Let’s face it. “Easy as pie” is one of those sayings that everyone uses but few people actually believe.
Most people, when tasked with making an honest-to-goodness fruit pie, hem and haw before saying that a pie is beyond them.
Nonsense. I mean that too – even though I’m a bit of a pie novice myself. When I “pie”, I worry about the bottom crust getting soggy and leaden with fruit juices. And frankly, I also worry about the crust itself. The solution? A cobbler – just as fruity as any fruit pie, but with no bottom crust to fret over.
These little cranberry cobblers in a jar are the perfect holiday dinner party dessert. Simple to whip up, but still counts as homemade – after all you did cook the filling AND turn on the oven! The cranberry filling is light, tangy, and comfortingly homey – yet slightly sophisticated with a hint of orange and star anise. The perfect foil for vanilla ice cream! And the little jars are so adorable!
So, here are the easy-as-you-know-what instructions. First, unroll your Pillsbury pie crust. (A 14.1 oz box comes with two rounds – you’ll only need one for this recipe.) Gather six pint mason jars – the kind you use for canning. Use one of the jars as a cookie cutter, cutting out six circles of dough that you’ll later use to top your cobblers.
Next, head on over to the stove. Cook the cranberries with the sugar, star anise, orange zest, and spices over medium heat until the cranberries have popped and blended together into a jewel-hued mass. Cool, remove the star anise, and stir in the rest of the cranberries and the juice from the orange.
Fill 6 pint jars with your lovely cranberry filling, place a circle of dough over the top of each, cut a couple of slits for ventilation, sprinkle with sugar and bake at 350 degrees until the pastry is brown and the filling is bubbly.
More Lil’ Cobblers to Love
Cranberry is a popular dessert filling this time of year, but don’t be afraid to experiment with other awesome cobbler recipes:
Enjoy your little cobblers!
XO, Michelle
Michelle Palm created the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen blog after discovering a lack of cocktail-style jelly shot recipes. Look for her posts here, and check her Tablespoon member profile often to see what she’s already gelled up!
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