How NOT To Bake Individual Pies

I'm not the best at making pie crusts. Often, I've had to patch a crust. And that's OK. The pies always tasted just as good.

I had some cans of Mothers Maid cherry pie filling I bought at Dollar Tree (a delicious bargain). I decided to put one or two to use. Knowing my level of expertise with pastry, I bought refrigerated pie crusts.

I pricked the bottom crust with a fork and pre baked it before adding the filling. It still turned out soggy. You might know, it did not go to waste. Neither did the pie crust scraps.

I put them in a plastic bag and refrigerated them, figuring I would make 'stickies'. I haven't had them in sixty years. When Mama made pies, she let us have the scrap pie crust dough. We rolled it out, slathered it with butter, sugar and cinnamon. Then, we cut it into strips, rolled the strips into pin wheels and baked them. They were sticky and so good.

(Back to my pie). I decided to take these leftover scraps and make an individual pie, instead. I wanted to bake it on a bare rack (as you would pizza, thanks to littergitter), to make sure it was not soggy.

I used a large saucer to fit the scraps together. I closed every hole I could find. I filled one side of the crust with cherry filling. I folded the other side over the cherries. I even wet the rim of the  bottom crust before adding the top. I wanted a good seal. I pressed the edges of the two layers together with a fork.

I transferred the pie from the saucer to a cooling rack. Into the hot oven went my makeshift tart. Just to be on the safe side, I put a pan from my toaster oven on the rack below the pie. Accidents do happen and my oven still looks brand new.

In a little while, the kitchen began to smell so good. It made me wonder if I should have brushed an egg wash on the crust. I decided not. I would play Julia Child another time.

At about ten minutes before the pie should have finished baking, I looked to see how things were progressing. The only thing left on the cooling rack was a couple of cherries and a few bits of crust. All the rest had fallen through the rack into the pan beneath. (I'm still laughing).

I ate what was left on the rack and left the pie underneath in the oven while it cooled. It continued to cook for a while. When I took it out, much of the filling had caramelized. I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite good. No blue ribbons for looks at the county fair, but right tasty.

My tip: I still think baking individual pies this way is a good idea. It saves a lot of calories over frying them. But you can rest assured, if I try this again, the crust will be one piece rather than scraps fitted together. We live, we learn.

I'm still laughing.