• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Urban Bliss Life logo

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • contact
  • shop
  • cookbooks
  • cooking classes
  • resources
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • 30-Minute Meals
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Asian recipes
    • Bread Recipes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Cookie Recipes
    • Dairy-free Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Entertaining Recipes
    • Filipino Recipes
    • Gluten-Free Recipes
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Holiday Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • 5 Ingredients
    • Kid-Friendly Recipes
    • Main Dish Recipes
    • Make-Ahead Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Snack Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
    • Cocktail Recipes
    • Dog Treats
  • Wine
    • Oregon Wine Guide
    • Washington Wine
    • California Wine
    • Food and Wine Pairing
    • Wine Country
    • Wine Tips & Wine Pairings
  • Travel
    • Europe
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Liechtenstein
      • The Netherlands
      • Switzerland
      • The UK (United Kingdom)
    • Canada
    • USA travel
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • Oregon Travel Ideas
      • Utah
      • Washington
      • New Orleans
    • Travel Gear
    • Japan
    • Travel Tips
    • Hotels
    • Family Travel
  • Restaurants
  • About
    • Work With Urban Bliss Life
    • Press
    • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Fall Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
  • Work With Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Urban Bliss Life » All Recipes » Dessert Recipes » How to Host a Pie Making Party

    Published: November 15, 2012 / Updated: August 17, 2021 by Marlynn Jayme Schotland · This post may contain affiliate links.

    How to Host a Pie Making Party

    0 shares

    If you plan to make some holiday pies for parties or as gifts this season, why not host a pie making party?

    mini pies in a jar

    Holiday planning should be fun, right?

    A pie making party is a great way to prep a bunch of pies for the holidays. Recently, I had three friends over to fill my kitchen one morning with girl talk, mimosa drinking, and pie-making. So much fun! The best part is that we made mini pies-in-a-jar that we could take home, freeze, and bake later or give as gifts for recipients to freeze & bake at their leisure.

    Of course, some of us (ahem) chose to bake a pie or two that same day... nobody says you have to save them for later.

    In this two-part series, I will share with you some tips on hosting a pie-making party and then the recipes we created to suit mini pies-in-a-jar for freezing.

    HOW TO HOST A PIE MAKING PARTY

    1. Devise a thoughtful guest list. Above all else, a pie-making party should be f-u-n. The holidays are so stressful enough, right? This is your chance to hang out and get some holiday prep work done without all of the stress. I invited friends whom I knew enjoyed being in the kitchen, who could laugh together, and who would each bring something different to the party.

    How to Host a Pie-Making Party: The Guest List

    [photo: friends Natascha, Enid, and Kimberly]

    2. Pick a date. You will want to find a day where each guest has at least 2-3 hours open. It doesn't take that long to prep the pies, but remember: this is a party! I think we spent the first 30 minutes just chatting away while waiting for the pre-made pie crust to thaw more (you can feel free to use that as your excuse to just drink & chat for a while too). Our party was on a Sunday morning, from 10am - 1:30pm.

    3. Decide what type of pies you want to make. I sent e-mails out asking my guests what their favorite pies were and chose three consistent pies based on their responses: apple pie, berry pie, and pecan pie. You will also want to decide if you are making full-size pies or mini pies. We could have made full-size pies, but there are two reasons I decided to go with mini pies-in-a-jar:

    a) Our second refrigerator conked out on us, leaving us with one less freezer and no room for full-size pies. Freezer space is definitely a consideration here.

    b) Who can resist anything in a mini mason jar? I mean, come on: look at how CUTE these things are! We used half-pint, wide-mouth mason jars:

    Pie making party: mini pies in mason jars

    4. Organize your list of equipment and ingredients. Do you have enough kitchen equipment for everyone or will you need to ask friends to bring more? I was able to do one big shopping trip for the majority of ingredients and the mason jars, I already had enough of several items in my pantry, and Kimberly graciously braved Trader Joes on a Saturday evening to secure the premade pie crust. (Note: I usually prefer homemade pie crust, but for these parties, I suggest premade for the sake of time. If you plan to make your own crust from scratch, be sure to add at least 30 minutes to your party time).

    Some kitchen equipment you will likely need to keep the party moving:

    * 3-5 medium to large mixing bowls
    * at least 2 good chopping knives
    * at least 2 cutting boards
    * a cutting board or Demarle Roul'Pat mat for rolling out the dough (I highly recommend this nonstick rolling mat. I use it once a week!)
    * decorative pastry cutter and mini pastry cutters in various shapes
    * pastry brush
    * 1-2 whisks
    * dry and wet measuring spoons and cups
    * 2-3 mixing spoons
    * mimosas (optional)

    Just kidding about that last one. (We all know mimosas are not optional).

    How to Host a Pie-Making Party

    5. Plan light nibbles. Since the purpose of the pie making party is to make some pies, you don't need to prepare a whole feast for your guests, but you do want to offer them something to nibble on. I offered coffee, mimosas, and simple mini bagels with honey cream cheese and carmelized strawberries. Kimberly (the true professional baker of the bunch) brought some delicious gingerbread for us to snack on.

    Mini bagels with honey cream cheese & sweetened strawberries

    6. The day before prep:
    a) If making pies-in-a-jar, wash the jars and set out to dry.
    b) Clear off your countertops. We have a decent amount of counter space in our kitchen and we used about every inch of it.
    c) Set out ingredients that do not need to be refrigerated and create "stations" where guests can work. For instance, place ingredients together for an apple crumb topping in one corner of the room, and ingredients for the pecan pie filling in another section.
    d) If you have kids, make arrangements for them to be out of the house. This is your time to enjoy with friends and when your attention is divided by kids hanging off of the ceiling fans and sticking their hands in the pie crust all morning, it adds a little bit of stress to what should be a stress-free party.
    e) Go through your ingredients and equipment one last time and pick up any last minute items.

    Then, if you're a party dork (as one friend called me) and have this obsessive need to make things extra cute, make some matching recipe cards and jar labels or gift tags to use to decorate your finished products.

    How to host a pie-making party. Printables

    In the end, you have delicious pies ready to enjoy later, but most importantly, you have enjoyed a blissful time with good friends!

    pie making parties mini pies in a jar pie recipes

    I cannot wait to share with you the delicious recipes we created for this mini pie-making party, based on tweaking normal pie recipes. Stay tuned tomorrow for the post with downloadable and printable recipe cards for Mini Berry Pies-in-a-Jar, Mini Pecan Pies-in-a-Jar, and Mini Apple Crumb Pies-in-a-Jar!

    Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

    « Genoa [CLOSED]
    Pie-Making Party: Pies in a jar recipes »
    0 shares

    Get recipes, travel tips, deals and more delivered to your inbox!

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

        February 12, 2014 at 9:51 am

        Thanks so much, Marie! This was a fun party and I'm thinking of hosting another one -- it was that much fun the first time around! :)

        Reply
      2. Marie @ Substance of Living says

        February 12, 2014 at 9:25 am

        Marlynn,
        Thank you for sharing this party idea. I'm always in search of new themes and ways to keep parties exciting. These little pies are perfect for conversation while making, enjoying one at the party and then the idea that everyone gets to take one home for later is so neat.
        Cheers,
        Marie
        Substance of Living

        Reply
      3. Kelly says

        August 22, 2013 at 2:44 pm

        Hi there! I was looking for the post with the printable labels and can't find it--can you please advise? Thanks!! :)

        Reply
      4. Debbie Landis says

        November 28, 2012 at 4:44 am

        I love this idea!! How long do you bake the mini pies if you can't wait and want them that day?

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          November 29, 2012 at 7:17 am

          Hi Debbie! Great question. We made a few right away and they baked well at right around 40 minutes. My oven has a tendency to cook faster than most, however, so I would start at 40 and then just keep an eye on them if you find they need a few more minutes in your oven. Let me know if you make them & what you think! Thanks! :)

      5. Natascha says

        November 17, 2012 at 5:01 am

        This was a fabulous morning - thanks so much for hosting Marlynn!!! Of course the kids and I couldn't wait and had to bake and sample some on the day - divine!!!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          November 19, 2012 at 4:11 pm

          I am so glad you came over, Natascha! Glad the kids could enjoy the pies too! :)

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

      Primary Sidebar

      Marlynn Jayme Schotland 2021 profile pic

      Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I'm Marlynn - a cookbook author, writer, photographer, and mom of two teenagers + a lovable lab retriever. Here you'll find my fast, easy, and delicious recipes, wine pairings, and travel guides. I hold a WSET 2 with Distinction in wine, and am a member of Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).

      More about me →

      Featured In

      Urban Bliss Life Press Featured In graphic

      Fall Recipes

      • apple fritter donuts stacked on top of each other on a plate.
        Apple Fritter Donut Recipe
      • bowl of instant pot chili
        Best Instant Pot Turkey Chili Recipe
      • big bowl of dairy-free creamy ground beef pasta
        Creamy Ground Beef Pasta
      • pumpkin cheesecake bars on a white cake stand with kitchen towel
        Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust

      New Recipes

      • orange bowl with Halloween Snack Mix.
        Halloween Snack Mix
      • Brussels sprouts and apples, apple pie bars, apple pancakes, apple slices and pork chops with title text that reads "Best Fall Apple Recipes."
        Best Autumn Apple Recipes
      • several different healthy no bake Halloween snacks in a photo collage with title text.
        17 Healthy No Bake Halloween Treats
      • cast iron skillet with gnocchi, mushrooms, basil.
        Skillet Gnocchi with Mushrooms recipe

      New Travel Tips

      • fish and chips, green curry, cocktail and bar, and charcuterie board with title text that reads "Best Restaurants in Whistler BC."
        Whistler Restaurants
      • Marlynn Jayme Schotland holding a glass of Kazakhstan wine at Arba Winery with the Tian Shan mountains in the background.
        Exploring the Rich Heritage of Kazakhstan Wine: From Ancient Vineyards to Modern Wineries
      • pictures of summer berries, the portland Tram, donuts, and hiking trail with title text that reads "50 Family-friendly Things to do in Portland, OR."
        50 Things to Do with Kids in Portland
      • Photos of Arba vineyards, Singing Dunes, Green Bazaar produce booth, and Zenkov Cathedral with title text reading "30+ Best Things to Do in Almaty, Kazakhstan."
        30+ Best Things to Do in Almaty, Kazakhstan
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Pinterest
      • Instagram
      • YouTube

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      logos of media outlets that have featured urban bliss life.

      Recipes

      • 30-Minute Meals
      • 5-Ingredients
      • Air Fryer
      • Asian
      • Dairy-Free
      • Pasta
      • Seafood

      About

      • About
      • FAQs
      • Privacy & Accessibility Policy
      • Terms & Conditions

      Contact

      • Contact
      • Work with me

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
      Copyright © 2022 Urban Bliss Life

      All rights reserved. You may not use any photos or recipes on this site for any personal or commercial use without my express written permission.