Nerds Celebrate Pi Day...Eat Pie

Check it out here, here, and here.

Apple Pie Pops

I realized recently that I haven't written about music on this blog for a while, even though I've been listening to some good stuff.  In the past few months while baking, I have listened to A Night at the Opera countless times (it's too good to begin to praise), Some Nights by fun. (why bother?), and I went through a week of nothing but Whitney Houston and Eminem (because some weeks, your inner Slim Shady just wants to dance with somebody).  The point is, when you do a project like this that involves time-consuming, detailed work, you need to have a few good albums queued up. 

So a few months ago, Groupon told me that I needed this:



Actually, Groupon told me I needed two of these, but they never sent the second one.  Curse you, Groupon!

And really, how could I resist?  (I'm certainly aware that using this device narrows the audience for this post, but I happen to know at least one other person who owns a pie pop maker.)  So I decided to make apple pie pops.  First, I made the crust (I made my tried-and-true crust, but I think a butter crust would be better).

I diced 4 apples into very small (1/4 inch) pieces. It would have been easier to use a food processor, but I didn't realize that until someone more clever mentioned it.  Duh!

Then I mixed it with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

I rolled out the dough until it was as big as possible and 1/8 inch thick, and I cut as many rounds as I could.

And I placed them in pie pop maker, put the stick three quarters of the way into the pie pop and topped it with 1/2 a tablespoon of the apple mixture.

Then I added the top crust and cooked according to the instructions (3 minutes, or until the light on the pie pop maker told me it was done).

And they came out looking like this:

Which looked like something that would be cute for a baby shower:

And they are obnoxiously adorable in clear plastic bags that are tied with a silver ribbon (I bought these bags at Michael's).  These would be cute to send to friends for a holiday.

These lacked flavor because there just wasn't enough filling in relation to the crust.  So these need a filling that packs a punch - like fig!  Next time, fig pie pops...

Apple Pie Pops

Butter crust

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and shredded in the food processor or diced extra small

1/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel the apples and use a food processor to shred them, or dice them into 1/4 inch pieces.  Mix in sugar and cinnamon.  Roll out the dough, using ample flour, until it is 1/8 inch thick.  Cut rounds (a circular cookie cutter was included with this device) and line the pie pop maker with them.  Then insert the stick until it is three quarters of the way into the pie pop.  You will need to hold the stick in place while you put 1/2 a tablespoon of filling on top of the stick (this is a rather tedious process, but you have to work fast because this machine gets very hot).  Top with the top crust, close and cook according to instructions. 

Enjoy!