One of the best parts about summer is BBQ season – there’s just nothing better than making the most of the extra daylight and warm temperatures and gathering some friends around the grill for dinner. We’re lucky enough to have a rooftop deck with grills at our apartment building and we’ve been trying to make the most of it by cooking outdoors nearly every evening. We tend to keep  the menu pretty simple but recently my sweet tooth got the best of me and I wanted to scheme up a new dessert idea that made for the perfect grilling companion.

Meet the mini mason jar pies. Because everything is better in miniature form and mason jars are actually pretty darn handy.

I used Mike’s Hard Lemonade’s new Flavors of America variety pack for flavor inspiration and decided to whip up four flavors of pies: apple, cherry, lemon and peach – something for everyone! How to create mini mason jar pies of your own:

What You’ll Need:

• Half pint mason jars
• For traditional crust: frozen pie crust (or if you’re feeling fancy, you can make your own!)
• For graham cracker crust: crushed graham crackers mixed with 1 tbsp melted butter
• Pie fillings of choice (for the lemon pie I used lemon pudding)

How to Make Them:

Peach, Apple & Cherry Pies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Roll out your pie dough and use a mason jar lid as a cookie cutter to cut individual pie crusts for each mason jar
3. Place crust at bottom of the mason jar, poke air holes in the crust with a fork and bake for approximately 10 minutes
4. Remove mason jars from oven and allow crust to cool
5. Fill each mason jar with fruit filling and top with additional circle of crust or use strips of crust to form lattice pattern – brush with butter and top with raw sugar
6. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown

Lemon Pies:

1. Crush graham crackers and mix using food processor with melted butter
2. Scoop graham cracker mixture into mason jars and pack down
3. Bake graham cracker crust for approximately 10 minutes
4. While crust is baking, prepare pudding according to directions on package and chill in refrigerator
5. Remove mason jars from oven and allow crust to cool
6. Once crust has cooled, scoop pudding into each mason jar, cover and return to fridge

And voila, you’re done! What I love most about this mini mason jar pie concept is that they’re ultra portable given that they’re each in their own container with their own lid – they’re easy to pack and bring to a party and everyone is able to choose their favorite flavor and chow down on their own personal pie. There’s something for everyone, which is exactly why Mike’s Hard Lemonade put the very same flavors in their Flavors of America variety pack. Backyard entertaining has officially been taken to the next level!

This post was created in partnership with Mike’s Hard Lemonade