops start to brown. 

Remove, cool and enjoy!!!

Optional Shortcuts:

1. Use pre-made pie crusts

2. Use canned pie filling

- I never really knew these existed until Cherish mentioned it! I guess I used canned pumpkin before for pumpkin pie, but didn't put together the fact they sell various canned pie fillings!

Optional Designs:


1. Other shapes can be used, like hearts, but circles give the most room in the center for filling.

2. You can also create these mini pies without the sticks - leaving you with personal-sized pies of any shape. That way you may be able to fit a little more filling in the center. You could arrange it on a pretty platter, present them in a basstack them in a vase for display!

 

Congrats Philip Levine!

In the old days I used to dabble more in poetry - both writing and reading. Its such a beautifully moving form of art. I have the deepest respect for those who can truly put pen to paper and convey their perspective and wisdom. I haven't read much of Philip Levine's work, but have come across some of his writings in the past. While skimming through the Times online I noticed this man will be named the next U.S. Poet Laureate - an incredible honor! Here's a great quote from the article:

He hadn't particularly aspired to be poet laureate, Mr. Levine said, but he was pleased that after a long career, the honor had come his way. "How can I put it? It's like winning the Pulitzer," he explained. "If you take it too seriously, you're an idiot. But if you look at the names of the other poets who have won it, most of them are damn good. Not all of them - I'm not going to name names - but most. My editor was thrilled, and my wife jumped for joy. She hasn't done that in a while."

Like many, I do wish I read poetry more often. So I thought we could read one of Mr. Levine's famous poems together. This is a phenomenal piece, courtesy of google:

The Simple Truth

I bought a dollar and a half's worth of small red potatoes,
took them home, boiled them in their jackets
and ate them for dinner with a little butter and salt.
Then I walked through the dried fields
on the edge of town. In middle June the light
hung on in the dark furrows at my feet,
and in the mountain oaks overhead the birds
were gathering for the night, the jays and mockers
squawking back and forth, the finches still darting
into the dusty light. The woman who sold me
the potatoes was from Poland; she was someone
out of my childhood in a pink spangled sweater and sunglasses
praising the perfection of all her fruits and vegetables
at the road-side stand and urging me to taste
even the pale, raw sweet corn trucked all the way,
she swore, from New Jersey. "Eat," she said,
"even if you don't I'll say you did."
Some things
you know all your life. They are so simple and true
they must be said without elegance, meter and rhyme,
they must be laid on the table beside the salt shaker,
the glass of water, the absence of light gathering
in the shadows of picture frames, they must be
naked and alone, they must stand for themselves.
My friend Henri and I arrived at this together in 1965
before I went away, before he began to kill himself,
and the two of us to betray our love. Can you taste
what I'm saying? It is onions or potatoes, a pinch
of simple salt, the wealth of melting butter, it is obvious,
it stays in the back of your throat like a truth
you never uttered because the time was always wrong,
it stays there for the rest of your life, unspoken,
made of that dirt we call earth, the metal we call salt,
in a form we have no words for, and you live on it.

Thank you poetry, you made my day.

We do LOVE.

What simple, practical, beautiful wisdom. I would love to incorporate this into my home.

Happy Friday!!

You can purchase this size vinyl wall decal on etsy. I may just make my own imitation to save some $$.