B-b-b-baking: Maple and Mooses (Meese)

Why hello thur...Long time no see! Things have just been crazy busy, but I'm back! :D ...*cricketcricket*...

Sooo...tomorrow, P will officially be a Canadian citizen! In order to properly congratulate him, I put together a little something with real Canadian maple syrup :)

Things everyone should learn today about Canada:
- Wolverine is a Canadian. Oh yes.
- A compiled list of our national foods consists of something like this...poutine, tourtiere, Kraft Dinner, maple syrup, back bacon, caribou, Montreal smoked meat, sockeye salmon, nanaimo bars, and butter tarts. Because we're awesome like that.
- According to Canadian stereotypes, we live in igloos, and ride polar bears to school and work, and go to play hockey. Omg! That totally sounds like me!

Things I have learned today about jar pies:
- Super super easy and inexpensive to put together, because mason jars are pure awesome. I got a box of 12 jars for about $12. Yea~
- Mason jars are not your typical temperature-sensitive glass jars. They are built to withstand somewhat extreme temperatures since people normally use them for canning jams and the like. Because of that, you can bake things (i.e. jar pies) directly in the jars! That means you already have a container for transportation and consumption. Win.
- For the most part, jar pies are a one bowl deal, and don't need to be transferred out of the jars. That means less dishes to wash. Score.
- Jars come in tons of different sizes, so your pies can be as small or as big as you wish, and they'll still be ridiculously cute. But I think the 250ml ones are best for single-serving jar pies. :)

Fresh from the oven! I tried to be creative since the jars were kind of tall and made little "windows" in the sides to be seen through the glass, but it didn't work so well...since I was essentially making holes, the filling leaked out a little :( But I do like how one of the "happy faces"sunk slightly and ended up having a more menacing look.

I made the top pie crusts as well, but they look kind of funny on tall jars like these. I think it would be better for the smaller jars. Oh well~ Next time.

I decided to make icons for the lids with things that P likes - chemistry, coffee/tea, croissants, and elephants :P

Maple Jar Pies (adapted from She Knows)
*Makes 4 jar pies*
2 x 9-inch pie crust (because I stupidly picked up the 500 ml jars instead of 250ml ones, but you know what? Now there's room for a ginormous scoop of ice cream, so there :P)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Press the pie crusts into the jars. Approximately 1/2 of a 9-inch pie crust will let you coat the entire inside of a 500ml Mason jar including the top and bottom circles. I used one of the jar lids to cut circles out for the tops and bottoms of the jars. Leave 4 jar lid circles aside to top the pies after filling.
3. Bake the empty jar crusts for 6 min. Take this time to work on your filling.
4. Add oil and sugar into a medium sized bowl and mix until combined.
5. Beat eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and add to mixture.
6. Add the syrup and walnuts, and stir until combined.
7. Carefully distribute the filling between the 4 jars.
8. Place a jar lid crust circle on the top of each jar, and press along the sides with a fork.
9. Bake for 28 min or until the crusts are golden brown.
10. Serve warm or after cooled, but at least one scoop of ice cream per jar is advised.

These jar pies are actually kind of big. The filling only fills half of the jar because the recipe was meant for the 250ml jars, but it's still quite a bit of pie. P and I found it a little on the sweet side, but ice cream was a really nice way to round it off. Rice Dream ice cream, that is ;) A la mode, anyone?

Mapley pie goodness in a jar, eh? (Even better with a real camera like P's)

Yay for the pie crust lid! It was all crisp and awesome. It doesn't look so mutant thanks to the beautiful art that is photo editing. 

Evil smiley, smiley, heart, sunken heart? Ah, jar pies.

I can't wait until the summer when I can use my newly acquired mason jars for everything - trifles, tiramisu, lemonade, milk tea...oh the possibilities... ;)

-M