March 15, 2012

Happy Pi Day! { Pie Pops }

So, what the heck is Pi Day anyway?  I know it's all about the Greek letter pi (π), but is it just a day of recognition, honor, and celebrating nerd-dom?  As much as I embrace my not-so-inner nerd, I have to say I'm more like Homer Simpson (doh!... ah).

photo source

Unlike Homer, however, I'm not a big sweets person.  That said, my favorite dessert, next to ice cream, is pie! Like seriously, a pie a la mode is heaven sent.

And that is why, I got crackin' (eggs).

After debating on what kind of pie to make -- and getting many great suggestions from some of you (thanks!) -- I decided to do what I typically do when food causes me to be overly indecisive: sample a little of each.  Allow me to introduce you to pie pops!


The filling contenders:

Apple
One apple

Finely diced

I didn't do very much with the apples except finely dice them, sprinkle on some cinnamon, and drizzle honey.  You can add a teaspoon of white sugar if you please, but I used a Fuji apple, and those are already pretty sweet to begin with.


Strawberry

Fresh chopped strawberries

Add white sugar, honey, flour, and vanilla extract
For the strawberries, I just added two tablespoons of white sugar, two tablespoons of honey, one teaspoon of flour/ cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.  I put the mixture in a small saucepan and let it sit in the heat for about 5 minutes.  The mixture slowly thickened.


Blueberry


Fresh blueberries

Cooked and cooled into a compote 


To the blueberries (about 1 cup), I added 3 tablespoons of white sugar, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of water, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.  I combined it all together in a small saucepan and cooked until the sauce thickened.  I could have broken down the blueberries more to make an even grosser-looking mess.


Banana Pudding

Read the instructions on the box and proceed.


"S'mores"


Sadly, these did not turn out as ooey-gooey as expected.  The fluff kind of evaporated into the crust.  Maybe using real marshmallows would work better.

My set- up

Before you start anything, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Next, I rolled out store-bought pie crust (oh dear, I'm beginning to sound like Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee, help!) and used the top of a small wine glass to cut out circles about 3.5" in diameter.


Then, I took a dough circle, placed a lollipop stick about an inch from the top, and topped with one of the aforementioned pie filling contenders.  Be careful not to overstuff.  Some of the fillings, namely the syrup-y ones, oozed out of the pie "pockets."



Now, it's time to seal!  Take another dough circle and cover the bottom half.  Then, use a fork to seal the edges in a much prettier way than I did.


Lastly, brush some egg white over the top and pop 'em pops in a preheated oven.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until the tops start to brown.

Take 'em out and you'll be looking at something like this:

Not too shabby

After two batches, I threw the apple, blueberry, strawberry mixtures together to create one regular fruit pie.



I did the cross-hatching wrong for the lattice top.  Clearly, I'm a pro at eating pies, not making them.



I brushed the top with milk and sprinkled some sugar for some shine and glimmer.  Yes, sometimes, looks do matter.



Fortunately, the heart of the pie was delightful as well.  Great success for Pi(e) Day 2012!

For a more comprehensive recipe, check out Bakerella!  She never ceases to amaze me with her cake-pop talents.

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