Pie Shots

So, I was lucky enough to sit down with the owner and founder of Crust Bakery, Stephanie (website, here).  She has been an incredible influence in my baking endeavors.  During our conversation, I mentioned that my dessert posts tend to get the most interest...hello, people love sweets.
Stephanie mentioned that sharing food is one of the reasons she started her bakery in the first place.  So, she and I concocted a great way to share one of the most recent desserts I tried - Danger Pie (so good, it's dangerous...yup, that's right).  Portable, portion-sized and easy to share...Stephanie suggested Pie Shots!

So, I had leftover cans from the kumquat canning experiment and this was a quick solution to use them.

Did you know Nilla Wafers came in minis?  I didn't, but boy do I now!
(keep reading to get the full tutorial)

So, I layered three or four of these bad boys into the bottom of each jar.  I'm also a brat, so I made sure none were blemished or oblong.  Again, a brat.

Then, crazy-thin slices of banana.  I think I used two bananas total for 12 jars.

Remember how to make toffee?  We went over this before, but in case you missed the first Danger Pie - boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for 2.5 hours, making sure it's constantly submerged in water while on the stove.  Please wait to cool before you crack the seal...this may be the hardest part of it all, 'cause it's good!

I don't believe in fake whipped cream.  So, heavy cream it is.  Only sweetened with vanilla bean, because trust me, the toffee is sweet enough.

So, keep the layering going.  Wafers, bananas, toffee, repeat.  Be sure to squish after each layer of wafers (this means less air, more pie!).  Once you've got about 3/4 of an inch left, pile on that whipped cream.

I used a spoon to squish the whipped cream into all the cracks, too.  No air pockets for this girl.  And guess what...seal those canning jars and voila!  I actually noticed that they pressure-sealed a bit, due to the toffee still being hot.  This means no brown bananas!  Bomb-dot-com.

Yeah, then the nerd in me asked Stephanie if we could package them super sweet.  Stephanie is a professional, and I know how to work scissors.  Together, we are unstoppable.  How sweet are those?

Okay, so only eleven were delivered...one went in my mouth.  Not the least bit guilty.  Totes worth it.  Have a proud, safe, and fun holiday weekend!