Did a search but couldn’t find a thread about pie.
I can count on one hand the number of pies I have made in my life. I am not a big dessert maker and I would love to get some CC wisdom to help me solve my dilemma. My friend gave me a jar of ollalieberry fruit pie filling. It is a 16 oz jar which I assume is not enough for a full size pie. I was wondering if I could supplement the filling with fresh or frozen raspberries or blackberries? If I do this so you think the thickener that is in the jar feeling will be enough or do I need to add something else? I’m also open to other ideas as to what to do with this jar of fruit filling.
Thank you
Yes…just add the berries. It will be a mixed berry pie.
Put it on cheesecake, pancakes or ice cream.
You can also make it into a fruit crisp with a streusely oat topping.
Cut pie crust into (+ or -) 5 inch circles, put a blob of pie filling, fold dough over in half, seal edge, poke top with a fork a couple of times, and bake. Now you have turnovers.
Or do a similar thing in a muffin tin with the pie crust and the filling. You can even buy premade pie crust, roll it out a bit thinner if you like, and use it however you like.
If you don’t have a rolling pin, a wine bottle will do!
If you do add berries and make a full size pie, you might want to add about 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for about 2 cups of extra berries. What do other bakers think?
Another fan of buying the premade crusts and rolling them a little thinner if you go down the pie path.
It would be a shame to take this special handmade ollalieberry pie filling and dilute it with something else. Instead, you could use premade pie crust and make little hand pies by cutting out small circles (5-6"), putting a dollop of filling, then folding in half and sealing the edges. I don’t use premade piecrust so I don’t know how thin it is, but for hand pies you don’t want the crust to be too thin, or it will fail when you pick up the pie.
Or you could buy premade frozen puff pastry and make turnovers; probably there would be directions on the box. This would be super easy. For turnovers, I suggest squares turned over into triangles, which would also make better use of the rectangular sheets of puff pastry. https://iwashyoudry.com/super-easy-cherry-turnovers/ (but with your filling instead of the cherry filling)
If you’ve only got one jar and are novice, I think the turnovers solve many issues. Or make a crumble.
Easy to use a smaller than usual pan, since a full size pie needs about 2 cups of premade filling. Tough to adapt with replacement additions if OP isn’t so familiar.
Be sure there isn’t already cornstarch in the filling. It may go under a more scientific name.
Mix it with yogurt, use it on pancakes. Pretend it is like jam or jelly. Is it something special?
Make a galette. Using a roll out grocery pie crust simply put your jar of berries in the middle, fold the sides up a few inches and brush the edges of the crust with egg white. That all and it is beautiful. PinInterest for images. Send me a slice.
It’s not homemade but comes from a place that has delicious ollalieberry pie. I’ve had the pie made by the restaurant but have not had anything made from this jarred filling. I’m anticipating that it should be pretty good. My friend gave me the jar after she visited the restaurant. We aren’t big pancake eaters nor do we use much jam so opening the jar for that purpose would lead me to probably waste most of the filling. I like both the turnover and galette idea. I have a few frozen crusts in the freezer I use for quiche.
These are excellent and easy to make.
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/raspberry-crumble-bars
I started a thread on pies when I got into making them. Lots of great advice there, so here’s the link. I will say, for a really good pie, you need a) practice b) good recipe c) a good bakery. If you don’t have any of these, use the filling for something else. Life’s too short to be frustrated by a lack of baking skills 
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1998728-lets-talk-pie.html
See if you can find a smaller pie pan. They are made!
I love my 7" springform and often halve a recipe. (At this point, my family doesn’t need days and days of pies, cakes, or quiches hanging around.) It’s harder to find, but worth the effort. I made the Tday cake in this and it was plenty, I have some left over.
I almost mentioned, above, that you can usually find a smaller round foil pan at the market. Or metal tart pans. Or use a small individual gratin dish. These are oblong. Or individual 4" ramekins. Use as many as you have filling for.
I do also have a real mini pie plate, glass.
Two ideas. I have a set of small pie tins and many times when making pies, end up making an extra tart to give away.
https://www.amazon.com/Astra-Gourmet-Non-stick-Heavy-duty-Hamburger/dp/B07BK5J83H/ref=sr_1_27?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1543190591&sr=1-27&keywords=individual+pie+tin I find my set of something similar quite useful.
The other idea with that jar of filling, is to buy a pre made graham cracker crust, put some custard in the bottom or bake a half recipe of cheesecake on the bottom and top with the filling.
The galette is in the oven. I used a premade shell, the galette isn’t the prettiest but I’m guessing it will taste good. The filling tastes delicious cold and just like the filling in the pies in the shop where the filling was purchased. Filling is just fruit, sugar, cornstarch and lemon.
Thanks for all the pointers.
Yum! I think galette’s are to look rustic and not pretty which is part of their charm.
It looked better after cooking and tasted delicious. Both my H and I were surprised at how the jar filling tasted not overly sweet with a bit of tartness… The only thing I would have liked is to have a few more larger chunks of berry. It was good enough that the next time I travel to this tourist location I’m going to pick up a few jars of filling.
I would love to learn to make pies but the problem is that if I made pie I would eat pie.