Blueberry Pies Baked in Jelly Jars (Easy tips for Pies in Jars)

This morning I acted on plans I have been mulling around to use up the  two half pint cartons of fresh blueberries in the refrigerator by making them into blueberry pies baked in half pint jelly jars.  I also had a pint of pecan pie filling in the freezer from my post on Pecan Pies in Mason Jars posted on 9/4/11.

I love this whole idea of food in jars because I really have never been a huge fan of any other storage or preserving material and I have lots of them!! I also think this is the height of shabby chic and have always embraced it.

To expedite my plans I pulled out two round disks of previously frozen pie crust* dough (enough for a 2 crust 9" pie) and the pecan filling** from the freezer early this morning to thaw.

Last time I made these little gems I used the new and more contemporary half pint Mason Jars and while they were attractive they were very clumsy to work with.  Since then I have found that what I thought to be an original idea was not and have seen them made in the older style slightly flared straight sided jelly jars.  Having a large supply of jelly jars on hand I just pulled these out and ran them through the dishwasher!!   NOTE:  I ONLY USE REAL CANNING JARS I HAVE PURCHASED AND WOULD NEVER TRY THIS WITH ANY OTHER TYPE OF GLASS JAR.

 A 6" circle is about perfect crust size to fit the crust into the jars.  I used a 6" soup bowl as a pattern.  A  pastry disk yielded 3 circles when it was rolled.  The next big discovery is that you can take a small jar.  I used the ones Kraft sells their spreadable cheese in and place the centered circle of pastry over the upside down small jar and then plop this into the jelly jar.

Tamp the pastry into the bottom of the jelly jar with the smaller jar.  You can also roll the sides of the pastry into the jelly jar a bit using the side of the smaller jar.  This saves a lot of frustration and time.

The final yield was 7 jars lined with crust and standing at attention.  There was enough dough left to make lattice tips for the 4 blueberry pies and I threw out maybe a half tablespoon of unused pastry at the most.

Blueberry Pie Filling:

2 C. fresh washed blueberries
2 T. minute tapioca
1/2 C. sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
2 t. butter
sugar to sprinkle

Combine all of the ingredients except the butter and the sugar to sprinkle in a bowl and stir to mix well.  Let this sit while you roll the crust and form the little pies.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

After the crust is formed distribute the berry mixture in the 4 jars.  Top each with 1/2 t. butter and a assemble the lattice tops using a woven pattern and sprinkle with sugar.  Place all of the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.  The fruit should be visibly bubbling and the crusts golden brown.  Cool or serve warm with ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Storage note:  To store either cover with a small square of plastic wrap and screw the metal canning ring over the top or use the flat disk with the screw on band and refrigerate.

*Pie Crust recipe posted 7/7/10, Cherry Pie (makes 5 crusts)  and 10/29/10 Pastry for 3 crusts.
** Posted 9/4/11 Pecan Pie in Mason Jars.