Let me say first of all that this is a public service announcement, because as a bona fide crust lover, I would never-ever suggest that you avoid crust (or carbs in general).
But, I understand that there might be times to go crust-less. For instance:
- You need to abide by a gluten-free diet.
- You don't like crust (I don't understand you, but I can appreciate that you exist).
- You made too much pie filling. It's not enough to fill a second crust, but enough that you don't just want to toss it.
OK, so now I'll tell you the little factoid I discovered that you can keep in your back pocket for the next time you need it:
You can bake your pie filling in ramekins and it will turn out just fine.
I've done this several times in the past, with pumpkin, sweet potato, and Bob Andy pie. And each time, it's turned out just fine. It occurs to me that you could make a conscious effort to do this, too, mixing up a batch of filling and baking it all in separate ramekins for a sort of sweet souffle-like dessert.
Should you want to do this, all you need to do is the following:
- Grab a few oven-safe ramekins.
- Fill them with the pie filling of your choice. Mostly, but not quite, full.
- Put them on a baking sheet and into the oven, heated to the same temperature called for in the pie recipe.
- Bake, but for significantly less time than a pie would take. For instance, if a full pie takes 45 minutes to bake, check the ramekins at 10-15 minutes or so. Look for the same signals of doneness as you would in a pie: mostly set with a slight jiggle in the center, slight pulling away from the sides, et cetera.
- Remove and let cool in the ramekins. Serve right in them once cooled. I like mine slightly warmed with cookies or ice cream, but it's nice plain, too.
