Lemon. Ice Cream. Whipped Cream. Cookie crumbs. Pie. I don’t believe I need to say more. This recipe was born of a mission to create a backyard dessert to celebrate the beginning of spring. It needed to be fun, delicious, effortless, nostalgic and appeal to the entire family, from grandma to the finicky little ones. Ideally it would taste like pie. A really delicious and sunny lemon meringue pie.
Okay, remember that one time at 1 am when you were scouring Pinterest to find the perfect Valentine treat for your sweet and thought to yourself, that would be adorable! Well, not so adorable in the light of day after wasting a perfectly good pie crust and praying to the kitchen Gods that mason jars are indeed oven safe despite of any actual written confirmation of that on the packaging. While thankfully the jars didn’t explode into a million shards of glass under the scrutiny of a 400°F oven, the pie in a mason jar idea did not fair so well in the taste and execution department. Adorable? Yes. Tasty? Not so much.
I have been baking all of my life and rarely find myself in the midst of epic failures and this was certainly one of them, and I am so grateful for it. Quite often our inspirations germinate from mishaps. They are opportunities to learn and recreate. This Pinterest fail, along with a mild obsession of all things mason jars, bring us here today, to these adorable Sweetie Pies layered with perfect pie crust and a beautifully balanced sweet-tart berry filling! I made them for all of my loves at home and I hope you will make them for yours.
Flour. Butter. Sugar. Salt. Water. These are the basic ingredients that you need to make a perfect pie crust. While the ingredients may appear simple in nature, the magic happens in the ratio of the ingredients and the techniques used.
Pie was never my thing. I have been more a tart fiend, than a pie fanatic. But that has changed in recent years, especially since our family moved to Nashville, ya’ll! I have loved discovering just how pie is interwoven into the southern culture, much like those lovely lattice topped pies you see adorning a southern table. Never one to shy away from a baking adventure, I grabbed my apron and pastry cutter and set out to create my perfect crust. I think I have it here friends, and it works out beautifully in these Sweetie Jar Pies.
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