Individual Jar Pies & Cakes

With the 4th of July upon us, I was trying to plan my menu for our neighborhood fireworks display. It is a fun event where we live. We are on a lake here in Georgia in a golf community that has an annual Independence Day Extravaganza!

On the 18th hole and behind the club house of one of our golf courses that sits on the lake, folks start piling in around 6pm with blankets and lawn chairs and picnics, and fun. On the lake, boats start piling in, grabbing their spot on the water for the show.

Our family loves attending this event each year and I try to make the food not only delicious but fun. So this year, I am making as our dessert little individual jar pies and cakes. I've seen lots of versions of these all over the Internet, but since I was in a hurry, opted to do a semi-homemade method.


I started with 24 half pint mason jars, 2 packages of refrigerated pie crusts, 2 can of cherry pie filling, & 2 cans of apple pie filling. I also mixed up this quick crumb topping.

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar or sucant (natural sugar)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 stick softened butter

Mix with a fork or pastry tool until crumbly.



Apple Pies

I began with the apple pies. I used the lids 0f the jar to cut out tops for each pie. Then I repeated the process for the bottoms of the jar, too.

And I had this great idea of using this little tool, I got from Pampered Chef.  I placed a dough round on the end and put the jar on top of it, flipped it over and easily layered the dough into the jar.

I cut strips of dough and layered on the edges - it will be easier if I show you real quick. Take a look at this quick video ...

I filled 8 jars with pie crust.   Now on to filling our pies. Of course, just because you start with store bought filling does not mean it has to taste store bought. I had some caramel sauce in the fridge, so I added that to the canned filling. There was probably not quite 1/2 cup of sauce. I also added a little melted butter, like 2 tablespoons, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice and about an 1/8 cup whole wheat flour. It gave me enough filling to do 8 of the jars.

I used a star cookie cutter to cut a vent out of the top circle of dough for the little pies.

Then I laid the tops on the filling and used my fingers to seal the edges. I placed the star cut back on top a little turned so that the vent hole was not covered. I brushed a little butter on top and sprinkled with a small bit of Florida Crystal sugar, which I like because it is not bleached.





I screwed the tops on and at this point and can freeze them until I need them. I will pop them in the oven on the 4th for a quick bake. I'll start with a cold oven, put the frozen jars in and then turn the heat on to 375 degrees and bake for 50-60 minutes.  If you are baking them fresh, not frozen they only need to bake for 45 minutes.

Cherry Pies

For the cherry pies, I used 2 cans of filling plus a can of drained tart cherries that I had on hand. I spooned a layer of the crumb topping into the jars, then the cherry filling and then more crumb topping. Very easy!

Again , you can put the lids on at this point and freeze like we did with the apple pies. I will pull them out on the 4th and bake with apple pies.


Red Velvet Cakes In A Jar





My son and daughter are not big fruit pie lovers, so for them, I mixed up a red velvet cake mix. I poured the mix into 8 of the jars, about 1/2 way full. I baked them for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. After they cooled, I used a grapefruit spoon and scooped a little of the cake center out.

Then I made homemade cream cheese icing, because nothing is as good as my homemade cream cheese icing. I'll add the recipe below. I added the icing to a decorator bag and piped it down into the little hole I made into each cake and over the tops.

I used a bit of the crumbs that I scooped out on the top of each little cake for decoration. They look yummy.

Here is my Cream Cheese Icing recipe.

Cream Cheese Icing


1 stick of softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 pound confectioner sugar
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 3 tablespoons half-n-half, depending on consistency of the icing you desire: pipeable to pourable

Cream butter and cream cheese with a mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Mix well. Add the vanilla and cream until you reach desired consistency.



Be Blessed,

Anniversary Gift For My Awesome In-Laws

My In-Laws are celebrating 51 years of marriage today! Isn't that wonderful? But after 51 years, what do you get someone, except maybe a long trip around the world :-)

So, I decided to craft something special for them. I used my Sure Cuts A Lot to design and cut vinyl with their last name, "families are forever," and "established 1960."

Here is a photo of all the vinyl cut and weeded on my mat. I absolutely love this Olive vinyl. It is my new favorite. It is Oracle 631.

I also decided to use my new Ornamental Iron Cricut Cartridge for a quick addition to the project.

I took a 10 X 13 picture frame and removed the glass. I cleaned the glass well and laid it on my craft mat so that the guides on the mat acted as my ruler to lay my design out with. I placed the elements on the glass using transfer tape, layering the "established 1960" on top of their name.

Once I had it all adhered to the glass, I grabbed the frame and flipped it over to the back. Working quickly, I added 4 hot glue dots in each corner of the frame and laid the glass back in the frame. Then I ran a small line of hot glue around the inside edge of the frame to secure the glass, but being careful to not let it show from the front.

Turn it over and Voila, a beautiful piece of decorative art for their home. You could always add a nice bow to hang it from, if you like. Or, use an ornamental metal holder to stand it up on a counter, shelf or table top.

Be Blessed,


Glori Winders
The 31 Woman

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