Nutty Pumpkin Caramel Pie
Use your favorite pre-baked pastry crust for a 9” pie plate
(my pie plate measures 9” x 1½” deep)
For the Pumpkin Caramel (yields: 1½ cups)
¾ cup pumpkin (I use canned)
First prepare the Pumpkin Cream:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, the salt and
the spices. Stir in the melted butter, then add the heavy cream. When well
combined, set aside while you prepare the caramelized sugar.
For the Caramelized Sugar: (You will need a candy
thermometer and a pair of oven mitts for this.)
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, place the sugar, water and
corn syrup. Do not stir. Cook over medium heat, carefully swirling the pan
occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture caramelizes. (Without a
Pantone book to guide you, I would say you are looking for the color of honey,
or copper or medium amber. The pumpkin deepens the color and the flavor, so shy
on the side of a touch lighter than darker. Over medium heat on my gas
stovetop, this takes about 10 minutes, but stay close at hand. Sugar loves to
turn from caramel to burnt sugar to burned sugar at the moment you turn your
back.) Slowly add the pumpkin/cream mixture to the caramelized sugar. Stand
back, the caramel will sputter. Continue to cook over medium/low heat until a
candy thermometer registers 236 degrees. It takes patience- don’t be tempted to
blast the heat up to high or you risk scorching the bottom of your pan and burning
the pumpkin. Some caramel recipes instruct you to cook until 244 degrees, but
after many versions, I have found a touch below yields a nice, sliceable,
chewable caramel. Don your favorite oven mitts and carefully (this is hot
stuff!) remove from the heat and immediately pour the caramel into a Pyrex
measuring cup. Add the vanilla, give it a stir and let it cool down a bit; do
not be tempted to test a bit on your finger or tongue. Give it a good 20
minutes to cool; you want the caramel to be pourable. Scatter the walnuts and
pecans over your pre-baked pie shell, then pour the caramel over the nuts.
Smooth with an offset spatula and let it cool completely. When ready to serve,
use a knife dipped in hot water to make a clean slice. Serve with vanilla ice cream
and slices of apple; I think Honeycrisp pairs beautifully.
Double Cranberry Hand Pies with Ginger and Walnuts (yields
14 three inch pies) (Pastry adapted from London Bakes and Delicious Magazine)
Pastry
egg wash made out of one egg yolk and two tablespoons of
heavy cream or milk
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade
attachment, combine flour, salt, sugar, zest and butter. Pulse just until the
mixture forms coarse crumbs. Turn this out into a medium mixing bowl. In a
small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, shrub (or cider vinegar) and the
cold water. Add the liquid/sour cream mixture to the flour/butter mixture, one
tablespoon at a time, gently mixing just until the dough comes together. Pat it into
a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least an hour. When
ready to roll it out, dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and roll the
pastry about ⅛” thick. I used a 3” round circle cutter and was able to cut
out 28 circles. (Each pie gets a top and bottom, you don’t fold each circle in
half.) Chill the circles on parchment in the fridge while you prepare the
filling. Prepare the egg wash and set aside.
Double Cranberry filling (yields a generous pound- you will
only need about half for the hand pies, but filling will keep in the fridge for
a week- use it on top of oatmeal!)
8 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and picked over
for stems
In a non-reactive pan, (meaning don’t use aluminum which
will react with the cranberries and orange) combine the cranberries and
remaining ingredients, stirring with a rubber spatula. Cook over low heat for
about 15 minutes until the mixture cooks down and becomes thick. Set aside to
cool, then refrigerate until cold.
The pastry rounds and the filling need to be cold before
assembling the pies.
Bruléed Buttermilk Pie with Maple Syrup and Tipsy Mince (inspired
by Bon Appetit Nov. 1991 and Harrods Cookery Book)
1- 9” pre-baked Pate Brisée pie shell (my pie plate
measures 9½ “ by 1½“)
(a hand-held kitchen torch for melting the sugar)
Tipsy Mince (this yields about 3 cups; the pie uses 1½ cups
leaving the remainder to eat over ice cream, to fill hand pies, or to eat with
a spoon when no one is looking.)
3 cups peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
½ cup dried sour cherries
In a medium stockpot, stir to combine the fresh fruit, dried
fruit, candied ginger, spices, brown sugar, apple cider, Scotch and zests. Cook
over medium heat until the mixture boils, reduce to simmer, cover the stockpot
and cook for about one hour, until the mixture thickens. (You will need to stir
the mince periodically as it cooks so it doesn’t stick.) Remove from the heat,
stir in the chopped walnuts and cool the mixture completely before
refrigerating it. Best to prepare this at least a day prior to baking your pie.
Buttermilk Pie with Maple Syrup
3 large eggs
How to Brulée the pie-
Grease a sheet of aluminum foil and place it on a baking
pan. Set aside.
Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon and Spice (yields one 9" pie)
(Inspired by Maida Heatter's Yam Pie and Gourmet's Sweet Potato Pie 1989)
one 9" all-butter pie crust (blind bake before filling)
1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 oz. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup ice cold water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine flour, salt and sugar. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add butter and pulse just until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Empty this mixture into a medium sized bowl. Combine ice water and vinegar then add to flour/butter mixture, one or two tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together. If it feels at all dry, add one or two additional tablespoons of ice cold water. Pat the dough together into a disc, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out and fitting it into a 9"pie plate. Chill the pie shell thoroughly before blind-baking it.
Sweet Potato filling
1 & 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes (try and use a deep colored yam such as the Garnet)
(roast the potatoes in a 375 degree oven until they pierce easily and begin to caramelize, about an hour, maybe a bit longer)
4 tablespoons room temperature, unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I prefer 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup good quality bourbon
Once the potatoes have roasted and cooled, remove the skins and mash the pulp with a potato masher. You need 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes for this recipe. I like to give the mashed potatoes a quick run through the food processor with the butter so they are smooth, but don't overdo it and get them all pasty. Place the pureed potatoes/butter in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine your salt, brown sugar and spices. Now add the salt/sugar/spice mix to the potatoes/butter mix and blend thoroughly. I like to heat the cream either in the microwave or over medium heat just until it is hot, but not boiling. Add the hot cream to the potato mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula, then add the vanilla extract, orange zest and bourbon. Let this mixture rest for about an hour (really) before you add the eggs and egg yolk. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl then add to the sweet potato mixture. Fold in gently but thoroughly. Place the partially baked pie shell on a parchment lined baking sheet and pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil strips so they don't get too dark. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking the pie for about 25 minutes. The edges of the pie will begin to puff and the center will still look the tiniest bit shiny. It should just barely jiggle- the pie continues to firm up as it cools. While the pie cools, prepare the Bourbon Whipped Cream and Crazy Nut brittle.
Bourbon Whipped Cream
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons good quality bourbon
In a chilled bowl, whip together the cream, sugar, vanilla and bourbon until it holds soft peaks. Keep chilled until ready to serve the pie.
Crazy Nut Brittle (adapted from the Leslie Mackie's Macrina Cookbook)
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the parchment with canola oil. In a small bowl combine the following spices:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
In a small saucepan over low heat combine 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup dark corn syrup. Heat just until the mixture is melted.
In a medium bowl combine an assortment of nuts that will total 2 cups. I used:
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup whole skinned almonds
Toss the spice mixture over the nuts, coating them thoroughly, then add the melted honey/corn syrup mixture. Using a rubber spatula, turn the mixture out onto the greased, parchment lined baking sheet, spread the nut mixture into a single layer and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Let the nut mixture cool completely before you break it into brittle.
Apple Dumplings in Hazelnut Pastry with Cider Caramel (yields: 6)
6 apples (between 7-8 oz. each) peeled, cored, leaving the bottom intact, brushed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I use either Honeycrisp or Cortland- something sturdy, but not Granny Smiths- too tart)
Hazelnut Pastry
2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups finely chopped skinned hazelnuts
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together flour, hazelnuts, brown sugar and salt. Add butter, pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Turn this mixture into a large bowl. Combine ice water and cider vinegar, add to flour/nut/sugar/salt/butter mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cherry Hazelnut filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped skinned hazelnuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons tart Montmorency dried cherries
In a small bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar, hazelnuts, cinnamon and dried cherries. This will be the filling for the cored apples. (Prepare 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of cream or milk as an egg wash.)
Working with one disc of chilled pastry at a time, roll out the dough onto parchment paper, 1/8" thick. You can cut out an 8" square of parchment to use as a template, or simply use a ruler to mark 8" squares. You should get three 8" squares from each disc of rolled pastry with extra to cut out decorative leaves. (Chill the leaf cutouts on parchment while you are wrapping the apples in dough.) Place one apple, right side up, in the center of each square of dough, and fill the apple with 1 generous tablespoon of the brown sugar/hazelnut/dried cherry mixture. Brush the edges of the dough with a bit of the egg wash, then bring one corner of the square up to the top of the apple, pressing gently to hold it in place. Bring the next corner of dough up to the top, slightly overlapping, pressing it into place. Continue with the remaining two corners of dough. The dough should be overlapping, and it's fine to pinch it with your fingers to adjust the creases. Brush the entire pastry wrapped apple with some of the egg wash. Continue the process with the remaining apples, placing the completed apples 1 & 1/2" apart on a rimmed parchment lined baking sheet. Dab the leaf cutouts with egg wash and attach them to the dumplings. You must refrigerate the apples before you bake them, at least an hour, to ensure that the pastry is cold and doesn't slip down during the baking. I've kept them covered with plastic in the fridge overnight and baked them in the morning and they are delicious hot of the oven for breakfast. Before you are ready to bake them, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a small knife to poke a hole in the top of each pastry, allowing steam to escape. (The leaf cutouts brown faster than the rest of the pastry, so you may want to cover them with foil halfway through.) Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the apples feel tender when pierced with a knife. Serve with the Cider Caramel.
Cider Caramel
2 cups good quality apple cider, reduced to 1/4 cup
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
5 tablespoons salted butter (the salt deepens the flavor of the caramel, balances the sweetness)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt
You have to reduce the cider down from 2 cups to 1/4 cup. This takes a little time and patience- keep an eye on things here; you can start with a high heat but as it reduces, you will need to lower the flame. Measure the reduced cider into a pyrex measuring cup- if it's more than 1/4 cup, reduce it a bit more. When you have 1/4 cup of cider reduction, place it in a medium sauce pan. Add the brown sugar, salted butter and heavy cream, stir to combine and cook over low heat. Continue cooking the caramel until the mixture thickens; this can take about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and the sea salt. Stir and set aside to cool. The caramel will continue to thicken as it cools down. Refrigerate the cooled sauce.
Quince Pear Pie (yields one 7" double crust pie) (adapted from Superb Pies and Pastries, Culinary Arts Institute)
Ginger/Honey Poached Quince (yields generous 4 cups) (adapted from Food
and Wine magazine)
In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar, honey, lemon,
vanilla bean, cardamom and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring, just until sugar
and honey melts. Reduce heat, add the quinces, cover with a circle of parchment
paper, and simmer until quinces are tender, about 45 minutes, maybe a bit
longer. Transfer the poached fruit to a bowl, using a slotted spoon. Reduce the
poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Pour the syrup over the quinces
and set aside until cool. Refrigerate.
This will yield enough quince for two 7” pies so you will have an excuse
to bake this breakfast or dessert pie not once, but twice. (The extra quince
keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.)
Gruyere or Cheddar (or Cheddar and Gruyere) Crust (both Whole
Foods and Trader Joe’s offers these cheeses individually, or in combination)
(adapted from King Arthur Flour)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
Quince Pear Pie filling for a 7” pie
2 cups drained, cooled, poached quince slices
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. On a piece of parchment
paper, roll out one disc of pie dough about 1/8” thick, 9” round, and fit it
into a 7” pie plate. Roll and crimp the edges, then refrigerate while you
prepare the filling. Roll out the second disc of dough for your top crust about
1/8” thick and 9” round on the parchment paper, place on a baking sheet and
refrigerate.
Place the poached quince slices, pear slices, lemon juice,
honey and the shrub into a large mixing bowl; stir gently to combine. In a
small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, ground ginger, fresh
ginger, cardamom, seeds from the vanilla bean, and the lemon zest. Pour the
sugar/cornstarch/spice mixture over the fruit, toss gently to coat with a
rubber spatula. Pour into chilled pie shell, place top crust over the fruit,
seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with egg wash and cut a few vents
in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Place on a parchment lined baking
sheet, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and bake in pre-heated 375
degree oven for 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for
an additional 20-25 minutes until the pie is golden and juices bubble from the
center. Best to cool on a rack for two hours if you care about neat slices. Some of us do not.
Lattice-crust Plum Raspberry Pie (makes one 9" pie)
Pie Crust (adapted from Carole Walter’s Flaky Pie pastry)
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle
attachment, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the
shortening and butter to the bowl, mixing on low just until crumbly. Transfer
the mixture to a large bowl. Drizzle the cold water one tablespoon at a time,
around the inside of the bowl using a fork to push the mixture towards the
center. Add the remaining water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes
together. Divide the dough in half, dust with flour. Wrap each half in plastic
and chill for at least one hour before using. Roll one half of the chilled pie pastry into a 12” circle,
about 1/8” thick. Fit the rolled dough into a 9” pie plate, trim the edges to
leave a 1” overhang around the pan. Roll out the remaining half of dough on
parchment paper to about 1/8” thick, and trim it into a 12” circle. Chill both
the top and bottom crusts while preparing the filling.
Plum Raspberry Filling
2 lbs. red or purple plums, halved, pitted and cut into
thick wedges (5 generous cups)
egg wash made of 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the sugars, cornstarch and spices.
Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, place the plums, orange juice and zest. Add
the sugars, cornstarch and spices to the plums, mixing gently with a rubber
spatula. Set aside.
Place the chilled pie shell on a parchment lined baking
sheet. Add half of the plum mixture to the pie shell, sprinkle with ½ cup of
the raspberries, then repeat with the remaining plums and raspberries. Cut the
top crust into wide lattice strips, weave the lattice over the fruit, then tuck
and seal the edges. Crimp as desired, and brush the dough with egg wash.
Sprinkle with coarse raw sugar, cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil
strips to prevent overbrowning. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes, then reduce
heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the crust
is golden and the juices are bubbling thickly. Let cool on a rack for at least
2 hours before slicing.
Cafette Chocolate Walnut Tart
(Makes one tart, serving 8 generously. My tart pan with
removable bottom measures 9½" across by 1¼" deep. I have also made this in a 9" pie plate, substituting a partially blind baked pie shell for the crumb crust.
Equally delicious.)
A note about the crust:
Crumb Crust
2 cups finely ground chocolate chip cookies
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9½”
tart pan with removable bottom. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the
cookie crumbs and the melted butter. Press the crumb mixture evenly into the
bottom and along the sides of the tart pan. Chill for 15 minutes. Set the
chilled tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 12 minutes. Let
the tart shell cool while preparing the filling.
Chocolate Walnut filling (enough to fill a 9” pre-baked pie
shell or a 9½” pre-baked tart shell)
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy bottomed
saucepan, whisk together, flour, brown sugar and salt. Add corn syrup and cook
over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.
Continue cooking for another minute, remove from the heat and add the butter
and chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate and butter has
melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside until the mixture is cool to the
touch.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla.
Gradually add a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking
constantly. Continue gradually adding the chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking well so there are no streaks of egg visible.
Place the pre-baked tart shell on a parchment lined baking
sheet. Sprinkle the walnuts over the bottom of the tart shell then
slowly pour the chocolate filling over the walnuts. Smooth the top with an
offset spatula, and place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the pre-heated
350 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then check to see if the tart has puffed
around the edges and the center feels firm. Test the center of the tart with a
small paring knife, it should come out clean. If it is still wet, continue
baking for an additional 5 minutes until it tests clean. Cool on a rack for at
least 2 hours before serving. This is most delicious when it is slightly warm. (If there are any leftovers, cover with
plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
Honey Salted Caramel Apple Pie – makes one 9” pie
For the Caramel
½ cup mild flavored honey
In a heavy-bottomed pan (mine is a 3 qt. size), combine
honey, brown sugar, and butter. Cook over medium high heat until sugar
dissolves, stirring occasionally with a wooden or silicone treated spoon. Allow
the caramel to cook until it deepens in color a bit. Slowly add the heavy
cream, the mixture will steam and get foamy. Stir gently to combine, then
continue to cook until the caramel thickens. I cook it until my insta-read
thermometer registers 238 degrees. Stir in the vanilla and the salt. (The
mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.) Let the caramel cool completely
before using it in your pie.
For the Pie
2 discs of Pate Brisée (enough for a double crusted 9” pie)
Turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Roll out one disc of Pate
Brisée
and fit it into a 9” pie plate. (My pie plate is 2” deep- don’t use a shallow
little pie plate or you will be scrubbing caramel out of your oven.) Roll out
the second disc for the top crust; set it on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Let the pie shell and top crust chill in the fridge while you prepare the
filling.
In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice
and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon,
nutmeg, cornstarch and the lemon zest.
Combine the sugar, spice, cornstarch mixture with the apples
to coat well. Mound the apples tightly in the pie shell, then drop dollops of
the caramel on top of the fruit. Drape the top crust over the apples. Fold the
top layer of dough under the bottom layer of dough, and tuck the two together,
sealing the pie. Crimp the edges. Brush the pie with egg wash and poke three or
four steam vents in the top crust. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet,
cover the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent
overbrowning, and bake on the bottom rack of your oven at 400 degrees for 20
minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional
30 minutes. Remove the foil strips and bake approximately 10 minutes longer or
until the apples test tender with a sharp knife. The pie needs to cool for 3
hours or more before slicing. 
Blueberry Pie, two ways (One from the Ladies Home Journal
and one from Yankee Magazine)
Makes one 9” pie
The Classic Lattice Pie boasts little more than:
Dough for one double crust pie (preferably pate brisée)
6 generous cups of fresh blueberries, lightly rinsed, patted
dry, stems removed
egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Reserve one cup of the
blueberries and set aside. Toss the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and cinnamon mixture over
the remaining berries until they are well coated. I break up a portion of the
berries with a rubber spatula to draw out the juices a bit. Fill the prepared
pie plate with the blueberry mixture. Spread it evenly and then add the
reserved cup of blueberries on top. (The reasoning behind this is so you have
blue berries peeking through the lattice and not sugar/cornstarch coated
berries which have a white cast to them.) Remove your lattice strips from the
refrigerator, weave them on top of the pie, tuck the edges underneath, sealing
the bottom crust with the lattice. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with
sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for
approx. 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an
additional 45 minutes or maybe a bit more, until the juices are bubbling thickly.
If the crust is getting too dark, cover the edges with foil strips. Let the pie sit for several hours before
slicing.
Blueberry Pie with Maple Walnut Crumble
Follow the directions as above, using one half portion of
dough to line the pie plate, saving the other half for another time. I like to add
several tablespoons of maple syrup to the berries (make sure it’s good quality,
not faux maple.) Prepare a crumble using the following:
2 cups chopped walnuts
You can prepare this in the bowl of a food processor fitted
with the metal blade. Pulse the mixture just until crumbly- or you can make it by
combining the ingredients in a bowl and working the butter into the mixture
until coarse and crumbly. Then drizzle in the maple syrup and sprinkle the
crumb topping over the blueberry pie filling. Bake this pie in a pre-heated 375
degree oven (to prevent the crumble from getting too brown) for 20 minutes,
then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 50 minutes, covering the pie
with foil or parchment if it is getting dark. The berries should bubble
around the edges and the center of the pie should be hot to the touch when you
test it with a small paring knife. Set
aside to cool for several hours before slicing.
Jessie’s Cookie Pie Crust
3¼ cups + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder;
set aside. In the bowl of a standing
mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with the sugar. Add
the eggs one at a time, beating just to combine. Scrape down the bowl then gradually
add the dry ingredients on low speed. Scrape down the bowl again, add the sour
cream and the vanilla, mixing just until the mixture comes together. Turn dough out
onto a well greased half sheet pan and with flour-dusted fingers, pat the dough
evenly to line the pan. Chill while preparing the filling.
Peach and Blueberry filling
The quantities are a little improvisational here. If you are using good-sized freestone peaches, about 6 or 7 should do the trick, teamed with 2 pints of blueberries. (I tend to err on the side of excess.) Gently wash the peaches. You will need to blanch the peaches in boiling water, just briefly, to soften them and make the skins easy to remove. Once you have removed the skins, (work over a bowl so you can save the juices that are dripping
all over your fingers and also save the skins) halve the peaches. The pits
should now be easy to remove (that’s why they’re called ‘free-stone’) and then
slice each half into four or five thick wedges. Set these in a shallow bowl and
give them a little squeeze of lemon or orange juice to keep them from turning
color. Set them aside to cool down a bit. You don’t want to put hot peaches on
a cold crust. Rinse and stem the blueberries, then lay them out on a kitchen
towel to absorb the moisture.
Jessie used to cook the skins, the peach pits, and the reserved
peach juices together with 2 Tablespoons of sugar and about 1/4 cup of water until
the skins broke down a bit and the liquid reduced. Then she removed the pits
and strained the mixture, ending up with a peach flavored sugar syrup. To the
syrup she would add ¼ teaspoon of almond extract. I also like to add a little
orange or lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons of
finely ground tapioca, ¼ cup granulated sugar and 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar.
You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon, if you like. Preheat your oven to 350
degrees.
Take your half sheet pan out of the fridge, sprinkle the
tapioca/sugar mixture evenly over the chilled dough. Now place the fruit on
top; you can alternate rows of peaches with rows of berries, or cover one half
completely with peach slices and the other half with blueberries. When the pan
is completely covered with fruit, drizzle the peach syrup over the top. It
won’t cover the entire tray, but as it bakes, the juices from the fruit will
bubble up and join the syrup. It takes about 40 to 45 minutes to bake. Keep an
eye on things, you want the fruit to be tender, the berries to pop, as you
would in a pie. Neither the crust nor the pie is overly sweet, so teaming this
with ice cream and/or whipped cream is in perfectly good taste.
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and shortening,
mixing just until you have moist crumbs. Turn this mixture into a large bowl. Add
the cold water one tablespoon at a time, using your hands to gently combine the
water with the crumbs. Do not overmix- the dough should just barely hold
together. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap, divide in half, wrap each disc in
plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
Using one disc of dough at a time, remove the dough from the
refrigerator and roll it out on parchment paper to no more than 1/8” thick. Cut
out 6” squares and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with
the other disc, chill pastry while you prepare your filling. Preheat your oven to 400.
Fresh Peach filling
2 lbs. of peaches, peeled, halved, pitted and sliced into thick
wedges
1 egg combined with 1 Tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
In a large bowl, place sliced peaches. Combine cornstarch,
cinnamon, brown sugar, extract and orange zest. Whisk once or twice to combine. (Once the peaches combine with the sugar mixture, they will release quite a bit
of juice.)
Gently toss the sugar mixture over the peaches, turning to coat. Place about 3 Tablespoons of filling in the center of each pastry
square. Working quickly, brush the edges of the squares with the eggwash and
seal the edges of the pastry with a fork or your fingers. Use the tines of a
fork to poke a few holes in each pastry to let the steam escape. Brush the
folded pastries with egg wash, sprinkle with additional sugar and refrigerate
on parchment lined baking sheets for 10 minutes before baking. Bake at 400
degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes until golden.
8" Skillet Cherry Pie with Hazelnut Crust
Crust (yields generous 2 lbs. of dough)
(adapted from the Silver Palate Good Times Nut Cookies with a tweak from Eating Well, November 2008)
10 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, cream the butter and the sugar until combined. In a separate bowl,
combine the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and ground hazelnuts. Whisk
once or twice to combine the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low add the egg
to the butter/sugar mixture, scrape down the bowl once or twice and then add
the dry ingredients in three additions. Scrape down the bowl, add the lemon
zest and vanilla extract, mix just until combined. Turn out the dough onto
lightly floured parchment paper, divide it in half and wrap each half in
plastic. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before rolling out. I use
approximately 10 oz. of dough for the bottom crust and 10 oz. of dough for the
top when I bake this cherry pie in an 8” cast iron skillet. (This also makes
tasty cookies- roll and cut as you would sugar cookie dough.)
Fresh Cherry Pie filling
(This is not an overly sweet pie, making it ideal for
breakfast. You can gussy it up for dessert by serving it with Frangelico
whipped cream. Or put the whipped cream in your morning coffee, teamed with the
pie.)
4 cups pitted sweet cherries
egg wash made with one egg yolk beaten with one Tablespoon
of cream or milk
In a small bowl combine sugars, cornstarch and cinnamon.
Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, toss the sugar mixture over the cherries,
then add the orange juice, zest and almond extract. Let this mixture sit for a
bit while you roll out the top and bottom crusts. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
(because the dough is more cookie than crust, you need the 375 degree
temperature.) Pour cherry filling into 8” cast iron skillet lined with hazelnut
crust. Top with lattice strips or cut-outs. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with
sugar, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and bake at 375 for
approximately 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional
20-30 minutes, until filling bubbles.
Frangelico Whipped Cream
½ cup heavy cream
Beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Stir in the Frangelico.
Raspberry Pie (adapted from the Ladies Home Journal
Dessert Cookbook)
Makes one 6” inch double crust pie
One recipe Pacific Northwest pie crust (yields enough for a
double crusted 9” pie)
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and mix until
crumbly. Combine the vinegar with the water and with the mixer on low, add the
liquid until the mixture just comes together. Turn the dough out onto plastic
wrap, divide it in half and pat each into a disc. Dust with flour, wrap in
plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out. For a 6” pie,
I use about 6 oz. of dough for the bottom, and 6 oz. for the top lattice. Wrap
the remaining dough in plastic and store in the refrigerator until the next
pie…)
Raspberry Pie filling
(for one double crusted 6” pie)
2 cups fresh raspberries
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Give the berries a quick mist of cold water, (don’t soak
them) then lay them out on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Dab them dry and
set aside. In a small bowl, combine sugar, orange zest and tapioca. Place the
raspberries in a medium bowl, toss gently with the sugar, zest, tapioca mixture
until coated. (Jessie’s notes say to let the berries sit for about 10 minutes
to give up some of their juices.) Turn the berries into the pastry lined pie
plate, cover with a double crust or lattice strips. Brush with egg wash and
sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Place
on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then
reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes, covering
edges of pie if turning too brown. Reduce heat to 350 degrees for the last 10
minutes of baking. Pie should bubble around the edges and the center when
ready. Set aside to cool on a rack before slicing.
Blushing Apricot Cherry Pie in Toasted Almond Crust (one 9”
double crusted pie)
You can make this pie with Bing cherries, but I love the
sweetness of the Rainier cherries teamed with the tartness of the fresh
apricots. I have also made this pie using an almond crumble topping, but we’ll
save that for later in the season.
The Crust (a loose adaptation from King Arthur Flour and Bon
Appetit)
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup white whole wheat flour
Blend flours, almonds, salt, brown sugar and zest in bowl of
standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. (You can also make this by hand,
cutting the butter into the dry ingredients or in a food processor fitted with
the blade attachment, pulsing the butter into the dry ingredients being careful
not to overmix.) Add the butter, mixing until crumbly. Add the water one tablespoon
at a time, just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured
sheet of parchment paper, divide in two, and wrap each disc in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate the dough at least one hour before rolling out.
Apricot/Cherry filling
(a hybrid of pies from Sunset magazine and the Farm Journal)
1 lb. 6 oz. Rainier cherries (pitted should equal 4 cups)
When ready to bake the pie, pre-heat your oven to 400
degrees. Roll out one circle of dough to about 1/8” thick and place it into a
9” pie plate. The dough is gentle and softens quickly. Place the pie plate back
in the fridge. Roll out the other disc (the upper crust) on a sheet of
parchment paper that you have dusted with flour. Place this in the fridge while
you prepare the filling.
(I did not use a spice in the mix- you can certainly use
cinnamon or nutmeg or ginger. For me, this pie is all about the fruit with just
a note of almond in the crust.)
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, vanilla bean
seeds, cornstarch and zest.
Cheddar Cheese Pie Crust for Dad's Day Apple Pie (yields enough for an individual 5 and 1/2"double crusted pie) (Courtesy of Rose Levy Beranbaum)
8 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teas. salt
1/8 teas. baking powder
3/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated and cold (3 ounces)
2 Tablespoons + 1 and 1/2 teas. ice cold water
1 and 1/2 teas. apple cider vinegar
Make sure the butter and cheddar cheese are cold. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the flour, salt and baking powder.
Pulse once or twice, then add butter, pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then add the cheddar cheese, pulse a few times to combine. (Don't over mix.) Remove the cover, add the water and vinegar, replace the cover and pulse once or twice. The mixture will be crumbly and not form a smooth dough. Empty the mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper, gently knead the dough a few times and it will hold together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. When ready to make your pie, divide the dough in half, fit one half into your pie plate, roll the other half for the lid and keep chilled.
Plum Berry Turnovers
(yields 6 double-fisted pastries)
(filling a nod to Tabora farms, pastry courtesy of British Good Food Magazine short-cut puff pastry)
First prepare the filling- you will only need half of this
to fill the turnovers, but you can use the extra for a cobbler filling or for a
small pie, or over ice cream
2 cups purple plums (deep purple exterior, red interior;
pitted, cut in chunks)
Place plums and berries in a medium bowl. Whisk together the
sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch and spices. Toss over the fruit, stirring gently
to coat. Place mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 12-15
minutes until the mixture thickens and no longer tastes like cornstarch. Remove
from the heat, add the orange and lemon zest and set aside to cool completely.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Flaky Pastry Dough
(yields enough for 6 turnovers)
(This is one of the few times I use salted butter)
Place flour and cream of tartar in the bowl of a food
processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times, then add the cold
butter cubes, pulsing just until crumbly. Add the cold water and pulse a few
times, just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a sheet of parchment
paper sprinkled with a dusting of flour. Form the dough into a disc, sprinkle with
a bit of flour and roll the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. If
things are getting sticky, you can add a little extra flour, but don’t overdo
it. Take the short ends of the rectangle, fold them in to meet at the center,
then fold the dough in half, lengthwise; this will form 4 layers of dough. Roll
the dough out again into a rectangle, dusting with flour as needed. Fold again,
short ends in to meet at the center, then fold in half, lengthwise. Wrap the
dough in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes. You will repeat the
rolling/folding twice more. Each time you roll the dough into a rectangle, fold
the short ends to meet at the center, then fold in half, lengthwise. It sounds
a bit complex, but it’s not and the end result is worth it. After you have
completed the rolling and folding, wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate
for another 20 minutes or (even better) overnight.
Wearing of the White Peach/Nectarine Pie with Cornmeal Crust
Cornmeal Crust (enough for a 9” lattice topped pie)
(Baker’s note- these components started out at Stella Notte as
a scone recipe and then a shortcake biscuit. Somewhere along the way, we set
aside the eggs and leaveners, arriving at this. It is more hearty than flaky, qualifying
it as breakfast and equally delicious teamed with berries of the red and blue
variety. Check the oven during the baking process; if the crust is browning too
much for your liking, add some foil strips around the edge.)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
I like to start this out in the food processor fitted with
the metal blade. Pulse together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, salt and
zest. Then add the cubed butter and pulse a few times. Turn this crumbly
mixture out into a large bowl and gradually add the buttermilk, using either
your fingers or a fork or a rubber bench scraper to moisten the dry
ingredients. Gather the dough together, divide it in two discs and wrap in
plastic. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling out.
The White Peach/Nectarine filling
6 cups total of ripe sliced peaches and nectarines (If you
are shy on one or the other, not to worry. The goal here is to have 6 cups of
fruit; the sweeter the fruit, the better the pie. Depending on their size, you
will need approximately 2 ½ - 3 lbs. of fruit prior to peeling, pitting and
slicing. I only peel the peaches, I don’t bother to peel the nectarines.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine peaches, nectarines, lemon juice
and zest, tossing to coat.
No More Tuition Tart
(inspired by Tabora Farms strawberry conserve and Stella Notte's vanilla bean custard sauce)
This is a sum of several parts; it is really more of an excuse to consume forkfuls of fresh strawberries and chocolate with custard sauce. I tuck the berries into a chocolate tart shell which is lined with ganache and strawberry jam. You can make some of this or all of this. I am providing the two essential parts; the jam and the custard. (Recipes for a tart shell and ganache can be found in a myriad of places. When time permits, I will insert one here.)
Strawberry Conserve
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
2 pints (which should weigh about 2 pounds) of fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the berries and return to a boil. It takes about 5-7 minutes for the berries to soften. Remove the pan from the heat. Crush the berries with a potato masher. (If you don't have one, I suppose you could use a fork, but that would be endless. Invest in a potato masher.) Set a small strainer over a bowl, strain the mashed berries, reserving the juice. Now return the juice back to the saucepan, and cook this over medium heat until it reduces to about 2/3 of a cup. The juice will become quite thick; this takes about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on things here- you don't want it to burn. Remove the thickened syrup from the heat, add the vanilla and the reserved mashed berries. Set aside to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill completely before assembling the tart.
Vanilla Bean Custard Sauce with Champagne
1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons of champagne
one half of a vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out with a knife
Heat the heavy cream, champagne and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan until simmering but not boiling. Place the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until very thick. With the mixer on low, gradually pour the hot cream mixture over the egg/sugar mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Return the custard mixture to the top of a double boiler and cook over simmering water, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture reaches 180 degrees. Remove from the double boiler and cool completely in the refrigerator. If you can't see yourself opening a bottle of champagne for a mere 4 Tablespoons, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of Grand Marnier which you add at the end of the recipe, once the custard has cooled. (Of course, the idea here is to find a reason to enjoy the remaining champagne.)
Roasted Pineapple Pie
(adapted from two vastly different
sources, “Food for Fifty” by Shugart, Molt and Wilson and “The Neighborhood Bakeshop” by Van Cleave.)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9” pie plate
crust
Combine cookie crumbs, macadamia nuts and melted butter in a
bowl. Press crumb crust into the bottom and up the sides of your 9” pie plate.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 15 min. Remove from oven
and set aside to cool. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
1 “Jet” or “Gold” pineapple, cut into medium chunks (you
will need 4 cups of fruit)
Place pineapple in a single layer in an oven proof dish or
on a silpat lined baking sheet. Dot with the butter and brown sugar. Roast for
30-40 minutes at 375 degrees until caramelized around the edges. Remove from
oven, carefully pour juices and fruit into a bowl and set aside to cool. (You
may now turn off your oven.)
Pineapple filling
In a heavy saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch
and salt. Add pineapple juice, orange juice, zest, and roasted pineapple. Cook
over moderate heat, stirring with a spatula so the mixture doesn’t scorch.
Filling should bubble and thicken in about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir
in vanilla and rum and transfer to another bowl so the filling cools down a bit.
Turn filling into the baked and cooled pie crust. When cool, cover with plastic
wrap and refrigerate. Before serving, garnish with Boozy Rum Whipped Cream and
macadamia nuts.
1 cup heavy cream
In chilled bowl, combine heavy cream, dark rum and brown
sugar. Stir with a spatula until brown sugar dissolves and then whip mixture
until soft peaks form. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with macadamia
nuts.
After Mother's Day Breakfast Pie (inspired by Bernard Clayton's "The Complete Book of Pastry")
8' pie plate lined with your favorite unbaked crust (I used pate brisee)
Pre-heat your oven to 375
3 cups sliced, trimmed rhubarb (remember, no leaves!)
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons Minute tapioca or tapioca flour
zest from one orange
1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
1 Tablespoon minced candied ginger
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse to combine sugar, tapioca, orange zest, and fresh, grated ginger. Set aside in a separate bowl while you prepare the crumble.
Oatmeal Crumble
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup King Arthur 'white' whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
1 Tablespoon minced candied ginger
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse to combine all ingredients until you have a crumbly mixture. Do not over process. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to put the pie in the oven.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the rhubarb and raspberries, then toss gently with the sugar/tapioca/zest/ginger mixture. Add the minced candied ginger and turn the pie filling into the prepared pie shell. Dot with the 4 tablespoons of cubed butter and the tablespoon of orange juice. Cover the
fruit with the chilled oatmeal crumble and place the pie on a parchment lined
baking sheet. Bake the pie in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes until the pie is bubbling and the crumble is toasty. (Depending on your oven, it may need an additional 5-10 minutes.)
Blackberry Buttermilk Pie (inspired by Mark Miller’s Coyote Café
cookbook)
Lemon-Spiked Pie Crust (inspired by Food & Wine and Fine Cooking
magazines)
"Guilty" Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Most peanut butter pie recipes combine peanut butter,
powdered sugar and cream cheese for its filling. This is more of a peanut
butter mousse atop a layer of rich chocolate ganache. You can substitute any pre-baked
cookie crumb crust. This is adapted from a Lee Bailey recipe found in Food and
Wine magazine many years ago.
The Crust (enough for an 8” pie shell) Pre-heat oven to 350
degrees
Combine flour, brown sugar and peanuts in the bowl of a food
processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine, then add melted butter
and pulse a few more times. Turn out into pie plate and bake in pre-heated oven
for 10 minutes. Turn off oven and leave the crust in for about 25 minutes to
finish baking/setting up. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
The Chocolate Filling
Place chopped chocolate and powdered sugar in the top of a
double boiler. Scald the heavy cream and pour it over the chocolate/sugar
mixture and stir. Place the double boiler over simmering water. In a separate
bowl, whisk together the two egg yolks then add a few spoonfuls of the hot
chocolate and whisk it to ‘temper’ the yolks. When the yolks are warm, add them
back to the melted chocolate and continue whisking (gently) to combine. Add the
butter and when the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat, stir in the peanut
butter and then strain the whole mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Your pie
shell should be cool by now; pour the filling into
The Peanut Butter Mousse
Whip heavy cream until stiff. In medium bowl, combine peanut
butter, vanilla, mascarpone and powdered sugar. Fold cream into peanut butter
mixture. Spread atop chilled chocolate layer and garnish with ¼ cup peanuts or
chopped peanut chews. Chill until serving.
Passover Kiss Torte
Depending upon the number of guests you wish to serve, you can bake this in either a 7 and 1/2" or in a 10"springform pan.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
For the 10" springform pan:
1 cup egg whites, room temperature (7 or 8, depending on size)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until foamy then add cream of tartar and vinegar, beating until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and add the sugar about a tablespoon at a time. The sugar needs to incorporate gradually- be patient. When the meringue is very thick and looks like marshmallow, turn the mixer down to low, add your vanilla and give it a few more turns. It is now ready to fill your springform pan.
Make sure you place the filled pan on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated 300 degree oven for one hour. After the torte has baked for an hour, turn the oven off. Without opening the oven door, leave the torte in the oven for an additional hour and a half. This allows it to cool down gradually. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. As it cools, the torte will fall. Before serving, remove from springform pan and cover with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries. You can also split the torte in half (it's very fragile) and fill it with cream and berries, then cover the top and sides with additional cream. Refrigerate until serving time.
For the 7 and 1/2" springform pan
1/2 cup egg whites, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Follow above directions, adjusting baking time to one hour in the pre-heated 300 degree oven, then turn the oven off and let it cool in the oven for an additional hour.
Sam's Cherry Lattice Birthday Pie
Here's a recipe for cherry pie using Hyline Orchard cherries. They are shipped frozen so I always cook the filling first, let it cool, then pour it into my pie shell, "lattice" the top and pop it in the oven. You can substitute fresh cherries in season- I prefer sweet Bing or a combination of Rainier and Bing. I have also used half fresh and half frozen when pitting time is limited. You will need two recipes of pate brisee for this pie.
1 nine inch pie shell (plus one recipe pate brisee rolled and cut into lattice strips)
6 cups Hyline frozen cherries or 6 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (if you prefer less sweetness, cut this back by a tablespoon or two)
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
egg wash and 1 Tablespoon of sugar for lattice crust
In medium saucepan, whisk together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon zest. Add cherries and cook until mixtures thickens. This will need to boil but you don't want it to scorch. Keep it over medium heat, stirring often. The idea is to cook down the liquid, thicken the cornstarch and reduce the mixture. After the filling is cooked, remove from the heat, add the almond extract and pour into a bowl to cool. (I set it in the fridge.) When completely cool, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Roll one circle of pate brisee into a large circle about 1/8" thick and cut wide strips to form a lattice.
Pour cooled filling into pie shell, place lattice strips on top (you can weave them or just place them in a criss-cross pattern) and make sure to seal the edges then trim the excess dough. Brush lattice with egg wash and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling in the center. (Every oven is different- keep an eye on things; if you think the crust is getting too dark, cover the top with parchment paper or aluminum foil.) Remove from the oven and set aside on a rack to cool. Delicious on its own, even better with good quality vanilla bean ice cream.
Cuppa Joe Custard
(adapted from the Stella Notte days and Farm Journal's Pie Cookbook)
9"Pre-baked pie shell of your choice (graham cracker or chocolate cookie works best)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
pinch salt
2 + 1/4 cups whole milk
2 Tcaablespoons + 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (Medaglia d'oro)
6 egg yolks
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
1 teaspoon good quality coffee extract
2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
In top of a double boiler combine sugar, cornstarch, salt. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking, then add milk and instant espresso powder. Set over simmering water and cook until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in extracts and butter. Pour filling into pre-baked pie shell. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold.
Cover with Coffee Whipped Cream and chocolate covered espresso beans.
Coffee Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (Medaglia d'oro)
2 Tablespoons Kahlua
Trader Joe's chocolate covered coffee beans, for garnish
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, espresso powder and Kahlua. Beat on medium until cream thickens into soft peaks.
Esther's Hamantaschen (with a nod to Marcy Goldman)
4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature ¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment,
combine butter and sugar until smooth, then add cream cheese, blending well. With
mixer on low, add vanilla, flour, salt and zest, if using. Dough will be soft,
do not overmix. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, sealing well. Place in refrigerator
at least one hour, preferably overnight.
When ready to roll out cookies, pre-heat oven to 350
degrees. Turn dough out onto lightly floured parchment paper. Roll out to about
1/8” thick. For traditional Hamantaschen, cut out 3” circles. I like to use a 7 ½ “ tart pan as a guide and
cut out large cookies. Brush the outer edge of the circles with a bit of egg
wash- this helps the triangles hold their shape. Place a teaspoonful of either
jam or Nutella in the center of each cookie; for the larger circles I use about
3 Tablespoons of filling for each. Chill the Hamantaschen for 15 minutes before
baking. The 3” cookies bake for about 18 minutes, the large ones for about 25
minutes. When they come out of the oven you can brush a dab of additional
preserves around the edges to give them a bit of shine or you can enjoy them just
the way they are. 
Irish Coffee Pie (fills
an 9" pie plate or a 10" tart pan)
Oatmeal Cookie-Pretzel Crust
5 Tablespoons of
unsalted butter, room temperature
Lightly butter your pie
plate or tart pan. In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment,
combine butter and brown sugar. Beat until well combined, then add oats,
pretzels, flour and the walnuts. With mixer on low, add beaten egg, then
chocolate chips, if using. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap; it will be
crumbly. Measure out one cup of the crust mixture and set aside. (You can use
that to fill a personal pie plate, 5.5" or put it in a zip loc bag and
freeze it for another use.) The remainder should weigh about 12 ounces,
enough to line either a 9" pie plate or a 10" tart pan with removable
bottom. Pat the dough into the bottom of your pan and up the sides. Then place
the pie plate or tart pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. When dough is chilled, line it with
parchment and beans and blind bake for about 25-30 minutes, until set. Then
remove the parchment and beans and bake it another 10 minutes or so until it is
firm. Set aside to cool completely while you prepare the filling. (Don't forget
to turn the oven off.)
Chocolate Irish Whiskey
Pie Filling
7 large egg yolks
In the top of a double
boiler, whisk together the sugars and cornstarch, then egg yolks, whisking
until smooth. Gradually add the half & half. Set over simmering water
whisking frequently until very thick, about 8-10 minutes. Remove pan from over
double boiler and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is thoroughly melted.
Then add butter and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Cover with
plastic wrap pressed directly on filling to prevent a skin from forming.
Refrigerate until cold, then gently fold in whiskey. Filling can now be poured
into the cooled crust. Place plastic wrap over pie and chill until firm. Before
serving, garnish the pie with the Bailey's whipped cream and chocolate
shavings.
Bailey's Coffee Whipped
Cream
1 pint heavy cream
It really does speed
things along if you chill the bowl and the whisk attachment first. Combine the
heavy cream and instant espresso in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with
the whisk attachment. (Or you can use a hand-held mixer; it will just take
longer. That's always a problem for me because I'm generally due at someone's
home with said dessert about the time I start to whip the cream...) You want
the instant espresso to dissolve in the cream just a bit before you start to
whip it. With the mixer going at medium speed, whip the cream until it starts
to thicken. Gradually add the confectioners sugar until it forms soft peaks.
Then add the Bailey's Irish Cream and whip until thick. (I try to turn off the
mixer before it is too thick and finish the last few whisking laps by hand.)
There are those who feel vanilla extract is necessary when making whipped
cream. It's up to you- I think it gets lost in the espresso and Bailey's, but
help yourself. You can garnish this dessert with chocolate shavings.
K-Paul's Sweet Potato Pecan Pie (one 9" pie)
(with a few Slice of Heaven adjustments)
First things first- roast 2 or 3 sweet potatoes (you will need 2 cups) It's really better to roast them in the oven, not cook them in the microwave. In the oven, the skins start to caramelize giving the potatoes a deeper flavor.
The crust:
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
1/2 cup chilled shortening, cut in small cubes
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
3-4 Tablespoons fresh orange juice, chilled
1 teaspoon sugar
generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Sift together flour, salt, sugar and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in the butter, shortening and zest with your fingers or a bench scraper or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Add the chilled orange juice combining gently until the mixture forms a soft dough. If it's a touch dry you can add a bit more orange juice. Pat into a disc, turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it completely and refrigerate for an hour. When the dough has chilled, roll out on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9" pie plate. Flute the edges and place the unbaked shell back in the fridge.
The filling:
2 cups of roasted sweet potatoes (just the pulp, not the skin)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sweet butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon orange zest- add after straining
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Place all of the above ingredients, (potatoes, sugars, egg, cream, butter, vanilla, salt, spices) (except the zest) in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment with the mixer on low, combine the ingredients until smooth. Do not overmix. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer then stir in the orange zest.
Set the filling aside and prepare the pecan syrup:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 large egg, room temperature
1 Tablespoon melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
3/4 cup pecan halves
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, egg, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a bowl until sugar dissolves and well blended. Stir in pecans.
To assemble: Pour the sweet potato filling into the prepared pie crust and spread evenly with a small offset spatula. Pour the pecan syrup on top of the sweet potato layer. Place the pie on a half sheet tray and bake in pre-heated 325 degree oven for about an hour and 30 minutes. The pecans will rise to the top as the pie bakes; test the filling with a knife, it should come out clean. If not, bake an additional 10-15 minutes. You can serve this on its own or whip up some heavy cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. At the restaurant, we used to add a serious splash of Frangelico to the whipped cream. I most definitely recommend it.
Little Mandarin Orange Pie (adapted from Slice of Heaven
with a tweak from B. Gray)
Graham Cracker/Almond Crust
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/4 stick unsalted butter, melted (= 2 Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons sugar
Combine crumbs, almonds, sugar and melted butter. Press
into a 6” pie plate. Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 8-10 minutes. Let it cool completely.
Prepare the filling-
½ cup Trader Joe’s
frozen orange juice concentrate, direct from the freezer.
Place this in a small saucepan and reduce over low heat
until it is thick and syrupy- it will cook down to about two or three
Tablespoons. Take it off the heat set aside.
1 Tablespoon
cornstarch
¼ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup freshly squeezed Mandarin juice
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ cup heavy cream
Zest from one navel orange
In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the
cornstarch, sugar, lemon, lime and Mandarin juices, the whole eggs, the egg
yolks and the heavy cream. Place over a simmering double boiler and gently stir
with a rubber spatula. You are preparing a custard more than a curd, so don’t
beat it to death. It takes a while for the mixture to thicken, be patient.
(Alternatively, I have baked this directly in the oven in a pre-baked crust,
but that requires pouring a liquid into a pie or tart shell and navigating it
into the oven which can prove dicey, depending upon how much caffeine one has
consumed.) Now add the reduced orange juice concentrate. When the custard is thick enough to coat the rubber spatula so you
can draw your finger through it and it stays put, it’s ready. (Yes, that finger/spatula/line
technique really works.) Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a
bowl. At this point, add the zest from one orange. A navel orange is preferable
to the skin of a Mandarin which tends to be bitter. Give the custard a turn or two and then pour
into the cooled pie shell. Cover it with
plastic wrap so it doesn’t form a skin and place it in the fridge to cool. When
ready to serve, top with fresh berries or canned (!) and drained Mandarin
orange slices or whipped cream. Or all three.
Way-Too-Much-Chocolate-For-One-Tart
(a hybrid recipe from Cafette, Jamie Oliver and an old issue of Food and Wine. Sorry not to be more specific...)
Take two eggs out of the fridge and set them on the counter. Now they'll be room temperature...
I use my 8" fluted tart pan with the removable bottom. Line it with pate brisee (blind baked) or a cookie crust (1 and 1/2 cups cookie crumbs, 2 Tablespoons cocoa and 6 Tablespoons melted butter.) Lightly grease the tart pan, line with brisee and blind bake or combine cookie crumbs, cocoa and butter and pat into pan and up the sides. Don't be stingy. Bake the crumb crust for about 12 minutes, until it feels set. Let crust cool while you prepare the filling. Leave the oven set at 350.
The Filling
8 oz. good quality dark chocolate (the more bitter, 60-70%, the better. Trader Joes has a great selection...)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature (see?)
1/3 cup heavy cream (there have been times when I didn't have heavy cream and used 3 Tablespoons of sour cream;
slightly different texture but still delicious)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of the liqueur of your fancy (I like Cointreau or Grand Marnier- if you want alcohol free, use vanilla extract)
This comes together pretty quickly which is why it's a gem. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter. Give it a stir, remove from over the heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, add the cream, the sugar, the pinch of salt and the liqueur (or vanilla). Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture gradually into the egg mixture. When it is combined, pour it into the pre-baked tart shell, place the pan on a baking sheet (1/4 sheet pan works for me) and bake for about 20 minutes in the pre-heated 350 degree oven. The edges of the tart will just start to crack and the middle of the tart will be jiggly. Set aside to cool. Personally, this tart is illegally delicious when it is still warm and I think that's when you should eat it. If you prefer more of a set truffle texture, you can cool it and chill it and then eat it. But why would you want to do that? You can slice this into tiny, little slivers and then go back for more. Which you will.
Caramel Sauce (courtesy of Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery
Cookbook)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sweet butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons bourbon (optional)
In heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat sugar and water over
medium heat. Stir with a whisk just to combine.
Brush sides of the pan with a pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals
from forming. The sugar mixture will
turn from light brown to dark amber; carefully swirl the pan to keep the heat
even. Don't turn your back on the
caramel- it can go from amber to burnt in a flash. Add the cream slowly- mixture will steam and
get foamy. Whisk gently to combine, then
add butter, sea salt and bourbon. Let cool completely before using in Apple Hand Pies.
Apple Hand Pies (makes approximately ten 3 1/2 "
hearts)
one recipe chilled pate brisee dough (or tart dough from Meyer Lemon Raspberry Tart)
one 3 and 1/2" heart shaped cookie cutter
The apples should be peeled and cut into small cubes
(about 1/4" pieces). Toss the
apples with the spices, cornstarch, and zest.
Set aside while you cut out the dough hearts. The dough should be rolled 1/8" thick;
you don't want it to get too thick and overpower the filling. After you have cut 20 hearts, place them
on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the fridge. Give the apple/spice mixture a stir, then add
the cooled caramel and combine gently.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Remove dough from fridge and paint a very thin line of the egg wash around what will be the bottom of the
hearts. Place 1 Tablespoon of
apple/caramel filling on 10 of the dough hearts, top with another piece of
dough, pressing the edges together to seal.
I just use my fingers, but you can use a fork if you wish. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding
sugar. Return the hand pies to the
fridge and let them chill for 15 minutes.
This is really important- if the dough isn't cold, the pies start to
lose their shape and look a bit broken-hearted. After 15 minutes of chilling, the pies are
ready to go into the hot oven. I start
them at 425 and after 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 400 and let them finish
baking for another 5 minutes or so. It
all depends on how golden you like your crust.
The apples bake fairly quickly- you can pierce one of the pies with a
small paring knife just to make sure.
These are delicious served warm with a liberal drizzle of the remaining
caramel sauce. A little vanilla ice
cream can't heart, I mean, hurt, either.
________________________________________________________________
Meyer Lemon Raspberry Tart
(a variation on "The Joy of Cooking" Ohio Lemon Pie)
Tart Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
16 Tbsp (equal to 8 oz.) cold, unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water
Lightly grease an 8" tart pan with removable bottom.
Prepare tart dough in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Place flour, salt, and sugar in bowl- pulse once or twice. Add cold butter, pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulse just until dough starts to hold together. Empty dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, divide in half, wrapping each half separately and place in fridge for about an hour. When chilled, roll one piece of dough into circle, slightly larger than tart pan, about 1/8" thick. Gently press dough into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the excess dough evenly with the top of the pan by rolling your rolling pin across the top. (I tend to save the scraps of dough just because I bake quite a bit and they come in handy.) Place the dough-filled tart pan in the freezer until firm.
Place the second piece of dough on a piece of parchment paper, roll it about 1/8" thick and cut thin strips (about 1/2 " wide) with a knife, pizza cutter or pastry wheel to form lattice. Place the parchment sheet onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate.
(Alternatively, you can simply roll the second piece of dough into a circle and have a double crust, rather than lattice tart. I like to see the fruit peeking through the lattice, but the tart is delicious either way.)
The Lemon Raspberry Filling
If you are a Purist, a Shaker Lemon (or Ohio Lemon) Pie is made with paper-thin slices of lemon. I have made the tart this way (I've also made it as a pie, doubling the filling, and lining a 9" pie plate with the dough), but sometimes time is fleeting, or I've consumed a wee bit too much caffeine and would rather not wield a sharp knife. It is perfectly fine to use the food processor to chop up the lemon and combine it with the sugar.
For an 8" tart
1 Meyer lemon, washed, zested and either sliced paper thin or cut in quarters (discard seeds)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
pinch salt
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup fresh raspberries
The idea is to macerate the lemon in the sugar. It softens the skin of the lemon and draws out the juice. If you have sliced the lemon by hand, (don't forget to seek out the seeds) place the lemon slices, the zest and the sugar in a bowl (nothing aluminum that would react with the lemon) cover and set aside (room temperature is okay) for a minimum of 2 hours, and up to 24 hours. (You can, as I do, place the sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, add the zest, the seeded lemon, cut in quarters, and pulse it to finely chop the lemon. Scrape into a bowl, cover and set aside as above.) When you are ready for the baking, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour until smooth, and add the eggs, one at a time. Add this to the lemon/sugar mixture, combining well. Remove tart shell from the freezer, sprinkle the raspberries in the shell and cover with the lemon filling. Then criss-cross strips of dough on top of the tart, creating a lattice. Don't worry about making it perfect- if you are not lattice-minded, you can simply "double crust" the top, trimming the edge of the dough even with the pan so it is sealed. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes to set up the crust. Then reduce oven to 350 degrees and continue baking for about 45 minutes until crust is golden and tart tests clean with a knife. Cool before serving so the tart sets up.
______________________________________________________________
Tipsy Eggnog Pie
(inspired by Aunt Chick’s “Very Rich Rum Custard Pie” and “Sister Baby’s Buttermilk Pie”)
Your favorite 9” pie shell, rolled and chillin’ in the
fridge
2 cups of good quality eggnog
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons light rum (I used Bacardi Gold) (don’t be
tempted to use rum extract L)
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (plus additional to dust
the top of the pie)
zest of one lemon
Preheat oven to 375.
(Don’t get too comfortable with this temperature. I start the pie at a high heat to set the
crust, then turn it down in a bit to 350 degrees.) Assemble your ingredients- it’s a good idea
to take a small square of parchment paper and grate your nutmeg on that. Melt your butter- you want it warm, not
scalding hot. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, the flour,
then add the melted butter. Whisk until
smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time,
then gradually add the eggnog. Finally
add the vanilla, the rum, the nutmeg and the zest. Place chilled pie shell on a baking sheet and
gently pour custard mixture into shell. Grate
additional nutmeg over top of pie. Place
in pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes at 375 to set up the crust. After 15 minutes, turn oven down to 350
degrees, and bake pie for 45 minutes more.
Check to see if pie is just set in the middle. You can check it with a knife; it should come
out clean. If not, it may need an
additional five minutes. Pie will
continue to firm up as it cools. Place
on cooling rack.
Nutty Pumpkin Caramel Pie
Use your favorite pre-baked pastry crust for a 9” pie plate
(my pie plate measures 9” x 1½” deep)
For the Pumpkin Caramel (yields: 1½ cups)
(adapted from A Slice of Heaven and Fifteen Spatulas)
¾ cup pumpkin (I use canned)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup heavy cream
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla
5 oz. walnuts
5 oz. pecans
First prepare the Pumpkin Cream:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, the salt and
the spices. Stir in the melted butter, then add the heavy cream. When well
combined, set aside while you prepare the caramelized sugar.
For the Caramelized Sugar: (You will need a candy
thermometer and a pair of oven mitts for this.)
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, place the sugar, water and
corn syrup. Do not stir. Cook over medium heat, carefully swirling the pan
occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture caramelizes. (Without a
Pantone book to guide you, I would say you are looking for the color of honey,
or copper or medium amber. The pumpkin deepens the color and the flavor, so shy
on the side of a touch lighter than darker. Over medium heat on my gas
stovetop, this takes about 10 minutes, but stay close at hand. Sugar loves to
turn from caramel to burnt sugar to burned sugar at the moment you turn your
back.) Slowly add the pumpkin/cream mixture to the caramelized sugar. Stand
back, the caramel will sputter. Continue to cook over medium/low heat until a
candy thermometer registers 236 degrees. It takes patience- don’t be tempted to
blast the heat up to high or you risk scorching the bottom of your pan and burning
the pumpkin. Some caramel recipes instruct you to cook until 244 degrees, but
after many versions, I have found a touch below yields a nice, sliceable,
chewable caramel. Don your favorite oven mitts and carefully (this is hot
stuff!) remove from the heat and immediately pour the caramel into a Pyrex
measuring cup. Add the vanilla, give it a stir and let it cool down a bit; do
not be tempted to test a bit on your finger or tongue. Give it a good 20
minutes to cool; you want the caramel to be pourable. Scatter the walnuts and
pecans over your pre-baked pie shell, then pour the caramel over the nuts.
Smooth with an offset spatula and let it cool completely. When ready to serve,
use a knife dipped in hot water to make a clean slice. Serve with vanilla ice cream
and slices of apple; I think Honeycrisp pairs beautifully.
Double Cranberry Hand Pies with Ginger and Walnuts (yields
14 three inch pies) (Pastry adapted from London Bakes and Delicious Magazine)
Pastry
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
4 oz. unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon The Hudson Standard Pear Honey Ginger Shrub
(you can substitute apple cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons ice cold water
egg wash made out of one egg yolk and two tablespoons of
heavy cream or milk
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade
attachment, combine flour, salt, sugar, zest and butter. Pulse just until the
mixture forms coarse crumbs. Turn this out into a medium mixing bowl. In a
small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, shrub (or cider vinegar) and the
cold water. Add the liquid/sour cream mixture to the flour/butter mixture, one
tablespoon at a time, gently mixing just until the dough comes together. Pat it into
a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least an hour. When
ready to roll it out, dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and roll the
pastry about ⅛” thick. I used a 3” round circle cutter and was able to cut
out 28 circles. (Each pie gets a top and bottom, you don’t fold each circle in
half.) Chill the circles on parchment in the fridge while you prepare the
filling. Prepare the egg wash and set aside.
Double Cranberry filling (yields a generous pound- you will
only need about half for the hand pies, but filling will keep in the fridge for
a week- use it on top of oatmeal!)
8 oz. fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and picked over
for stems
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons good quality maple syrup
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts
In a non-reactive pan, (meaning don’t use aluminum which
will react with the cranberries and orange) combine the cranberries and
remaining ingredients, stirring with a rubber spatula. Cook over low heat for
about 15 minutes until the mixture cooks down and becomes thick. Set aside to
cool, then refrigerate until cold.
The pastry rounds and the filling need to be cold before
assembling the pies.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the edge of each
pastry round with a bit of egg wash, place 1½ teaspoons of filling in 14 of the
circles. Place one unfilled circle of dough on top of the filled pastry and
gently smooth the edges together with your fingers. You can crimp the outer
edges using the point of a chopstick (really!) which will give you a petal
shape. Or you can make sure the edges are well sealed and leave them uncrimped,
if you prefer. Brush the pastries with egg wash and poke a tiny hole in the
center of each one to allow steam to escape. You must place the pies back on a
parchment lined baking sheet and chill them (preferably place the tray in the
freezer if you have room) until they are solid. (About 30 minutes in the
freezer, an hour in the fridge.) If they are cold, they will hold their shape
nicely. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, lower the heat to
375 and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes until the filling starts to bubble.
Bruléed Buttermilk Pie with Maple Syrup and Tipsy Mince (inspired
by Bon Appetit Nov. 1991 and Harrods Cookery Book)
1- 9” pre-baked Pate Brisée pie shell (my pie plate
measures 9½ “ by 1½“)
Tipsy Mince (this yields about 3 cups; the pie uses 1½ cups
leaving the remainder to eat over ice cream, to fill hand pies, or to eat with
a spoon when no one is looking.)
3 cups peeled, chopped Granny Smith apples
2 ripe pears, preferably Bosc, peeled and chopped
½ cup chopped dried apricots
½ cup dried sour cherries
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup chopped dried figs
1 tablespoon minced candied ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup dark brown sugar
1½ cups apple cider
½ cup Scotch
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 cup walnuts, chopped
In a medium stockpot, stir to combine the fresh fruit, dried
fruit, candied ginger, spices, brown sugar, apple cider, Scotch and zests. Cook
over medium heat until the mixture boils, reduce to simmer, cover the stockpot
and cook for about one hour, until the mixture thickens. (You will need to stir
the mince periodically as it cooks so it doesn’t stick.) Remove from the heat,
stir in the chopped walnuts and cool the mixture completely before
refrigerating it. Best to prepare this at least a day prior to baking your pie.
Buttermilk Pie with Maple Syrup
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 oz. unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup pure fresh maple syrup
(I used Grade A Dark Amber)
1 cup buttermilk
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 teaspoon good quality
vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1½ cups Tipsy Mince
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the
eggs, flour and maple syrup until well mixed. Beat in the buttermilk,
alternating with the melted butter. Add the vanilla, the zests and the lemon
juice. Set the pre-baked pie shell on a
parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the edges of the crust with strips of
aluminum foil to prevent them from getting too brown. Using an offset spatula,
gently spread the 1½ cups of mince in the bottom of the pie shell. Carefully
pour the buttermilk filling over the mince. (Some of the fruit may float to the
top- not to worry.) Place the pie in the pre-heated oven and bake for 45
minutes. The filling should be golden and the center should be just the
slightest bit jiggly. Set on a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with plastic
wrap and refrigerate for several hours before adding the brulée
topping.
How to Brulée the pie-
Grease a sheet of aluminum foil and place it on a baking
pan. Set aside.
In a heavy bottomed high-sided saucepan, melt one cup of
granulated sugar over low heat until it caramelizes. (Don’t turn your back on
the sugar or walk away; that is when the sugar will burn.) The color should be
close to the color of maple syrup, amber. Outfit your hand in an oven mitt and
carefully pour the sugar on top of the greased aluminum foil. Let the sugar
harden completely. When it is cool, break the sugar into pieces. Place the pieces
of caramelized sugar into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade
attachment. Pulverize the sugar and transfer to a small bowl. Remove the
plastic wrap from the pie and use a paper towel to remove any moisture that may
have collected on top of the pie. Sprinkle the pulverized sugar evenly over the
pie and have a go at it with your handheld torch. (If you don’t have a torch, I
suppose you can melt the sugar on top of the pie in an oven set to ‘Broil’ but
it’s not nearly as dramatic; unless things go horribly awry in the oven. Invest
in the torch- it’s well worth it.)
Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon and Spice (yields one 9" pie)
(Inspired by Maida Heatter's Yam Pie and Gourmet's Sweet Potato Pie 1989)one 9" all-butter pie crust (blind bake before filling)
1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 oz. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup ice cold water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine flour, salt and sugar. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add butter and pulse just until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Empty this mixture into a medium sized bowl. Combine ice water and vinegar then add to flour/butter mixture, one or two tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together. If it feels at all dry, add one or two additional tablespoons of ice cold water. Pat the dough together into a disc, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out and fitting it into a 9"pie plate. Chill the pie shell thoroughly before blind-baking it.
Sweet Potato filling
1 & 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes (try and use a deep colored yam such as the Garnet)
(roast the potatoes in a 375 degree oven until they pierce easily and begin to caramelize, about an hour, maybe a bit longer)
4 tablespoons room temperature, unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I prefer 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup good quality bourbon
Once the potatoes have roasted and cooled, remove the skins and mash the pulp with a potato masher. You need 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes for this recipe. I like to give the mashed potatoes a quick run through the food processor with the butter so they are smooth, but don't overdo it and get them all pasty. Place the pureed potatoes/butter in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine your salt, brown sugar and spices. Now add the salt/sugar/spice mix to the potatoes/butter mix and blend thoroughly. I like to heat the cream either in the microwave or over medium heat just until it is hot, but not boiling. Add the hot cream to the potato mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula, then add the vanilla extract, orange zest and bourbon. Let this mixture rest for about an hour (really) before you add the eggs and egg yolk. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the eggs and egg yolk in a small bowl then add to the sweet potato mixture. Fold in gently but thoroughly. Place the partially baked pie shell on a parchment lined baking sheet and pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil strips so they don't get too dark. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees. Continue baking the pie for about 25 minutes. The edges of the pie will begin to puff and the center will still look the tiniest bit shiny. It should just barely jiggle- the pie continues to firm up as it cools. While the pie cools, prepare the Bourbon Whipped Cream and Crazy Nut brittle.
Bourbon Whipped Cream
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons good quality bourbon
In a chilled bowl, whip together the cream, sugar, vanilla and bourbon until it holds soft peaks. Keep chilled until ready to serve the pie.
Crazy Nut Brittle (adapted from the Leslie Mackie's Macrina Cookbook)
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the parchment with canola oil. In a small bowl combine the following spices:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
In a small saucepan over low heat combine 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup dark corn syrup. Heat just until the mixture is melted.
In a medium bowl combine an assortment of nuts that will total 2 cups. I used:
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup whole skinned almonds
Toss the spice mixture over the nuts, coating them thoroughly, then add the melted honey/corn syrup mixture. Using a rubber spatula, turn the mixture out onto the greased, parchment lined baking sheet, spread the nut mixture into a single layer and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Let the nut mixture cool completely before you break it into brittle.
Apple Dumplings in Hazelnut Pastry with Cider Caramel (yields: 6)
6 apples (between 7-8 oz. each) peeled, cored, leaving the bottom intact, brushed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I use either Honeycrisp or Cortland- something sturdy, but not Granny Smiths- too tart)
Hazelnut Pastry
2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups finely chopped skinned hazelnuts
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, pulse together flour, hazelnuts, brown sugar and salt. Add butter, pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Turn this mixture into a large bowl. Combine ice water and cider vinegar, add to flour/nut/sugar/salt/butter mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cherry Hazelnut filling
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped skinned hazelnuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons tart Montmorency dried cherries
In a small bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar, hazelnuts, cinnamon and dried cherries. This will be the filling for the cored apples. (Prepare 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of cream or milk as an egg wash.)
Working with one disc of chilled pastry at a time, roll out the dough onto parchment paper, 1/8" thick. You can cut out an 8" square of parchment to use as a template, or simply use a ruler to mark 8" squares. You should get three 8" squares from each disc of rolled pastry with extra to cut out decorative leaves. (Chill the leaf cutouts on parchment while you are wrapping the apples in dough.) Place one apple, right side up, in the center of each square of dough, and fill the apple with 1 generous tablespoon of the brown sugar/hazelnut/dried cherry mixture. Brush the edges of the dough with a bit of the egg wash, then bring one corner of the square up to the top of the apple, pressing gently to hold it in place. Bring the next corner of dough up to the top, slightly overlapping, pressing it into place. Continue with the remaining two corners of dough. The dough should be overlapping, and it's fine to pinch it with your fingers to adjust the creases. Brush the entire pastry wrapped apple with some of the egg wash. Continue the process with the remaining apples, placing the completed apples 1 & 1/2" apart on a rimmed parchment lined baking sheet. Dab the leaf cutouts with egg wash and attach them to the dumplings. You must refrigerate the apples before you bake them, at least an hour, to ensure that the pastry is cold and doesn't slip down during the baking. I've kept them covered with plastic in the fridge overnight and baked them in the morning and they are delicious hot of the oven for breakfast. Before you are ready to bake them, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a small knife to poke a hole in the top of each pastry, allowing steam to escape. (The leaf cutouts brown faster than the rest of the pastry, so you may want to cover them with foil halfway through.) Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the apples feel tender when pierced with a knife. Serve with the Cider Caramel.
Cider Caramel
2 cups good quality apple cider, reduced to 1/4 cup
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
5 tablespoons salted butter (the salt deepens the flavor of the caramel, balances the sweetness)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
1 pinch sea salt
You have to reduce the cider down from 2 cups to 1/4 cup. This takes a little time and patience- keep an eye on things here; you can start with a high heat but as it reduces, you will need to lower the flame. Measure the reduced cider into a pyrex measuring cup- if it's more than 1/4 cup, reduce it a bit more. When you have 1/4 cup of cider reduction, place it in a medium sauce pan. Add the brown sugar, salted butter and heavy cream, stir to combine and cook over low heat. Continue cooking the caramel until the mixture thickens; this can take about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and the sea salt. Stir and set aside to cool. The caramel will continue to thicken as it cools down. Refrigerate the cooled sauce.
Quince Pear Pie (yields one 7" double crust pie) (adapted from Superb Pies and Pastries, Culinary Arts Institute)
Ginger/Honey Poached Quince (yields generous 4 cups) (adapted from Food
and Wine magazine)
4 quinces, (about 2 lbs.) peeled, core removed, cut into ¼” slices
3½ cups water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
1 lemon, cut in half
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 cardamom pods, crushed
8 thin slices of peeled fresh ginger
In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar, honey, lemon,
vanilla bean, cardamom and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring, just until sugar
and honey melts. Reduce heat, add the quinces, cover with a circle of parchment
paper, and simmer until quinces are tender, about 45 minutes, maybe a bit
longer. Transfer the poached fruit to a bowl, using a slotted spoon. Reduce the
poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Pour the syrup over the quinces
and set aside until cool. Refrigerate.
This will yield enough quince for two 7” pies so you will have an excuse
to bake this breakfast or dessert pie not once, but twice. (The extra quince
keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.)
Gruyere or Cheddar (or Cheddar and Gruyere) Crust (both Whole
Foods and Trader Joe’s offers these cheeses individually, or in combination)
(adapted from King Arthur Flour)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely minced crystallized ginger
10 tablespoons cold butter, cut into ½” pieces
1½ oz. Gruyere or Cheddar or combo, shredded finely then
frozen
3 tablespoons ice cold Hudson Standard Pear Honey Ginger
shrub
(You can substitute 3 tablespoons cold apple cider plus 1 teaspoon
apple cider vinegar, but it is well worth keeping a bottle of the shrub in the
fridge for fall pie baking.)
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade
attachment, pulse together the flour, salt, sugar and finely minced
crystallized ginger. Add the cold butter and cheese, and pulse just until the
mixture resembles a coarse meal. Turn this mixture into a large mixing bowl.
Add the cold pear ginger shrub, 1 tablespoon at a time, gently combining the
dry mixture with the liquid, until the dough comes together. Shape the dough
into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour before rolling
out.
Quince Pear Pie filling for a 7” pie
2 cups drained, cooled, poached quince slices
2 cups of peeled, cored ripe pears, cut into ¼” slices
zest and juice from one small lemon
1 teaspoon of Pear Honey Ginger shrub
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
(egg wash made with one egg and two teaspoons of water)
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. On a piece of parchment
paper, roll out one disc of pie dough about 1/8” thick, 9” round, and fit it
into a 7” pie plate. Roll and crimp the edges, then refrigerate while you
prepare the filling. Roll out the second disc of dough for your top crust about
1/8” thick and 9” round on the parchment paper, place on a baking sheet and
refrigerate.
Place the poached quince slices, pear slices, lemon juice,
honey and the shrub into a large mixing bowl; stir gently to combine. In a
small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, ground ginger, fresh
ginger, cardamom, seeds from the vanilla bean, and the lemon zest. Pour the
sugar/cornstarch/spice mixture over the fruit, toss gently to coat with a
rubber spatula. Pour into chilled pie shell, place top crust over the fruit,
seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with egg wash and cut a few vents
in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Place on a parchment lined baking
sheet, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and bake in pre-heated 375
degree oven for 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for
an additional 20-25 minutes until the pie is golden and juices bubble from the
center. Best to cool on a rack for two hours if you care about neat slices. Some of us do not.
Lattice-crust Plum Raspberry Pie (makes one 9" pie)
Pie Crust (adapted from Carole Walter’s Flaky Pie pastry)
11 oz. all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chilled non-hydrogenated shortening, cut into ¼” cubes
½ cup cold, unsalted butter cut into ¼” cubes
5-6 Tablespoons cold water
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle
attachment, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the
shortening and butter to the bowl, mixing on low just until crumbly. Transfer
the mixture to a large bowl. Drizzle the cold water one tablespoon at a time,
around the inside of the bowl using a fork to push the mixture towards the
center. Add the remaining water one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes
together. Divide the dough in half, dust with flour. Wrap each half in plastic
and chill for at least one hour before using. Roll one half of the chilled pie pastry into a 12” circle,
about 1/8” thick. Fit the rolled dough into a 9” pie plate, trim the edges to
leave a 1” overhang around the pan. Roll out the remaining half of dough on
parchment paper to about 1/8” thick, and trim it into a 12” circle. Chill both
the top and bottom crusts while preparing the filling.
Plum Raspberry Filling
2 lbs. red or purple plums, halved, pitted and cut into
thick wedges (5 generous cups)
1 cup fresh raspberries
zest from one small orange
2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
egg wash made of 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water
2 Tablespoons of coarse raw sugar, for sprinkling on top of lattice
In a small bowl, combine the sugars, cornstarch and spices.
Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, place the plums, orange juice and zest. Add
the sugars, cornstarch and spices to the plums, mixing gently with a rubber
spatula. Set aside.
Place the chilled pie shell on a parchment lined baking
sheet. Add half of the plum mixture to the pie shell, sprinkle with ½ cup of
the raspberries, then repeat with the remaining plums and raspberries. Cut the
top crust into wide lattice strips, weave the lattice over the fruit, then tuck
and seal the edges. Crimp as desired, and brush the dough with egg wash.
Sprinkle with coarse raw sugar, cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil
strips to prevent overbrowning. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes, then reduce
heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the crust
is golden and the juices are bubbling thickly. Let cool on a rack for at least
2 hours before slicing.
Cafette Chocolate Walnut Tart
(Makes one tart, serving 8 generously. My tart pan with
removable bottom measures 9½" across by 1¼" deep. I have also made this in a 9" pie plate, substituting a partially blind baked pie shell for the crumb crust.
Equally delicious.)
A note about the crust:
If you happen to have an abundance of slightly crispy
chocolate chip cookies on hand, process them in the bowl of your food processor
fitted with the metal blade until they are finely ground. You will need 2 cups
of crumbs for the 9½” tart pan. You can use any cookie crumbs for this; preferably something with a bit more texture than a plain graham cracker crust. If
you don’t have cookies available, you can prepare a single recipe of pate brisée, line a 9” pie plate with it, chill the dough until firm, then partially blind
bake it. Line the pie dough with a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Fill with pie weights or beans, and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for
about 18 minutes, until the dough is set. Remove parchment or foil and weights,
return pie shell to oven for an additional 8 minutes, just until the pie shell
is lightly browned. Set the pre-baked shell aside while you prepare the
filling.
Crumb Crust
2 cups finely ground chocolate chip cookies
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9½”
tart pan with removable bottom. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the
cookie crumbs and the melted butter. Press the crumb mixture evenly into the
bottom and along the sides of the tart pan. Chill for 15 minutes. Set the
chilled tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 12 minutes. Let
the tart shell cool while preparing the filling.
Chocolate Walnut filling (enough to fill a 9” pre-baked pie
shell or a 9½” pre-baked tart shell)
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup dark corn syrup
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 cups walnut halves and pieces (you can find these at Trader
Joe’s)
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy bottomed
saucepan, whisk together, flour, brown sugar and salt. Add corn syrup and cook
over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.
Continue cooking for another minute, remove from the heat and add the butter
and chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate and butter has
melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside until the mixture is cool to the
touch.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla.
Gradually add a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking
constantly. Continue gradually adding the chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking well so there are no streaks of egg visible.
Place the pre-baked tart shell on a parchment lined baking
sheet. Sprinkle the walnuts over the bottom of the tart shell then
slowly pour the chocolate filling over the walnuts. Smooth the top with an
offset spatula, and place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the pre-heated
350 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then check to see if the tart has puffed
around the edges and the center feels firm. Test the center of the tart with a
small paring knife, it should come out clean. If it is still wet, continue
baking for an additional 5 minutes until it tests clean. Cool on a rack for at
least 2 hours before serving. This is most delicious when it is slightly warm. (If there are any leftovers, cover with
plastic wrap and refrigerate.)
Honey Salted Caramel Apple Pie – makes one 9” pie
(adapted from Farm Journal’s Caramel Apple Pie and the
National Honey Board recipe booklet)
For the Caramel
½ cup mild flavored honey
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2 oz. sweet butter
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon good quality vanilla
1 teaspoon sea salt
In a heavy-bottomed pan (mine is a 3 qt. size), combine
honey, brown sugar, and butter. Cook over medium high heat until sugar
dissolves, stirring occasionally with a wooden or silicone treated spoon. Allow
the caramel to cook until it deepens in color a bit. Slowly add the heavy
cream, the mixture will steam and get foamy. Stir gently to combine, then
continue to cook until the caramel thickens. I cook it until my insta-read
thermometer registers 238 degrees. Stir in the vanilla and the salt. (The
mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.) Let the caramel cool completely
before using it in your pie.
For the Pie
2 discs of Pate Brisée (enough for a double crusted 9” pie)
2 ¾ lbs. of apples (I prefer a combination of Granny Smith
and Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, cut into ¼ inch slices
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
zest of one lemon
1/3 cup of Honey Salted Caramel, cooled
egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon heavy cream)
Turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Roll out one disc of Pate
Brisée
and fit it into a 9” pie plate. (My pie plate is 2” deep- don’t use a shallow
little pie plate or you will be scrubbing caramel out of your oven.) Roll out
the second disc for the top crust; set it on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Let the pie shell and top crust chill in the fridge while you prepare the
filling.
In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice
and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon,
nutmeg, cornstarch and the lemon zest.
Combine the sugar, spice, cornstarch mixture with the apples
to coat well. Mound the apples tightly in the pie shell, then drop dollops of
the caramel on top of the fruit. Drape the top crust over the apples. Fold the
top layer of dough under the bottom layer of dough, and tuck the two together,
sealing the pie. Crimp the edges. Brush the pie with egg wash and poke three or
four steam vents in the top crust. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet,
cover the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent
overbrowning, and bake on the bottom rack of your oven at 400 degrees for 20
minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional
30 minutes. Remove the foil strips and bake approximately 10 minutes longer or
until the apples test tender with a sharp knife. The pie needs to cool for 3
hours or more before slicing.
Blueberry Pie, two ways (One from the Ladies Home Journal and one from Yankee Magazine)
Makes one 9” pie
The Classic Lattice Pie boasts little more than:
Dough for one double crust pie (preferably pate brisée)
6 generous cups of fresh blueberries, lightly rinsed, patted
dry, stems removed
¾ cup granulated sugar (you can add up to ¼ cup more if the berries
are tart)
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ teaspoon cinnamon
egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water
sugar for sprinkling
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, lemon
zest and cinnamon. Set aside. Roll one half of the pate brisée on lightly
floured parchment paper to about 12” round and about 1/8” thick. Place the dough into a 9”
pie plate, trim the edge, tuck it under itself and crimp. Chill. Roll out
remaining half of pate brisée, cut into wide strips and keep chilled while
assembling the pie.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Reserve one cup of the
blueberries and set aside. Toss the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and cinnamon mixture over
the remaining berries until they are well coated. I break up a portion of the
berries with a rubber spatula to draw out the juices a bit. Fill the prepared
pie plate with the blueberry mixture. Spread it evenly and then add the
reserved cup of blueberries on top. (The reasoning behind this is so you have
blue berries peeking through the lattice and not sugar/cornstarch coated
berries which have a white cast to them.) Remove your lattice strips from the
refrigerator, weave them on top of the pie, tuck the edges underneath, sealing
the bottom crust with the lattice. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with
sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for
approx. 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an
additional 45 minutes or maybe a bit more, until the juices are bubbling thickly.
If the crust is getting too dark, cover the edges with foil strips. Let the pie sit for several hours before
slicing.
Blueberry Pie with Maple Walnut Crumble
Follow the directions as above, using one half portion of
dough to line the pie plate, saving the other half for another time. I like to add
several tablespoons of maple syrup to the berries (make sure it’s good quality,
not faux maple.) Prepare a crumble using the following:
2 cups chopped walnuts
½ cup white whole wheat flour
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
2 oz. of cold butter, cut into small pieces (half of a stick
of butter = 4 Tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon pure Maple syrup
You can prepare this in the bowl of a food processor fitted
with the metal blade. Pulse the mixture just until crumbly- or you can make it by
combining the ingredients in a bowl and working the butter into the mixture
until coarse and crumbly. Then drizzle in the maple syrup and sprinkle the
crumb topping over the blueberry pie filling. Bake this pie in a pre-heated 375
degree oven (to prevent the crumble from getting too brown) for 20 minutes,
then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 50 minutes, covering the pie
with foil or parchment if it is getting dark. The berries should bubble
around the edges and the center of the pie should be hot to the touch when you
test it with a small paring knife. Set
aside to cool for several hours before slicing.
Jessie’s Cookie Pie Crust
3¼ cups + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
3 sticks room temperature, unsalted butter (1½ cups or 12 ounces)
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
1½ Tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder;
set aside. In the bowl of a standing
mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with the sugar. Add
the eggs one at a time, beating just to combine. Scrape down the bowl then gradually
add the dry ingredients on low speed. Scrape down the bowl again, add the sour
cream and the vanilla, mixing just until the mixture comes together. Turn dough out
onto a well greased half sheet pan and with flour-dusted fingers, pat the dough
evenly to line the pan. Chill while preparing the filling.
Peach and Blueberry filling
The quantities are a little improvisational here. If you are using good-sized freestone peaches, about 6 or 7 should do the trick, teamed with 2 pints of blueberries. (I tend to err on the side of excess.) Gently wash the peaches. You will need to blanch the peaches in boiling water, just briefly, to soften them and make the skins easy to remove. Once you have removed the skins, (work over a bowl so you can save the juices that are dripping
all over your fingers and also save the skins) halve the peaches. The pits
should now be easy to remove (that’s why they’re called ‘free-stone’) and then
slice each half into four or five thick wedges. Set these in a shallow bowl and
give them a little squeeze of lemon or orange juice to keep them from turning
color. Set them aside to cool down a bit. You don’t want to put hot peaches on
a cold crust. Rinse and stem the blueberries, then lay them out on a kitchen
towel to absorb the moisture.
Jessie used to cook the skins, the peach pits, and the reserved
peach juices together with 2 Tablespoons of sugar and about 1/4 cup of water until
the skins broke down a bit and the liquid reduced. Then she removed the pits
and strained the mixture, ending up with a peach flavored sugar syrup. To the
syrup she would add ¼ teaspoon of almond extract. I also like to add a little
orange or lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons of
finely ground tapioca, ¼ cup granulated sugar and 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar.
You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon, if you like. Preheat your oven to 350
degrees.
Take your half sheet pan out of the fridge, sprinkle the
tapioca/sugar mixture evenly over the chilled dough. Now place the fruit on
top; you can alternate rows of peaches with rows of berries, or cover one half
completely with peach slices and the other half with blueberries. When the pan
is completely covered with fruit, drizzle the peach syrup over the top. It
won’t cover the entire tray, but as it bakes, the juices from the fruit will
bubble up and join the syrup. It takes about 40 to 45 minutes to bake. Keep an
eye on things, you want the fruit to be tender, the berries to pop, as you
would in a pie. Neither the crust nor the pie is overly sweet, so teaming this
with ice cream and/or whipped cream is in perfectly good taste.
Picnic Pies (adapted from Bernard Clayton’s Complete Book of Pastry)
Flaky Crust (makes enough dough for approx. ten to twelve 6”
pastries)
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
5 Tablespoons cold non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
4-5 Tablespoons ice cold water
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and shortening,
mixing just until you have moist crumbs. Turn this mixture into a large bowl. Add
the cold water one tablespoon at a time, using your hands to gently combine the
water with the crumbs. Do not overmix- the dough should just barely hold
together. Turn the dough onto plastic wrap, divide in half, wrap each disc in
plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
Using one disc of dough at a time, remove the dough from the
refrigerator and roll it out on parchment paper to no more than 1/8” thick. Cut
out 6” squares and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with
the other disc, chill pastry while you prepare your filling. Preheat your oven to 400.
Fresh Peach filling
2 lbs. of peaches, peeled, halved, pitted and sliced into thick
wedges
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Bourbon Vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 egg combined with 1 Tablespoon heavy cream for egg wash
additional sugar for sprinkling
In a large bowl, place sliced peaches. Combine cornstarch,
cinnamon, brown sugar, extract and orange zest. Whisk once or twice to combine. (Once the peaches combine with the sugar mixture, they will release quite a bit
of juice.)
Gently toss the sugar mixture over the peaches, turning to coat. Place about 3 Tablespoons of filling in the center of each pastry
square. Working quickly, brush the edges of the squares with the eggwash and
seal the edges of the pastry with a fork or your fingers. Use the tines of a
fork to poke a few holes in each pastry to let the steam escape. Brush the
folded pastries with egg wash, sprinkle with additional sugar and refrigerate
on parchment lined baking sheets for 10 minutes before baking. Bake at 400
degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes until golden.
8" Skillet Cherry Pie with Hazelnut Crust
Crust (yields generous 2 lbs. of dough)
10 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
5 oz. granulated sugar
1 egg
12 oz. all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
good pinch of salt
4 oz. ground hazelnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon zest
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, cream the butter and the sugar until combined. In a separate bowl,
combine the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and ground hazelnuts. Whisk
once or twice to combine the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low add the egg
to the butter/sugar mixture, scrape down the bowl once or twice and then add
the dry ingredients in three additions. Scrape down the bowl, add the lemon
zest and vanilla extract, mix just until combined. Turn out the dough onto
lightly floured parchment paper, divide it in half and wrap each half in
plastic. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before rolling out. I use
approximately 10 oz. of dough for the bottom crust and 10 oz. of dough for the
top when I bake this cherry pie in an 8” cast iron skillet. (This also makes
tasty cookies- roll and cut as you would sugar cookie dough.)
Fresh Cherry Pie filling
(This is not an overly sweet pie, making it ideal for
breakfast. You can gussy it up for dessert by serving it with Frangelico
whipped cream. Or put the whipped cream in your morning coffee, teamed with the
pie.)
4 cups pitted sweet cherries
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange juice
½ teaspoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
egg wash made with one egg yolk beaten with one Tablespoon
of cream or milk
1 Tablespoon sanding sugar (or Sugar in the Raw) for
sprinkling on top
In a small bowl combine sugars, cornstarch and cinnamon.
Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, toss the sugar mixture over the cherries,
then add the orange juice, zest and almond extract. Let this mixture sit for a
bit while you roll out the top and bottom crusts. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
(because the dough is more cookie than crust, you need the 375 degree
temperature.) Pour cherry filling into 8” cast iron skillet lined with hazelnut
crust. Top with lattice strips or cut-outs. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with
sugar, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and bake at 375 for
approximately 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional
20-30 minutes, until filling bubbles.
Frangelico Whipped Cream
½ cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Frangelico liqueur
Beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
Stir in the Frangelico.
Raspberry Pie (adapted from the Ladies Home Journal Dessert Cookbook)
Makes one 6” inch double crust pie
One recipe Pacific Northwest pie crust (yields enough for a
double crusted 9” pie)
(You will only need half of this for the 6” raspberry pie,
but it’s worth making a full batch of the recipe and keeping the extra on hand
for the next 6” pie you bake. It keeps well in the fridge for several days, or
you can freeze it.)
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz.) cold sweet butter, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons raspberry vinegar
6 Tablespoons ice cold water
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and mix until
crumbly. Combine the vinegar with the water and with the mixer on low, add the
liquid until the mixture just comes together. Turn the dough out onto plastic
wrap, divide it in half and pat each into a disc. Dust with flour, wrap in
plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out. For a 6” pie,
I use about 6 oz. of dough for the bottom, and 6 oz. for the top lattice. Wrap
the remaining dough in plastic and store in the refrigerator until the next
pie…)
Raspberry Pie filling
(for one double crusted 6” pie)
2 cups fresh raspberries
½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
2 Tablespoons instant tapioca, finely ground
egg wash made of 1 egg yolk and two Tablespoons of cream
1 Tablespoon sugar + ¾ teas. cinnamon, to sprinkle over crust
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Give the berries a quick mist of cold water, (don’t soak
them) then lay them out on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Dab them dry and
set aside. In a small bowl, combine sugar, orange zest and tapioca. Place the
raspberries in a medium bowl, toss gently with the sugar, zest, tapioca mixture
until coated. (Jessie’s notes say to let the berries sit for about 10 minutes
to give up some of their juices.) Turn the berries into the pastry lined pie
plate, cover with a double crust or lattice strips. Brush with egg wash and
sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Place
on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then
reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes, covering
edges of pie if turning too brown. Reduce heat to 350 degrees for the last 10
minutes of baking. Pie should bubble around the edges and the center when
ready. Set aside to cool on a rack before slicing.
Blushing Apricot Cherry Pie in Toasted Almond Crust (one 9” double crusted pie)
You can make this pie with Bing cherries, but I love the
sweetness of the Rainier cherries teamed with the tartness of the fresh
apricots. I have also made this pie using an almond crumble topping, but we’ll
save that for later in the season.
The Crust (a loose adaptation from King Arthur Flour and Bon
Appetit)
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup lightly toasted almonds, finely chopped or quick pulse
in food processor
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
8 oz. (two sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces
3 Tablespoons of ice cold water
Blend flours, almonds, salt, brown sugar and zest in bowl of
standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. (You can also make this by hand,
cutting the butter into the dry ingredients or in a food processor fitted with
the blade attachment, pulsing the butter into the dry ingredients being careful
not to overmix.) Add the butter, mixing until crumbly. Add the water one tablespoon
at a time, just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured
sheet of parchment paper, divide in two, and wrap each disc in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate the dough at least one hour before rolling out.
Apricot/Cherry filling
(a hybrid of pies from Sunset magazine and the Farm Journal)
1 lb. 6 oz. Rainier cherries (pitted should equal 4 cups)
1 lb. 8 oz. fresh apricots (halved, pitted, thickly sliced should
equal 4 cups)
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2” length of vanilla bean, split with a small knife, seeds
scraped into the sugars
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
egg wash made with one egg yolk and 2 Tablespoons of cream
or whole milk
1 Tablespoon sugar for sprinkling over the top crust
When ready to bake the pie, pre-heat your oven to 400
degrees. Roll out one circle of dough to about 1/8” thick and place it into a
9” pie plate. The dough is gentle and softens quickly. Place the pie plate back
in the fridge. Roll out the other disc (the upper crust) on a sheet of
parchment paper that you have dusted with flour. Place this in the fridge while
you prepare the filling.
(I did not use a spice in the mix- you can certainly use
cinnamon or nutmeg or ginger. For me, this pie is all about the fruit with just
a note of almond in the crust.)
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, vanilla bean
seeds, cornstarch and zest.
In a large bowl, gently toss together the cherries and
apricots. Combine the orange juice and almond extract, drizzle over the fruit. Coat
the fruit with the sugar, vanilla, cornstarch, zest mixture. Turn fruit into the
pie plate, cover with second round of pie dough. Seal and crimp edges, prick
the center of the pie with a fork to allow steam to escape. Paint the crust
with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place pie on a parchment paper lined
baking sheet, cover edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent
over browning. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, then turn oven down to 375
for an additional 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on things here; if the crust is
browning too quickly, you can reduce it to 350 and bake it a bit longer.) The
pie is ready when the juices are thick and bubbling. (It baked for one hour and
10 minutes in my oven.) Set aside to cool on a rack before slicing.
Cheddar Cheese Pie Crust for Dad's Day Apple Pie (yields enough for an individual 5 and 1/2"double crusted pie) (Courtesy of Rose Levy Beranbaum)
8 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teas. salt
1/8 teas. baking powder
3/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated and cold (3 ounces)
2 Tablespoons + 1 and 1/2 teas. ice cold water
1 and 1/2 teas. apple cider vinegar
Make sure the butter and cheddar cheese are cold. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the flour, salt and baking powder.
Pulse once or twice, then add butter, pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then add the cheddar cheese, pulse a few times to combine. (Don't over mix.) Remove the cover, add the water and vinegar, replace the cover and pulse once or twice. The mixture will be crumbly and not form a smooth dough. Empty the mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper, gently knead the dough a few times and it will hold together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. When ready to make your pie, divide the dough in half, fit one half into your pie plate, roll the other half for the lid and keep chilled.
Plum Berry Turnovers (yields 6 double-fisted pastries)
(filling a nod to Tabora farms, pastry courtesy of British Good Food Magazine short-cut puff pastry)
First prepare the filling- you will only need half of this
to fill the turnovers, but you can use the extra for a cobbler filling or for a
small pie, or over ice cream
2 cups purple plums (deep purple exterior, red interior;
pitted, cut in chunks)
2 cups blueberries
2 cups blackberries
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
3 Tablespoons + ¾ teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Place plums and berries in a medium bowl. Whisk together the
sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch and spices. Toss over the fruit, stirring gently
to coat. Place mixture in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 12-15
minutes until the mixture thickens and no longer tastes like cornstarch. Remove
from the heat, add the orange and lemon zest and set aside to cool completely.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Flaky Pastry Dough
(yields enough for 6 turnovers)
(This is one of the few times I use salted butter)
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
2 sticks (= 8 oz. or 1 cup) of salted butter, cold and cut
into cubes
½ cup cold water
Place flour and cream of tartar in the bowl of a food
processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times, then add the cold
butter cubes, pulsing just until crumbly. Add the cold water and pulse a few
times, just until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a sheet of parchment
paper sprinkled with a dusting of flour. Form the dough into a disc, sprinkle with
a bit of flour and roll the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. If
things are getting sticky, you can add a little extra flour, but don’t overdo
it. Take the short ends of the rectangle, fold them in to meet at the center,
then fold the dough in half, lengthwise; this will form 4 layers of dough. Roll
the dough out again into a rectangle, dusting with flour as needed. Fold again,
short ends in to meet at the center, then fold in half, lengthwise. Wrap the
dough in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes. You will repeat the
rolling/folding twice more. Each time you roll the dough into a rectangle, fold
the short ends to meet at the center, then fold in half, lengthwise. It sounds
a bit complex, but it’s not and the end result is worth it. After you have
completed the rolling and folding, wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate
for another 20 minutes or (even better) overnight.
Pre-heat the oven to 400. Prepare an egg wash using 1 egg +
1 Tablespoon water.
When ready to make the turnovers, roll out the chilled dough
onto a sheet of parchment dusted with flour, into a rectangle measuring
18”x12”. Then cut six 6”squares. Return the squares to the fridge to stay cold
while the oven heats up.
Lay the squares onto a half-sheet tray lined with parchment
paper. Paint the edges of each pastry square with the egg wash. Place 1/3 cup
of the Plum Berry filling in the center of each square. Fold one corner of each
square over the filling, forming a triangle. Press the edges together to seal
tightly, brush the entire pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. When
you have filled all of the turnovers, place them back in the fridge to cut good
and cold. Use a fork to prick a few holes in the top of each turnover before going
into the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden.
Wearing of the White Peach/Nectarine Pie with Cornmeal Crust
Cornmeal Crust (enough for a 9” lattice topped pie)
(Baker’s note- these components started out at Stella Notte as
a scone recipe and then a shortcake biscuit. Somewhere along the way, we set
aside the eggs and leaveners, arriving at this. It is more hearty than flaky, qualifying
it as breakfast and equally delicious teamed with berries of the red and blue
variety. Check the oven during the baking process; if the crust is browning too
much for your liking, add some foil strips around the edge.)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup finely ground cornmeal
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons buttermilk
egg wash for painting the lattice (I use one egg yolk + a
few Tablespoons of cream)
1-2 Tablespoons granulated sugar to sprinkle on top of
lattice or cut-outs
I like to start this out in the food processor fitted with
the metal blade. Pulse together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, salt and
zest. Then add the cubed butter and pulse a few times. Turn this crumbly
mixture out into a large bowl and gradually add the buttermilk, using either
your fingers or a fork or a rubber bench scraper to moisten the dry
ingredients. Gather the dough together, divide it in two discs and wrap in
plastic. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before rolling out.
One disc will fit a 9” pie plate; the lattice or cut-outs can
be rolled and cut from the second. Chill the unbaked crusts while you prepare
the filling.
The White Peach/Nectarine filling
6 cups total of ripe sliced peaches and nectarines (If you
are shy on one or the other, not to worry. The goal here is to have 6 cups of
fruit; the sweeter the fruit, the better the pie. Depending on their size, you
will need approximately 2 ½ - 3 lbs. of fruit prior to peeling, pitting and
slicing. I only peel the peaches, I don’t bother to peel the nectarines.)
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 Tablespoons of quick-cooking tapioca (that has been
pulverized in the food processor- do one whole box at a time and then you have
it on hand)
¼ teaspoon spice of your choice (Spices are a personal preference-
less is more here because you want to taste the fruit. A grating of fresh
nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon should suffice. Folks I work with use
allspice or ginger.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine peaches, nectarines, lemon juice
and zest, tossing to coat.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugars, tapioca and spice.
Sprinkle over fruit, tossing a bit until combined. Turn the filling into your prepared
pie plate, top with lattice strips or cut-outs. Seal the edges, trim the excess
and crimp with fingers or a fork. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with
granulated sugar. Place the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at
400 degrees for 25 minutes. (If edges are getting too brown, cover with strips
of foil.) Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35-40
minutes until the fruit is bubbling. Set aside to cool on a rack.
No More Tuition Tart
(inspired by Tabora Farms strawberry conserve and Stella Notte's vanilla bean custard sauce)This is a sum of several parts; it is really more of an excuse to consume forkfuls of fresh strawberries and chocolate with custard sauce. I tuck the berries into a chocolate tart shell which is lined with ganache and strawberry jam. You can make some of this or all of this. I am providing the two essential parts; the jam and the custard. (Recipes for a tart shell and ganache can be found in a myriad of places. When time permits, I will insert one here.)
Strawberry Conserve
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
2 pints (which should weigh about 2 pounds) of fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the berries and return to a boil. It takes about 5-7 minutes for the berries to soften. Remove the pan from the heat. Crush the berries with a potato masher. (If you don't have one, I suppose you could use a fork, but that would be endless. Invest in a potato masher.) Set a small strainer over a bowl, strain the mashed berries, reserving the juice. Now return the juice back to the saucepan, and cook this over medium heat until it reduces to about 2/3 of a cup. The juice will become quite thick; this takes about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on things here- you don't want it to burn. Remove the thickened syrup from the heat, add the vanilla and the reserved mashed berries. Set aside to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill completely before assembling the tart.
Vanilla Bean Custard Sauce with Champagne
1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons of champagne
one half of a vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out with a knife
Heat the heavy cream, champagne and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan until simmering but not boiling. Place the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until very thick. With the mixer on low, gradually pour the hot cream mixture over the egg/sugar mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Return the custard mixture to the top of a double boiler and cook over simmering water, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture reaches 180 degrees. Remove from the double boiler and cool completely in the refrigerator. If you can't see yourself opening a bottle of champagne for a mere 4 Tablespoons, you can substitute 2 Tablespoons of Grand Marnier which you add at the end of the recipe, once the custard has cooled. (Of course, the idea here is to find a reason to enjoy the remaining champagne.)
Roasted Pineapple Pie
(adapted from two vastly different
sources, “Food for Fifty” by Shugart, Molt and Wilson and “The Neighborhood Bakeshop” by Van Cleave.)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9” pie plate
crust
1 ¾ cups cookie crumbs (preferably shortbread)
¾ cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped plus additional for
garnish (see below)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Combine cookie crumbs, macadamia nuts and melted butter in a
bowl. Press crumb crust into the bottom and up the sides of your 9” pie plate.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 15 min. Remove from oven
and set aside to cool. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.
1 “Jet” or “Gold” pineapple, cut into medium chunks (you
will need 4 cups of fruit)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
¼ cup dark brown sugar
Place pineapple in a single layer in an oven proof dish or
on a silpat lined baking sheet. Dot with the butter and brown sugar. Roast for
30-40 minutes at 375 degrees until caramelized around the edges. Remove from
oven, carefully pour juices and fruit into a bowl and set aside to cool. (You
may now turn off your oven.)
Pineapple filling
½ cup dark brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 cup of pineapple juice (1-6 oz. can of Dole pineapple
juice does the trick)
1 teaspoon orange zest
¼ cup fresh orange juice
4 cups roasted pineapple
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon dark rum
In a heavy saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch
and salt. Add pineapple juice, orange juice, zest, and roasted pineapple. Cook
over moderate heat, stirring with a spatula so the mixture doesn’t scorch.
Filling should bubble and thicken in about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir
in vanilla and rum and transfer to another bowl so the filling cools down a bit.
Turn filling into the baked and cooled pie crust. When cool, cover with plastic
wrap and refrigerate. Before serving, garnish with Boozy Rum Whipped Cream and
macadamia nuts.
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons dark rum
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons halved macadamia nuts, for garnish
In chilled bowl, combine heavy cream, dark rum and brown
sugar. Stir with a spatula until brown sugar dissolves and then whip mixture
until soft peaks form. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with macadamia
nuts.
8' pie plate lined with your favorite unbaked crust (I used pate brisee)
Pre-heat your oven to 375
3 cups sliced, trimmed rhubarb (remember, no leaves!)
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons Minute tapioca or tapioca flour
zest from one orange
1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
1 Tablespoon minced candied ginger
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse to combine sugar, tapioca, orange zest, and fresh, grated ginger. Set aside in a separate bowl while you prepare the crumble.
Oatmeal Crumble
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup King Arthur 'white' whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
1 Tablespoon minced candied ginger
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse to combine all ingredients until you have a crumbly mixture. Do not over process. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to put the pie in the oven.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the rhubarb and raspberries, then toss gently with the sugar/tapioca/zest/ginger mixture. Add the minced candied ginger and turn the pie filling into the prepared pie shell. Dot with the 4 tablespoons of cubed butter and the tablespoon of orange juice. Cover the
fruit with the chilled oatmeal crumble and place the pie on a parchment lined
baking sheet. Bake the pie in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes until the pie is bubbling and the crumble is toasty. (Depending on your oven, it may need an additional 5-10 minutes.)
Blackberry Buttermilk Pie (inspired by Mark Miller’s Coyote Café cookbook)
Lemon-Spiked Pie Crust (inspired by Food & Wine and Fine Cooking
magazines)
(yields enough for two 9” pie shells)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional,
but so tasty)
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp. salt
6 oz. (12 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) cold nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
¼ cup ice-cold water plus 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, pine nuts, lemon
zest, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment. With the mixer on low, add the cold cubed butter and mix just until
coarse and crumbly. Then add the cold shortening and mix until most pieces are almost
incorporated. Gradually add the lemon water, 1 to 2 Tbs. at a time, until the
mixture looks shaggy but moist enough to hold together. Dust your hands with
flour, gently shape the dough into two equal disks. Wrap the dough in plastic
and chill for at least 60 minutes, but preferably 2 to 4 hours, before rolling.
Use one for this pie, the other will keep in the fridge for a week, or freeze
for later use. When chilled, roll out one portion of dough about 1/8” thick on
to a piece of parchment paper dusted with a little bit of cornmeal (this gives
it a bit more texture) and then fit it into the pie plate. Chill this in the
freezer while you prepare the filling.
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Buttermilk Filling-
3 large eggs
3 Tablespoons all
purpose flour
4 oz. unsalted butter,
melted
1 cup + 2
Tablespoons sugar
1 cup buttermilk
½ vanilla bean,
split and scraped or 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon
zest
1 teaspoon lime
zest
1 Tablespoon lemon
juice
2 cups fresh
blackberries tossed with 1 Tablespoon of flour
In a large bowl,
beat the eggs, flour, and sugar until well mixed. Beat in the buttermilk,
alternating with the melted butter. Add the lemon and lime zests and lemon
juice. Sprinkle floured blackberries over the pie shell. Gently pour buttermilk
custard over the berries. (Don’t worry if the berries rise to the top.) Place on
a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes to set up the
crust. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for additional 40 minutes until
custard is set. If the edges of the pie are browning too quickly, cover them
with a strip of aluminum foil. After 40
minutes, you can check the center of the pie with the tip of a knife; there
will be a bit of melted butter on it but the knife should test clean. You can
give it a few more minutes, but remember, it continues to set up as it cools.
The top should be crackly and the blackberries should peek through. Set aside
on a rack to cool, then place in the fridge. If you really want to paint the
town, or if it just happens to be cinco de Mayo, serve the pie with…
Tequila Whipped
Cream
¾ cup heavy cream
3 Tablespoons
confectioners’ sugar
1 Tablespoon
tequila (gold, if you have it)
¼ teaspoon lime
zest
Place the cream in
a chilled mixer bowl. Beat with whisk attachment, starting on slow. Add
confectioners’ sugar and increase speed to medium. Continue beating until cream
is thick but be careful not to overbeat. I like to finish whipping the cream by
hand (use the same whisk attachment) because you have a bit more control. Add
the tequila and the zest and give the cream a few more turns with the whisk.
Serve alongside the pie, or on top of the pie, or both.
"Guilty" Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Most peanut butter pie recipes combine peanut butter,
powdered sugar and cream cheese for its filling. This is more of a peanut
butter mousse atop a layer of rich chocolate ganache. You can substitute any pre-baked
cookie crumb crust. This is adapted from a Lee Bailey recipe found in Food and
Wine magazine many years ago.
The Crust (enough for an 8” pie shell) Pre-heat oven to 350
degrees
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup salted peanuts
3 Tablespoons melted butter
Combine flour, brown sugar and peanuts in the bowl of a food
processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine, then add melted butter
and pulse a few more times. Turn out into pie plate and bake in pre-heated oven
for 10 minutes. Turn off oven and leave the crust in for about 25 minutes to
finish baking/setting up. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
The Chocolate Filling
10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s 62%
dark)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in cubes
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter (Skippy’s works better
than “Natural”)
Place chopped chocolate and powdered sugar in the top of a
double boiler. Scald the heavy cream and pour it over the chocolate/sugar
mixture and stir. Place the double boiler over simmering water. In a separate
bowl, whisk together the two egg yolks then add a few spoonfuls of the hot
chocolate and whisk it to ‘temper’ the yolks. When the yolks are warm, add them
back to the melted chocolate and continue whisking (gently) to combine. Add the
butter and when the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat, stir in the peanut
butter and then strain the whole mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Your pie
shell should be cool by now; pour the filling into
the crust, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge
while preparing the mousse.
The Peanut Butter Mousse
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (Skippy, not “Natural”)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mascarpone
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup peanuts or chopped peanut chews, for garnish
Whip heavy cream until stiff. In medium bowl, combine peanut
butter, vanilla, mascarpone and powdered sugar. Fold cream into peanut butter
mixture. Spread atop chilled chocolate layer and garnish with ¼ cup peanuts or
chopped peanut chews. Chill until serving.
Passover Kiss Torte
Depending upon the number of guests you wish to serve, you can bake this in either a 7 and 1/2" or in a 10"springform pan.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
For the 10" springform pan:
1 cup egg whites, room temperature (7 or 8, depending on size)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until foamy then add cream of tartar and vinegar, beating until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and add the sugar about a tablespoon at a time. The sugar needs to incorporate gradually- be patient. When the meringue is very thick and looks like marshmallow, turn the mixer down to low, add your vanilla and give it a few more turns. It is now ready to fill your springform pan.
For the 7 and 1/2" springform pan
1/2 cup egg whites, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Follow above directions, adjusting baking time to one hour in the pre-heated 300 degree oven, then turn the oven off and let it cool in the oven for an additional hour.
Sam's Cherry Lattice Birthday Pie
Here's a recipe for cherry pie using Hyline Orchard cherries. They are shipped frozen so I always cook the filling first, let it cool, then pour it into my pie shell, "lattice" the top and pop it in the oven. You can substitute fresh cherries in season- I prefer sweet Bing or a combination of Rainier and Bing. I have also used half fresh and half frozen when pitting time is limited. You will need two recipes of pate brisee for this pie.
1 nine inch pie shell (plus one recipe pate brisee rolled and cut into lattice strips)
6 cups Hyline frozen cherries or 6 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (if you prefer less sweetness, cut this back by a tablespoon or two)
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
egg wash and 1 Tablespoon of sugar for lattice crust
In medium saucepan, whisk together granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon zest. Add cherries and cook until mixtures thickens. This will need to boil but you don't want it to scorch. Keep it over medium heat, stirring often. The idea is to cook down the liquid, thicken the cornstarch and reduce the mixture. After the filling is cooked, remove from the heat, add the almond extract and pour into a bowl to cool. (I set it in the fridge.) When completely cool, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Roll one circle of pate brisee into a large circle about 1/8" thick and cut wide strips to form a lattice.
Pour cooled filling into pie shell, place lattice strips on top (you can weave them or just place them in a criss-cross pattern) and make sure to seal the edges then trim the excess dough. Brush lattice with egg wash and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling in the center. (Every oven is different- keep an eye on things; if you think the crust is getting too dark, cover the top with parchment paper or aluminum foil.) Remove from the oven and set aside on a rack to cool. Delicious on its own, even better with good quality vanilla bean ice cream.
Cuppa Joe Custard
(adapted from the Stella Notte days and Farm Journal's Pie Cookbook)
9"Pre-baked pie shell of your choice (graham cracker or chocolate cookie works best)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
pinch salt
2 + 1/4 cups whole milk
2 Tcaablespoons + 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (Medaglia d'oro)
6 egg yolks
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
1 teaspoon good quality coffee extract
2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
In top of a double boiler combine sugar, cornstarch, salt. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking, then add milk and instant espresso powder. Set over simmering water and cook until mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in extracts and butter. Pour filling into pre-baked pie shell. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold.
Cover with Coffee Whipped Cream and chocolate covered espresso beans.
Coffee Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (Medaglia d'oro)
2 Tablespoons Kahlua
Trader Joe's chocolate covered coffee beans, for garnish
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, espresso powder and Kahlua. Beat on medium until cream thickens into soft peaks.
Esther's Hamantaschen (with a nod to Marcy Goldman)
4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon lemon or orange zest (optional)
egg wash – 1 egg yolk combined with 2-3 Tablespoons milk or
cream
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment,
combine butter and sugar until smooth, then add cream cheese, blending well. With
mixer on low, add vanilla, flour, salt and zest, if using. Dough will be soft,
do not overmix. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap, sealing well. Place in refrigerator
at least one hour, preferably overnight.
When ready to roll out cookies, pre-heat oven to 350
degrees. Turn dough out onto lightly floured parchment paper. Roll out to about
1/8” thick. For traditional Hamantaschen, cut out 3” circles. I like to use a 7 ½ “ tart pan as a guide and
cut out large cookies. Brush the outer edge of the circles with a bit of egg
wash- this helps the triangles hold their shape. Place a teaspoonful of either
jam or Nutella in the center of each cookie; for the larger circles I use about
3 Tablespoons of filling for each. Chill the Hamantaschen for 15 minutes before
baking. The 3” cookies bake for about 18 minutes, the large ones for about 25
minutes. When they come out of the oven you can brush a dab of additional
preserves around the edges to give them a bit of shine or you can enjoy them just
the way they are.
Irish Coffee Pie (fills
an 9" pie plate or a 10" tart pan)
Oatmeal Cookie-Pretzel Crust
5 Tablespoons of
unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
3 ounces coarsely
crushed thin pretzels
1/4 cup King Arthur
White Whole Wheat flour
1/2 cup walnuts,
coarsely chopped
1 egg, beaten with a
fork
2 oz. chocolate chips
(optional)
Lightly butter your pie
plate or tart pan. In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment,
combine butter and brown sugar. Beat until well combined, then add oats,
pretzels, flour and the walnuts. With mixer on low, add beaten egg, then
chocolate chips, if using. Turn dough out onto plastic wrap; it will be
crumbly. Measure out one cup of the crust mixture and set aside. (You can use
that to fill a personal pie plate, 5.5" or put it in a zip loc bag and
freeze it for another use.) The remainder should weigh about 12 ounces,
enough to line either a 9" pie plate or a 10" tart pan with removable
bottom. Pat the dough into the bottom of your pan and up the sides. Then place
the pie plate or tart pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. When dough is chilled, line it with
parchment and beans and blind bake for about 25-30 minutes, until set. Then
remove the parchment and beans and bake it another 10 minutes or so until it is
firm. Set aside to cool completely while you prepare the filling. (Don't forget
to turn the oven off.)
Chocolate Irish Whiskey
Pie Filling
7 large egg yolks
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 Tablespoons granulated
sugar
3 Tablespoons dark brown
sugar
2 and 1/4 cups half
& half
8 oz. dark chocolate (I
used Trader Joe's 60%) chopped
1 Tablespoon unsalted
butter
4 Tablespoons Jameson
Irish Whiskey
In the top of a double
boiler, whisk together the sugars and cornstarch, then egg yolks, whisking
until smooth. Gradually add the half & half. Set over simmering water
whisking frequently until very thick, about 8-10 minutes. Remove pan from over
double boiler and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is thoroughly melted.
Then add butter and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Cover with
plastic wrap pressed directly on filling to prevent a skin from forming.
Refrigerate until cold, then gently fold in whiskey. Filling can now be poured
into the cooled crust. Place plastic wrap over pie and chill until firm. Before
serving, garnish the pie with the Bailey's whipped cream and chocolate
shavings.
Bailey's Coffee Whipped
Cream
1 pint heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Medaglia
d'Oro instant espresso coffee
1/4 cup confectioners
sugar
1/4 cup Bailey's Irish
Cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
extract (optional)
Chocolate Shavings
It really does speed
things along if you chill the bowl and the whisk attachment first. Combine the
heavy cream and instant espresso in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with
the whisk attachment. (Or you can use a hand-held mixer; it will just take
longer. That's always a problem for me because I'm generally due at someone's
home with said dessert about the time I start to whip the cream...) You want
the instant espresso to dissolve in the cream just a bit before you start to
whip it. With the mixer going at medium speed, whip the cream until it starts
to thicken. Gradually add the confectioners sugar until it forms soft peaks.
Then add the Bailey's Irish Cream and whip until thick. (I try to turn off the
mixer before it is too thick and finish the last few whisking laps by hand.)
There are those who feel vanilla extract is necessary when making whipped
cream. It's up to you- I think it gets lost in the espresso and Bailey's, but
help yourself. You can garnish this dessert with chocolate shavings.
K-Paul's Sweet Potato Pecan Pie (one 9" pie)
(with a few Slice of Heaven adjustments)
First things first- roast 2 or 3 sweet potatoes (you will need 2 cups) It's really better to roast them in the oven, not cook them in the microwave. In the oven, the skins start to caramelize giving the potatoes a deeper flavor.
The crust:
1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
1/2 cup chilled shortening, cut in small cubes
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
3-4 Tablespoons fresh orange juice, chilled
1 teaspoon sugar
generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Sift together flour, salt, sugar and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in the butter, shortening and zest with your fingers or a bench scraper or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Add the chilled orange juice combining gently until the mixture forms a soft dough. If it's a touch dry you can add a bit more orange juice. Pat into a disc, turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it completely and refrigerate for an hour. When the dough has chilled, roll out on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9" pie plate. Flute the edges and place the unbaked shell back in the fridge.
The filling:
2 cups of roasted sweet potatoes (just the pulp, not the skin)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sweet butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon orange zest- add after straining
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Place all of the above ingredients, (potatoes, sugars, egg, cream, butter, vanilla, salt, spices) (except the zest) in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment with the mixer on low, combine the ingredients until smooth. Do not overmix. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer then stir in the orange zest.
Set the filling aside and prepare the pecan syrup:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 large egg, room temperature
1 Tablespoon melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
3/4 cup pecan halves
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, egg, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a bowl until sugar dissolves and well blended. Stir in pecans.
To assemble: Pour the sweet potato filling into the prepared pie crust and spread evenly with a small offset spatula. Pour the pecan syrup on top of the sweet potato layer. Place the pie on a half sheet tray and bake in pre-heated 325 degree oven for about an hour and 30 minutes. The pecans will rise to the top as the pie bakes; test the filling with a knife, it should come out clean. If not, bake an additional 10-15 minutes. You can serve this on its own or whip up some heavy cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. At the restaurant, we used to add a serious splash of Frangelico to the whipped cream. I most definitely recommend it.
Little Mandarin Orange Pie (adapted from Slice of Heaven with a tweak from B. Gray)
Graham Cracker/Almond Crust
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/4 stick unsalted butter, melted (= 2 Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons sugar
Combine crumbs, almonds, sugar and melted butter. Press
into a 6” pie plate. Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 8-10 minutes. Let it cool completely.
Prepare the filling-
Place this in a small saucepan and reduce over low heat
until it is thick and syrupy- it will cook down to about two or three
Tablespoons. Take it off the heat set aside.
1 Tablespoon
cornstarch
¼ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup freshly squeezed Mandarin juice
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ cup heavy cream
Zest from one navel orange
In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the
cornstarch, sugar, lemon, lime and Mandarin juices, the whole eggs, the egg
yolks and the heavy cream. Place over a simmering double boiler and gently stir
with a rubber spatula. You are preparing a custard more than a curd, so don’t
beat it to death. It takes a while for the mixture to thicken, be patient.
(Alternatively, I have baked this directly in the oven in a pre-baked crust,
but that requires pouring a liquid into a pie or tart shell and navigating it
into the oven which can prove dicey, depending upon how much caffeine one has
consumed.) Now add the reduced orange juice concentrate. When the custard is thick enough to coat the rubber spatula so you
can draw your finger through it and it stays put, it’s ready. (Yes, that finger/spatula/line
technique really works.) Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a
bowl. At this point, add the zest from one orange. A navel orange is preferable
to the skin of a Mandarin which tends to be bitter. Give the custard a turn or two and then pour
into the cooled pie shell. Cover it with
plastic wrap so it doesn’t form a skin and place it in the fridge to cool. When
ready to serve, top with fresh berries or canned (!) and drained Mandarin
orange slices or whipped cream. Or all three.
Way-Too-Much-Chocolate-For-One-Tart
(a hybrid recipe from Cafette, Jamie Oliver and an old issue of Food and Wine. Sorry not to be more specific...)
Take two eggs out of the fridge and set them on the counter. Now they'll be room temperature...
I use my 8" fluted tart pan with the removable bottom. Line it with pate brisee (blind baked) or a cookie crust (1 and 1/2 cups cookie crumbs, 2 Tablespoons cocoa and 6 Tablespoons melted butter.) Lightly grease the tart pan, line with brisee and blind bake or combine cookie crumbs, cocoa and butter and pat into pan and up the sides. Don't be stingy. Bake the crumb crust for about 12 minutes, until it feels set. Let crust cool while you prepare the filling. Leave the oven set at 350.
The Filling
8 oz. good quality dark chocolate (the more bitter, 60-70%, the better. Trader Joes has a great selection...)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature (see?)
1/3 cup heavy cream (there have been times when I didn't have heavy cream and used 3 Tablespoons of sour cream;
slightly different texture but still delicious)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of the liqueur of your fancy (I like Cointreau or Grand Marnier- if you want alcohol free, use vanilla extract)
This comes together pretty quickly which is why it's a gem. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter. Give it a stir, remove from over the heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, add the cream, the sugar, the pinch of salt and the liqueur (or vanilla). Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture gradually into the egg mixture. When it is combined, pour it into the pre-baked tart shell, place the pan on a baking sheet (1/4 sheet pan works for me) and bake for about 20 minutes in the pre-heated 350 degree oven. The edges of the tart will just start to crack and the middle of the tart will be jiggly. Set aside to cool. Personally, this tart is illegally delicious when it is still warm and I think that's when you should eat it. If you prefer more of a set truffle texture, you can cool it and chill it and then eat it. But why would you want to do that? You can slice this into tiny, little slivers and then go back for more. Which you will.
Caramel Sauce (courtesy of Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery Cookbook)
Take two eggs out of the fridge and set them on the counter. Now they'll be room temperature...
I use my 8" fluted tart pan with the removable bottom. Line it with pate brisee (blind baked) or a cookie crust (1 and 1/2 cups cookie crumbs, 2 Tablespoons cocoa and 6 Tablespoons melted butter.) Lightly grease the tart pan, line with brisee and blind bake or combine cookie crumbs, cocoa and butter and pat into pan and up the sides. Don't be stingy. Bake the crumb crust for about 12 minutes, until it feels set. Let crust cool while you prepare the filling. Leave the oven set at 350.
The Filling
8 oz. good quality dark chocolate (the more bitter, 60-70%, the better. Trader Joes has a great selection...)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature (see?)
1/3 cup heavy cream (there have been times when I didn't have heavy cream and used 3 Tablespoons of sour cream;
slightly different texture but still delicious)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of the liqueur of your fancy (I like Cointreau or Grand Marnier- if you want alcohol free, use vanilla extract)
This comes together pretty quickly which is why it's a gem. Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter. Give it a stir, remove from over the heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, add the cream, the sugar, the pinch of salt and the liqueur (or vanilla). Whisk the chocolate/butter mixture gradually into the egg mixture. When it is combined, pour it into the pre-baked tart shell, place the pan on a baking sheet (1/4 sheet pan works for me) and bake for about 20 minutes in the pre-heated 350 degree oven. The edges of the tart will just start to crack and the middle of the tart will be jiggly. Set aside to cool. Personally, this tart is illegally delicious when it is still warm and I think that's when you should eat it. If you prefer more of a set truffle texture, you can cool it and chill it and then eat it. But why would you want to do that? You can slice this into tiny, little slivers and then go back for more. Which you will.
Caramel Sauce (courtesy of Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery Cookbook)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sweet butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons bourbon (optional)
In heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat sugar and water over
medium heat. Stir with a whisk just to combine.
Brush sides of the pan with a pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals
from forming. The sugar mixture will
turn from light brown to dark amber; carefully swirl the pan to keep the heat
even. Don't turn your back on the
caramel- it can go from amber to burnt in a flash. Add the cream slowly- mixture will steam and
get foamy. Whisk gently to combine, then
add butter, sea salt and bourbon. Let cool completely before using in Apple Hand Pies.
Apple Hand Pies (makes approximately ten 3 1/2 "
hearts)
3 cups cubed apples (I used Granny Smith and Honey Crisp,
Rome works well too)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cornstarch
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup cooled caramel sauce (if apples are very tart,
add another Tablespoon of caramel)
Egg wash- 1 egg yolk combined with 2 Tab. milk or cream
sanding sugar
The apples should be peeled and cut into small cubes
(about 1/4" pieces). Toss the
apples with the spices, cornstarch, and zest.
Set aside while you cut out the dough hearts. The dough should be rolled 1/8" thick;
you don't want it to get too thick and overpower the filling. After you have cut 20 hearts, place them
on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the fridge. Give the apple/spice mixture a stir, then add
the cooled caramel and combine gently.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Remove dough from fridge and paint a very thin line of the egg wash around what will be the bottom of the
hearts. Place 1 Tablespoon of
apple/caramel filling on 10 of the dough hearts, top with another piece of
dough, pressing the edges together to seal.
I just use my fingers, but you can use a fork if you wish. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding
sugar. Return the hand pies to the
fridge and let them chill for 15 minutes.
This is really important- if the dough isn't cold, the pies start to
lose their shape and look a bit broken-hearted. After 15 minutes of chilling, the pies are
ready to go into the hot oven. I start
them at 425 and after 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 400 and let them finish
baking for another 5 minutes or so. It
all depends on how golden you like your crust.
The apples bake fairly quickly- you can pierce one of the pies with a
small paring knife just to make sure.
These are delicious served warm with a liberal drizzle of the remaining
caramel sauce. A little vanilla ice
cream can't heart, I mean, hurt, either.
________________________________________________________________
Meyer Lemon Raspberry Tart
(a variation on "The Joy of Cooking" Ohio Lemon Pie)
Tart Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
16 Tbsp (equal to 8 oz.) cold, unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
6 to 8 Tbsp ice water
Lightly grease an 8" tart pan with removable bottom.
Prepare tart dough in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Place flour, salt, and sugar in bowl- pulse once or twice. Add cold butter, pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulse just until dough starts to hold together. Empty dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, divide in half, wrapping each half separately and place in fridge for about an hour. When chilled, roll one piece of dough into circle, slightly larger than tart pan, about 1/8" thick. Gently press dough into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the excess dough evenly with the top of the pan by rolling your rolling pin across the top. (I tend to save the scraps of dough just because I bake quite a bit and they come in handy.) Place the dough-filled tart pan in the freezer until firm.
Place the second piece of dough on a piece of parchment paper, roll it about 1/8" thick and cut thin strips (about 1/2 " wide) with a knife, pizza cutter or pastry wheel to form lattice. Place the parchment sheet onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate.
(Alternatively, you can simply roll the second piece of dough into a circle and have a double crust, rather than lattice tart. I like to see the fruit peeking through the lattice, but the tart is delicious either way.)
The Lemon Raspberry Filling
If you are a Purist, a Shaker Lemon (or Ohio Lemon) Pie is made with paper-thin slices of lemon. I have made the tart this way (I've also made it as a pie, doubling the filling, and lining a 9" pie plate with the dough), but sometimes time is fleeting, or I've consumed a wee bit too much caffeine and would rather not wield a sharp knife. It is perfectly fine to use the food processor to chop up the lemon and combine it with the sugar.
For an 8" tart
1 Meyer lemon, washed, zested and either sliced paper thin or cut in quarters (discard seeds)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
pinch salt
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup fresh raspberries
The idea is to macerate the lemon in the sugar. It softens the skin of the lemon and draws out the juice. If you have sliced the lemon by hand, (don't forget to seek out the seeds) place the lemon slices, the zest and the sugar in a bowl (nothing aluminum that would react with the lemon) cover and set aside (room temperature is okay) for a minimum of 2 hours, and up to 24 hours. (You can, as I do, place the sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, add the zest, the seeded lemon, cut in quarters, and pulse it to finely chop the lemon. Scrape into a bowl, cover and set aside as above.) When you are ready for the baking, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour until smooth, and add the eggs, one at a time. Add this to the lemon/sugar mixture, combining well. Remove tart shell from the freezer, sprinkle the raspberries in the shell and cover with the lemon filling. Then criss-cross strips of dough on top of the tart, creating a lattice. Don't worry about making it perfect- if you are not lattice-minded, you can simply "double crust" the top, trimming the edge of the dough even with the pan so it is sealed. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes to set up the crust. Then reduce oven to 350 degrees and continue baking for about 45 minutes until crust is golden and tart tests clean with a knife. Cool before serving so the tart sets up.
______________________________________________________________
Tipsy Eggnog Pie
(inspired by Aunt Chick’s “Very Rich Rum Custard Pie” and “Sister Baby’s Buttermilk Pie”)
Your favorite 9” pie shell, rolled and chillin’ in the fridge
_______________________________________________
Pear Galette
Dough
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 oz. cold butter, cut in pieces
3 Tablespoons cold water, (possibly 4 Tablespoons)
You can follow just about any recipe for pate brisee- use a stand mixer, a food processor, or if you're the leisurely sort, (I'm not) by hand. Everything you've been told about cold butter, cold water, hot oven, is true. The object here is to combine the flour/salt/sugar first, then add the butter and mix or pulse until you have a crumbly mixture, with pieces of butter visible. Cold water is added last, just enough until the dough comes together. If it seems a little dry, add the last tablespoon of cold water. You don't want to over mix the dough into a pasty mess. You want to be able to gather it together, turn it out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a disc, wrap it and pop it into the fridge. I use the food processor, fitted with the metal blade. A few pulses of the flour/sugar/salt, then add the butter and pulse a few times to achieve the crumbly mixture state. Then armed with the cold water, with the machine running, pour the water through the feed tube and pulse it until the dough just comes together. Empty the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape it into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Clear out a shelf in the fridge that will accommodate a half sheet pan, or a large flat cookie sheet.
Pear Filling
(revamped from Bon Appetit's Pear/Cardamom pie)
3-4 firm/ripe, not mushy/ripe pears (should equal about 4 ½ cups when peeled, cored and sliced)
zest of one lemon and 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(optional but well worth it, seeds from half of a vanilla bean)
½ cup apricot jam
egg wash made with one egg yolk and a few tablespoons of milk or cream
sanding sugar or Sugar in the Raw or granulated sugar for sprinkling the edge
1/4 cup toasted, blanched almonds, if you're a nut person
Depending on the size, you will need 3-4 pears. I have used Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou with equal success. (The dessert will be as good as the fruit, so if the pears aren't ripe, you will end up with a galette that tastes like sweetened cucumbers.) Peel the pears, halve them, core them, and slice 1/4 inch thick. Place the pears in a large bowl and gently add the lemon juice to coat them. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, lemon zest, cornstarch, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla bean seeds, if you are using them. Sprinkle the pears in the bowl with the sugar/spice mixture, turning them once or twice to coat, then set aside. By now, it should be just about time to roll out the dough.
I like to work on parchment paper- I can maneuver the dough and use minimal flour. Dust the parchment with flour and roll the chilled dough into a rough circle, about 1/4" thick and 12" round. Geometry was never my forte, so my measurements are like the circle, rough. I fill the galette on the very parchment I've rolled it on and then trim the excess paper after I place it securely on my baking sheet, just before going into the oven. You want to give the dough a bit of a border, so eyeball about two inches. Using a small offset spatula, spread a very thin layer of the apricot jam within your border, saving the rest for glazing the finished pastry. Place the pears within the border, casually lounging one upon each other, on top of the apricot jam. Now gather up the two inch border and fold it over the pears; this only covers a portion of the pears, holding things in place. Tuck/crimp the edge with your fingers. At this point, lift the edges of the parchment paper with the galette holding on for dear life, directly onto your baking sheet. I use a half sheet pan which measures 13" x 18"- a flat cookie sheet will also do the trick. Place the galette on the pan into the fridge to chill up for about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. After the galette has chilled, brush the edge of the pastry with egg wash, sprinkle liberally with sanding or raw sugar, trim the parchment paper if it overhangs your baking sheet, then pop it into the oven. Every oven is different, so you have to keep an eye on things. I start the galette in a 400 degree oven, set my timer for 20 minutes, and take a peek. I turn the oven down to 350 degrees, reset my timer for another 40 minutes, and check again. The pears should be tender and bubbling, the crust should be golden. Remove the galette from the oven and set the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Using a small pastry brush, lightly glaze the pears and the crust with the remaining apricot jam. If you are using the almonds, sprinkle them around the crust while the galette is still warm so they stick to the apricot glaze.
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