Hankering for Some Baker-ing

Ian and I had made plans to meet up on Friday evening.  Since I'm still not working, I told him that he shouldn't expect me to bring any treats like I often do.  Then Friday morning rolled around and I just felt like baking something.  But I still wanted to avoid shopping for the baking project so I had to figure out something from what I had on hand.  I found a can of peaches in the cupboard and decided to make a peach pie with it.  There was just one problem: I don't own a pie pan.  I knew that I could buy a cheap pie tin for about a buck if I had to but I really wanted to avoid that, so I looked through what I had on had that could be used in place of a pie pan.

This could work.  I searched for some recipes to see if this was even feasible and it totally is!  I used this recipe for the filling (though I added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon) and this one for crust.  Even with following the recipes, everything took a lot long than I expected, which was annoying.  Eventually, I was ready to bake.

You may notice two lattice topped pies at the top right while all of the others are completely covered.  I was planning to do all of them with a lattice top, but I quickly grew tired of the trying to manipulate the dough so much; since the the pies are all much smaller than usual, that means the crust should be thinner, too.  I ended up just punching out circles, cutting an X in the center, and placing them on top.

It looks like I over-filled some of the pies, but otherwise they looked nice enough.  After letting them cool, I pried them out of the pan and I was impressed with how well everything was holding together.  They were to pies as cupcakes are to regular cakes.

I packed them up and took them to the Larsens.  The kids didn't get to have any while I was there, but they were super excited that I brought a treat.  Ian and I did sample them, however, and they turned out all right.  I think if I do this again, I'll try to get the crust on the bottom thinner, but overall, I'm pleased with the results.

Sometimes having the added challenge of only using ingredients that you have on hand can lead to some pretty cool outcomes.  While they may not be the prettiest things I've made, I'm certainly happy I gave it a try.