Page 152 - Pie It Forward: Pies, Tarts, Tortes, Galettes, and Other Pastries Reinvented

A NOTE FROM THE SWEETIE PIE PIE POPS

Almost every pie lends itself to being made miniature. You’re
limited only by the availability of the appropriate container. Not so

with pie pops. Since they are free-form in nature, you can play
with sizing willy-nilly (with some limitations), but you’re better off
when you use a filling that keeps its shape; runny fillings don’t do
well in the pop world. But that still leaves you with a ton of options:
Wild Blueberry, Not-So-Traditional Apple, Vermont Apple, Gesine
Confectionary Cherry.
The two tricks to making a beautiful and delicious pie pop are

ensuring that your filling is thick enough to withstand being
sandwiched between two layers of dough without the aid of a
concave baking receptacle that would otherwise keep the filling in
place, and working with a dough that holds its shape—I use the
Part-Butter Easy Pie Dough (page 19). I also make sure that the

pop is no smaller than 3 inches so that you’re guaranteed of a
decent filling-to-crust-ratio, and I use a stick that’s sturdy enough
to withstand the top-heavy weight of the pie. I like caramel-apple
sticks best, but have been known to use wooden skewers and
disposable chopsticks as well.
If I’m making simple double-crusted pie pops, I roll one batch of
dough into a rough rectangle, about ⅛ inch thick, and cut 3-inch
rounds from the dough, carefully rerolling scraps and letting the

scraps rest for twenty minutes in the refrigerator before rolling out
again. This will give you about forty pops, depending on how
efficient you are about stamping out the rounds.
Allow the rounds to rest in the refrigerator for twenty minutes
before assembling. Space the rounds a few inches apart on a

parchment-lined sheet pan (remember, you’re going to need extra
space to give the sticks some room). Brush the bottom round with
egg wash and place the stick onto the round of dough so that it’s
reaching halfway into the round. Press gently on the stick and
place a tablespoon of filling on the middle of the round, on top of
the small portion of stick that’s lying on the dough. Place the