Pie Pops & A Shabby Apple Giveaway

I saw pie pops for the first time about a year ago on a wedding blog; someone had them out on their dessert table at their country-chic wedding and they were, simply put, adorable. My heart kind of melted just looking at them. So at that point I knew I wanted to have them at my wedding as a fun and unique treat, but have been putting off actually experimenting with making them up until now. All the wedding planning I've been doing lately renewed my vigor and I finally made a list of all the tools I needed, ordered them all, and then spent a couple hours putting it all together. I bought linzer cookie cutters to use for the pops because I loved the idea of having a little peek-a-boo into the flavor of the pie, and especially having the fruit shape on the outside match the filling on the inside. I got a lattice cutter too, which was tricky to use at first but eventually I got the hang of it (I write about my conundrums and advice when dealing with it in the recipe below). I kept it simple on my first attempt and used store-bought jams as filling, but I've been daydreaming about other fun fillings to make for the big day, like lemon curd with a small marshmallow to make a lemon meringue pie, or pumpkin butter with a cream cheese smear for pumpkin cheesecake...That's part of what I love about these, the creativity that they allow you is almost endless. And the other part I love is that they're delicious. Seriously. Delicious. This is my favorite crust recipe, rich without being too buttery, not too soft, and that hint of nutmeg adds a soft spiced flavor that you appreciate, but wouldn't be able to identify because of its subtlety. I hope you have as much fun eating (and staring at) these as I did.

And in the vein of fruity pie flavors, the kind folks over at Shabby Apple have offered to give away a $50 gift certificate to one of you lovely readers. Shabby Apple is not pie-related per say (unless you count these adorable aprons) but is a stylish vintage-inspired clothing and accessory boutique. I love them because they cater to a wide audience that includes children, preteen, and maternity styles, so ladies can look cute and stylish no matter what their age and shape. To enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment below about your favorite Shabby Apple clothing or accessory item
• "Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook

For additional entries you can:

• Follow me on Twitter & leave a separate comment on this post saying you did
  
• Like Adventures in Cooking on Facebook & leave a separate comment on this post saying you did
• Follow me on Pinterest & leave a separate comment on this post saying you did
• Follow me on Instagram @eva_kosmas & leave a separate comment on this post saying you did

If you already do any of those things, just leave a comment on this post saying you do. The deadline for entries is 11:59 pm PST June 16th, and the winner will be announced June 17th. Only open to United States residents.

Click Here For Printable Recipe

(Side Note: If you are making these for an event and want to display the pie pops standing up vertically like in the photos, use a block of floral foam)

Ingredients

Crust

  2 Cups Flour

1/2 Cup Plus 3 Tablespoons Butter, cold and hard

1/3 Cup Ice Water

  1 and 1/2 Teaspoons Sugar

1 and 1/4 Teaspoons Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Filling

About 1/3 Cup of Your Favorite Jam(s) or Fruit Butter(s)

Finish

1 Egg, whisked

Tools

Linzer Cookie Cutters (These two sets are the ones I bought)
about 2 dozen 4-Inch Lollipop Sticks (I used these)
Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter (optional)
Lattice Cutter (optional)

To make the crust, mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut the butter into roughly pea-size pieces over the bowl. Add the cold water and knead with your hands until a smooth dough forms and there aren't any chunks of butter left in the dough. Cover it and place in the refrigerator to harden for 30 minutes.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Then roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly flour the linzer cookie cutters before use. For the bottom crust of the pie pops, cut out large hearts (if you have a heart cookie cutter) or circles with no decorative holes in them. Place these shapes on the parchment paper about an inch apart from each other horizontally and make sure the rows are spaced out 4 inches vertically so that there is room for the lollipop sticks. Place the lollipop stick on the crust, with about 1/2 inch of it resting on the crust and the rest laying on the parchment paper. Press down gently on the 1/2 inch of the stick resting on the dough to help secure it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon of the jam in the center of the crust, spreading it out a bit but leaving a 1/2 inch jam-less border. Attach your desired insert attachment to the linzer cookie cutter and cut out the top crust. If you want to make hearts, use the heart cookie cutter to cut out the top crust, and then use one of the linzer cookie inserts by itself to cut a shape out of the center of the heart. Place the top crust on top of the bottom crust and gently but firmly press around the edges of the pie pop, including the area with the lollipop stick, with your finger to help secure them. Then use a fork to press around the edges again to secure them. Make sure you do not press where there is jelly otherwise it will squirt out the side or the hole in the top.

If you want to use a lattice pattern the process is a bit trickier. Lightly flour the lattice cutter before use. Roll it along the dough very slowly and press down very hard. I rolled it back and forth twice, being careful to stay in the same grooves, to help make sure it cut through the dough. When you first start rolling, the dough may try to roll back up into the roller, but if you gently pull it back down when you notice it happening at the beginning it will lay flat the rest of that single roll. Once you're done rolling, trim the excess unrolled dough from the edges. Then gently begin pulling at the sides of the dough to bring out the lattice pattern. Use a butter knife to cut through any difficult parts that aren't budging/weren't cut all the way through. Once the lattice pattern is exposed, use a linzer or heart cookie cutter with no center insert to cut out a lattice in the shape of your pie. Try to center a strip of dough on the bottom of the lattice pattern so that it can help cover up the lollipop stick. Place the lattice pattern on top of the bottom crust and jelly and press down with your finger around the edges where the lattice rests, and again with the end of a fork.

Lightly brush the exposed crust with the egg mixture. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the crusts of the pie pops turn golden. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing the pops from the parchment paper.