Anytime you make your own dough, there will be dough left after the pie crust is ready to go.
If leftover is large enough, you can freeze it for later.
In Pie it Forward (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, April 1, 2012), Gesine Bullock-Prado suggests we turn the extra dough into 'Pie Pops'.
Guide to Pie Pops on page 94 from “Pie It Forward”
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 freeform 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 second round of dough on top of the filling and, using the tines of a fork, gently press the edges together.
Personally, I like the top crust to be latticed. In this case, I divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. The large piece I roll into a rough rectangle and cut out twenty 3-inch rounds. For the other piece, I roll it into a rough ⅛-inch-thick rectangle to make into lattice. I use two types of lattice: The first is made with a handy tool called a lattice dough cutter (I use Ateco brand). It’s a wheel with evenly spaced slicers that makes easy work of latticing. Make sure that your dough is nice and cool and that the top of the dough has a nice dusting of flour. Also dust the lattice roller with flour, as the dough tends to stick to the roller. Simply apply gentle but steady pressure on the roller and roll the cutter across the length of the dough. Continue until the entire rectangle has been latticed. I like to line up my bottom rounds with their sticks in place and then gently drape a large piece of lattice so that it covers multiple pops. I then use a 3-inch round cutter to stamp out the lattice so it fits perfectly over the bottom round and filling. To make this even easier, get your hands on a tool called a tart master (available at www.bakedeco.com). This tool cuts the lattice into a 3-inch round and also crimps the edges beautifully.
For a larger, tight lattice, cut the rectangle into 1/2–inch long strips. On a parchment-lined sheet pan, weave the pieces so that there are no gaps in the dough to show the filling. You’ll have a nice, large square of lattice. Refrigerate the lattice for twenty minutes and then stamp out 3-inch rounds (or heart shapes, as I have) and proceed as you would with a simple, round pie pop. Please visit Pie it Forward site for a video demonstration on making pie pops!
Want to jump in pie fun, author and publisher declared March 14, 2012 Pie it Forward Day. Download the book's Wild Blueberry Pie recipe, bake it, let your friends, colleagues, neighbors taste it, share with results of your labor with the world.
(* Guide to Pie Pops from Pie It Forward Pies, Tarts, Tortes, Galettes, and Other Pastries Reinvented by Gesine Bullock-Prado with photograph by Tina Rupp– reproduced with permission of publisher Stewart, Tabori and Chang, all rights reserved)