Jar-Lid Pies

I get all kinds of suggestions on YouTube.  One bored day of playing spot-the-difference, and it thinks I'm 10 years old.  Some weeks, it thinks I'm British, or Australian, or Canadian.  At least I usually get recommendations in English.  Usually.

These came up one week, and are the perfect way to use up a last bit of pie dough and the odd sized jar of filling.  I'm actually turning some canned grapes into filling with Clear-Jel, but the baking process is the same.

Let's be clear, I saved used lids for this project.  Baking at 375º will render a canning lid unusable for sealing canned goods.  All the videos I watched used new lids, obviously by people who don't regularly can and have no idea how expensive that is to waste.  Now, you can use them as baking bottoms more than once, so hang onto them if you want to make this a regular thing.  I just don't want anyone wasting a seal on this project if they are regular preservers.

You will need:

Pastry dough for one 9" pie
One 21 oz can pie filling (or pint home-canned and it will make fewer)
8 regular-mouth or 6 wide-mouth bands and lids

1.  Set up your lids and rings.  It's like a tart shell with a removable bottom.  Place the lid sealant-side down inside a ring (see above).  Set all on a lined, rimmed baking sheet in case of goo-splosions.

2.  Roll out the bottom crusts.  I used the largest round cutter I have, and it wasn't wide enough.  You need a lot more overhang than you think you do.  Make the crusts thin, to improve the crust-to-filling ratio.  Place the rounds inside the prepared lids.

3.  Prepare your filling.  In most cases, that's just opening the can.  For me, I turned a jar of preserved grapes into pie filling by boiling the syrup with a tablespoon of Clear-Jel.  Because canned fruit is already cooked, you can do this with the modified starch.  It doesn't need additional time to cook before going into the pie.

4.  Preheat oven to 375º and start filling your pie shells.

5.  Roll out your top crusts.  They don't have to be as wide in circumference as the bottoms, but it helps.  I decided to torture myself on the last one and make a teeny lattice.  Place crusts on top, pinch sealed, and cut vents in the top.  If desired, brush with egg wash or milk and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

6.  Bake 30 minutes, until well browned and the filling is bubbly.  Remove baking sheet and allow pies to cool until no longer boiling.  Holding the rim, push up on the inner lid to remove pies.  Cool on a rack, then remove the bases.  Rims can still be used for canning, but not the lids.

7.  Serve hot, cooled, or freeze for another day.

Makes 6 or 8, depending on size

Difficulty rating  :)