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As you know, I am a big fan of baking and presenting food in jars and other glass pieces. A few weeks ago I was making these No-Bake Raspberry Lemon Cheesecakes and desperately wanted a way to get the crust to appear nice and even all the way around the small glass bowl. I attempted to use my fingers, a lid to my milk jug, and a small spoon. However, I was still left with a kinda bumpy layer of graham cracker crumbs. I knew they would taste delicious, but we all know that I’m a little crazy anal, so I kept pondering.
About five minutes later it hit me, and I flung open the freezer, dug through the bottom drawer, and retrieved a delicious chocolate malt push-up – which I promptly ate. Then I slid the plastic base and stick out of the cardboard tube and gave it good wash. Lightbulb moment, huh? Well, for me it was.
Simply hold the push-up upside down and use the stick as a handle and gently push the circular base into the crumbs to achieve a nice even layer. You don’t want to press too hard or the crumbs will become too compact which will make it a little difficult to eat.
Genius? Probably not, but quick, cheap and totally reusable – absolutely. Not to mention it’s a great excuse to eat a push-up! Wash it by hand and toss it into your gadget drawer for later uses.
A push up pop stick??? Yep, your pretty much genius!
Hmmm..what kind of trick can I contribute?? I pound my chicken in a freezer gallon zip lock bag. They are sturdy, they never break open and they keep the chicken cooties contained!
Looks like I need to get some push pops like asap! Now please tell me, where did you get those darling little jars?!
Thanks for sharing your suggestion, that does make the crumb base look a lot neater than mine ever have. My random kitchen tip is to put deviled eggs stuffing into a gallon storage bag, snip off the end, and pipe it into the eggs halves. Not at all original, but a whole lot cleaner and easier than spooning it into the eggs halves.
Hey Queenie, They are called push-ups.You and Jared loved them as kids.
Ha- You are totally right. I made the adjustment – kids? I still love them! :)
Good tip to know. Thanks for sharing it. As much as I love all of the *jar* recipes I’ve seen, I have yet to bake one. Better get ahold of some push pop sticks before I do ;)
I ran into the same problem when I was trying to make crusts for mini cheesecakes. I ended up using a tall shot glass to press down on the crumbs. But now I’m thinking that a push pop is definitely going to be a justified treat soon :)
I love how things look in jars but am rubbish at presenting them – what a genius tip!
Brilliant! AND you were able to eat a treat in addition to problem solving!
I would call that genius!
Great idea! When I have to press a graham cracker crust in a rectangular pan, I use the lid of a spam musubi maker to press down the crust. It results in a packed and even layer!