Mini Raspberry Pies

Last week I bought some raspberries at Costco. Many of them were delicious and some of them were hard or weird (probably previously frozen?). Anyway, I didn't want to waste them so I decided to make some mini pies.  As luck would have it, we also had a broken pie crust in the freezer!

I made up this recipe a little bit but I think I can recreate it for you here. The mini pies are pretty good, good enough to serve for an impromptu party. Delicious warm, okay cold - so maybe reheat for a few seconds before serving.

Ingredients
For the pies
1 Pie crust
1 1/2 Cups raspberries
Juice of one lemon
2 T tapioca
2-3 T sugar (depends on how sweet your berries are)
cooking spray
a little water

For the topping
2-3 T flour
3 T cold butter
2-3 T brown sugar
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 and spray 8 muffin cups with cooking spray
2. Place raspberries in a bowl with lemon juice, sugar and tapioca. Stir and let sit until ready to use
3. Roll out the pie crust (add water if it is dry) on a floured surface and cut into 8 parts
4. Place one piece of dough in each prepared muffin cup and press up the sides
5. Make the topping and mix together with your hands until small peas
6. Distribute raspberry mixture among pies. Top with topping
7. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown around the edges

Thanksgiving Pies

Every Thanksgiving we spend in San Diego we make the pies. The required pies at the Smith Thanksgiving are pumpkin and apple. However, Joey likes to experiment and make other pies too. This year, we decided to make mini pies so we could make a lot of different things. And as an added bonus, Joey's Aunt & Cousin made the pumpkin and chocolate pies.

We didn't really deviate too much from the recipes so in this post, I am going to review the recipes, note the pie types and leave the picture awkwardly sideways.

Dutch Apple Pie - I secretly think Joey makes up this recipe but he says he uses Betty Crocker. This year, he messed up the crumb topping so that there was less crumb and it didn't cover the pie completely. Although the pie didn't look super appetizing it was delicious.

Cranberry Ribbon Apple Pie - This was my favorite. It is a traditional apple pie with a layer of cranberry sauce in the bottom.  The cranberry sauce by itself is also very delicious and would've been great on our Thanksgiving table. These little pies looked pretty adorable. We used some leftover maple glaze on the top to make them brown but you could use an egg wash.

Cranberry Maple Pecan Pie - This is a pecan pie that has a little maple kick and then a bit of tartness from the cranberries. It calls for walnuts but we were using pecans so we stuck to one nut. I think this is a really good pie too. It tones down the sweetness of traditional pecan.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie - Last time we made this pie I loved the combination of chocolate and pecan, but this time, I didn't notice it as much. The chocolate has the same effect as the cranberry in the previous pie, toning down the sweet-sweet of pecan pie.

We didn't make the chocolate pie (but a whipped cream topping is added and it is delicious). We also didn't make the pumpkin pie but it was your standard pumpkin and the perfect one time per year treat!

Caramel Nut Tart

I must admit, when Joey suggested we bake this nut tart for our friend's visit last night I was a little grossed out by it. He then related that some reviewers said it tasted like pecan pie, that gave me a better idea of what I was getting into. This tart, however called for oranges, pine nuts and cashews. What would it be like? How could we serve this to our friends?

We did it and I am glad we did. The texture of the filling is not unlike the filling of pecan pie, but everything else is completely different. The crust is basic and not flavorful alone, it tastes of shortbread. The filling is a simple caramel spiked with orange juice and zest. The texture of different toasted nuts and the cashews add a fun surprise to every bite. Unfortunately, the look of the tart is a bit disgusting so it is better to taste it with your eyes closed.  Perhaps if we organized the nuts into more of a pattern on top it wouldn't look so strange?  This could be a stand in for Pecan Pie at this year's thanksgiving celebration, try it for yourself.

The recipe called for walnuts, pine nuts and cashews. We replaced walnuts and some of the pine nuts with pecans. I think the cashew texture is necessary but I encourage you to replace nuts to your pleasing. Check your local bulk grocery for pine nuts and only get just enough to save money--they were $20/lb at our market! We made the crust and froze it overnight before pre-baking, covered in parchment paper. This whole tart could be made the day before but should be stored at room temperature and covered in foil.

Caramel Nut Tart from Epicurious

Ingredients:

Crust:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, separated
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
dried beans or pie weights (use dried beans over and over for this purpose)
9 inch tart pan with removable bottom (other reviewers said they used a regular pie pan)

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice (about the juice of 3/4 orange)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (about 1 orange)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews, leave whole or chop, cooks preference
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
3/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

Directions:

For crust:

Using electric mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add egg yolk and cream; beat until smooth. Add flour and beat just until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead briefly to combine. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inchdiameter tart pan with removable bottom. Gently fit dough into pan, trimming all but 1/2 inch of overhang. Fold overhang in, forming double-thick sides. Pierce bottom of crust all over with fork. Freeze 30 minutes. (at this point, we wrapped the crust in parchment and froze it overnight)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil with beans. Bake crust until golden, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, whisk egg white in small bowl until thick and foamy.
Brush hot crust lightly with some beaten egg white and place on rack to cool. Maintain oven temperature. (this means that you should make the filling when the crust is cooling so it doesn't get too solid before going back into the oven)

For filling:

To toast the nuts, heat a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Add nuts and toast until fragrant, watch the nuts for burning about 7 minutes.

Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Cook until syrup is deep amber, swirling pan occasionally, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat and pour in juice, then cream. Whisk over low heat until smooth. Whisk in butter, honey, orange peel, vanilla, and salt. Stir in cashews, pine nuts, and pecans.

Pour filling into crust. Bake tart until filling is bubbling thickly all over, the filling will not seem set when you take it from the oven but don't be scared, about 22 minutes. Cool tart completely on rack. This is best served at room temperature.

Coconut Key Lime Pie

 Easter dessert is always our challenge.  This year, the main challenge was that we didn't decide what we were going to make until the week before Easter and then we tested it and then made it all again the next week. By that time, I was already tired of our choices and didn't end up eating any of our desserts at the actual Easter celebration (luckily nobody noticed cause that would've been just weird).

The first dessert we made for our smaller group of just 14 people was coconut key lime pie.  This pie was perfected in our second try by really reducing the amount of whipped cream topping from the amount that Martha Stewart used in the recipe because on the first pass our pie and whipped cream were of comparable texture.  We also added some flavoring to the cream because we felt it was boring on top of the pie just as is--it was sort of useless.  This pie was a cinch

put together and a big hit with the family.  It really does need time in the refrigerator before digging in so try to make this pie ahead and let it set first. The coconut flavor wasn't very strong which but just a little hint of it was nice.

Coconut Key Lime Pie
adapted from Martha Stewart

For the Crust:
6 oz Graham Crackers
3 T sugar
1/4 t coarse salt (I used regular salt the first time and Joey used coarse the second time, there was no difference)
5 T unsalted butter, melted

For the pie Filling:
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (13.5oz) unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 C bottled key lime juice (or fresh!)
1 T lime zest (we zested some key limes)
7 large egg yolks

For the whipped cream:
1 t lime zest
2 t key lime juice
1 C heavy cream
2 T powdered sugar

For Decoration:
2-3 T toasted coconut
1 key lime's zest

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. In a food processor pulse the graham crackers until course sand. Add all the other ingredients and pulse until combined and the crackers seem wet
3. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie tin. Bake crust 12 minutes until dry looking and slightly more golden.  Let the crust cool while you make the filling
4. Reduce oven temperature to 325
5. In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the pie filling until mixed together well. Pour into the graham cracker crust and bake 40 minutes until set but still a little wobbly in the middle.  Cool on a rack until room temperature and then move to the refrigerator.
6. Meanwhile, toast 2-3 T sweetened coconut flakes in a small dry frying pan over medium heat.  Toss the coconut so it doesn't become too browned on one side.  Remove from heat when most coconut is browned and cool, then store in a ziploc bag.
NOTE:  We made our whipped cream 1 1/2 days before Easter dessert and it turned out fine, stored in the refrigerator without re-whipping. However, if you feel the desire to make it right before, feel free.  Whip cream
7. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, juice & zest on high until stiff peaks form about 3 minutes.
8. Spread whipped cream over just the center of the pie leaving an edge of filling to see.  Sprinkle toasted coconut and remaining zest over the pie and chill until ready to serve.

Pie for Two

Today Jenny & Gavin had us over for dinner and I offered to bring dessert.  I had a hard time deciding what to make because the 90+ degree weather we've been having lately made me hungry for summer desserts and unfortunately, despite the weather summer produce is not in season.  I decided to make some cherry fruit hand pies (turnovers), but then while at the store I decided instead to make mixed berry partially because that sounded good to me and partially because they didn't have frozen cherries at the store. 

You can find the recipe for the puff pastry turnovers here.  The only thing I did differently was swap the cherries for the mixed berries.  

After making all the puff pastry pies, I still had lots of filling leftover.  So I pulled out this frozen pie crust from the freezer and let it defrost a little while piling all the leftover berries into a small ramekin.  I added a little baking spice over the top and then placed about 1/3 of the pie crust over the top.  I put it on a bit early so it ripped in lots of places, but that was like built in vents!  I folded the excess crust inside along the edges of the dish.  Then I baked the little pie for 30 minutes at 375.  Heavenly! If I could've made little individual pies for everyone I may have gone with this recipe.  The crust edges were flaky but the crust sitting on top of the bubbling berries was the perfect doughiness for me--this is how I like my pies!

Joey & I ate this pie warm and enjoyed it to the fullest.  The best part is that this recipe isn't terrible for you--a bit of sugar, a dash of flour, and then pie crust--which isn't by any means GOOD for you, but it's not so terrible.

Pie in 30 minutes and just enough for two? Yes please

Ingredients:

5 oz mixed berries

2 T + 2 t. sugar, and a little more for dusting

1 1/2 T flour

1/2 T lemon juice

1/3 refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust

1. Preheat the oven to 375

2. Mix berries, sugar, flour and lemon juice and let sit for at least 5 minutes

3. Pour berries into an oval ramekin for 2 and drape the pie crust over the top

4. Fold the pie crust sides inside the dish

5. Bake for 30 minutes until filling is bubbly and side crust is golden brown

Apple Pear and Dried Cherry Pie

Apple Pie does not scream Thanksgiving to me. It screams 4th of July. But after years of celebrating with the Smith family I have come to understand that Apple Pie is as much a part of Thanksgiving as is the turkey.

But unlike most people, Joey and I like to make pies that have a little twist on the traditional. Joey is an expert and enthusiastic pie maker and we scrounge the web and recipe books for something new every year--even when we have found a winner.

This year was no different--even though we're attending the Peterson Family Thanksgiving instead of the Smith Family Thanksgiving. We searched high and low for an apple pie that met our fancy and then we decided to turn an apple crumble into a pie recipe--with our fail proof almond tart crust from last year's pear tart.

We taste tested this pie ourselves and then shared it with Joey's office and it was completely gone by 10am. This pie is paired with a maple syrup whipped cream which really adds a nice flavor, so don't skip this step even if you aren't accustomed to having whipped cream on apple pie (apple pie goes with ice cream).

We also tasted the juices inside the pie since we cut into it a little early before it really firmed up. Best cider ever! Now we know how to make cider...

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

Crust

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 t almond extract

Filling

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 4 cups)
2 large pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
1 cup dried cherries (about 6 ounces)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 T maple syrup (b quality if you can find it)

Directions:

Crust

1. Blend powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add flour. Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

2. Roll out chilled dough and place in a buttered pie plate. Poke holes all over with a fork. Freeze for 5 minutes. Cover crust in buttered foil and weigh down with dried beans. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans and bake 10 minutes longer until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Filling

1. Mix 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg in large bowl. Add apples, pears, and dried cherries to bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat. Pour filling into slightly cooled pie crust

2. Using fingertips, mix butter, brown sugar, lemon peel, remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl until moist clumps form. (this is the best playdoh!)

3. Crumble the topping over the fruit and try to cover it completely but don't pack it down.

4. Heat the oven to 350. Bake about 1 hour until fruit bubbles and topping starts to brown. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving to help thicken the juices. If you don't want to wait taste the juices after you cut your first slice..best cider in the world


Whipped Cream

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer whip 1 C cream until peaks form. Add syrup gradually to sweeten.

2. Whipped cream can be made ahead but doesn't hold it's shape well into the second day and begins to separate.

Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

I love chocolate chip pumpkin muffins or bread. I think that chocolate adds a bit fun and everything is better with chocolate.

Well unfortunately, in the case of chocolate crusted pumpkin pie, I was one of the only people that thought it would be and then thought it was fantastic. Joey's work gave it only 1/2 a thumb up unfortunately. This means it is not a contender for Thanksgiving even though I thought it was delicious.

I was unable to find chocolate wafers at the store which was really annoying. I could've gone with oreos because I was buying them anyway but I ended up choosing chocolate animal crackers. These worked fine. I also may have used a little too much chocolate in the layer between the crust and pumpkin but I followed the directions. I liked the crunch the crust added and the texture of the chocolate layer. I really liked this tart no matter what you say!

The one thing I did differently from the recipe was that I used 2 eggs instead of 1 egg after reading the reviews that the pie didn't set up for others. With the two eggs I did have to bake for a bit longer but in the end it was still firm.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart.

Buttermilk Pie

On Thursday night I found myself with a little extra time on my hands. I think it's because we made dinner at home and that dinner was quick and easy requiring the use of only a few dishes. So, I pulled a roll of pie crust from the freezer before I started on dinner and set it out to thaw.

Buttermilk pie. I read about this southern treat on the Homesick Texan blog back around Easter time. At the time, we were baking up a storm and I couldn't really think how to fit in buttermilk pie so I didn't do it.

However, once again I was left with some extra buttermilk after using it in a recipe. I know there are substitutes for buttermilk but I am partial to the real thing. I had already made biscuits, the zucchini bread and now I still had more remaining. So buttermilk pie it was.

I must say I was a little nervous about this pie. I didn't want it to just taste like buttermilk. I read that it was a super sweet custard pie--not to be confused with a cream pie, custard is thicker.

This pie was a cinch to whip up taking only a few minutes to come together but then an hour to cook. I thought the flavor was delicious and the smell of it baking was outstanding. My husband brought the rest of the pie to work and everyone loved it. I would make this again if the right situation presented itself...as it is I still have some buttermilk I could use...

I followed this recipe from NPR, I used the regular version and didn't think it was that sweet. I also added a dash of nutmeg.

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour, plus a little for dusting

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups buttermilk for less sweet version)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

3 eggs (or 4 eggs for less sweet version)

Beat eggs slightly with a fork and add sugar and flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Then add melted butter and mix well. Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix. Add a dash of nutmeg if you are so inclined.

Dust the unbaked pie shell with a little bit of flour. Pour batter into shell, and then sprinkle a little more flour on top. (oops I did not do that and it turned out fine)

Bake at 325 degrees until the custard is set, approximately 1 hour. The custard will shake a little but if you push a butter knife in the middle it will come out clean. Also, there will be a nice bit of browning on top. I let the pie cool slightly and then had a slice. Then I covered and chilled it for the coworkers the next day.

Caramel-Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

This Christmas Eve we brought dessert. We assumed we would be one of many desserts, but for the first time ever, we brought the only option. Thank goodness it was delicious!

We decided to make this caramel-chocolate Macadamia nut tart but we didn't really get started first thing in the morning (or the night before). So, as a result the tart took all day to make and we finished it just before we had to leave for the party. However, after rushing to make it, we could only think of one step we could've made ahead--the crust.

The reviews on Epicurious for this recipe said the crust was blah. Having made a pear & almond tart for Thanksgiving, we decided to use the almond tart crust instead. A lot of people thought that crust was shortbread in the finished product. It also comes together quickly in food processor and we knew it would work. After we had our tart crust chilled, rolled, baked and cooled, we got started on the chocolate ganache. We used Ghirradeli Bittersweet Chocolate and I would definitely not use anything more bitter. The ganache was very rich. It was offset by the caramel sauce we made in the finished product.

Also, macadamia nuts are hard to find and not cheap. We bought 10oz unsalted at Trader Joe's and toasted them briefly in the oven before chopping them. We used only the amount the recipe called for. We think salted macadamia nuts (which are not as hard to find) would have been a fine substitute.

This dish was delicious and rich. We served it with vanilla ice cream and the extra sweetness was much needed. We were able to serve 10 with this tart, but our slices were small. I think we could've used another dessert or maybe two of the same. Even the people who aren't chocolate fans (I know, seriously.) enjoyed this pie. It is a make again when we have lots of time treat!

Fall Baking - Thanksgiving Surprises

Alton Brown's Sweet Potato Pie

Joey really likes Alton Brown's show and DVRs it at his dad's house for future watching. Recently, he saw a video of Alton making sweet potato pie which he describes as a better pumpkin pie--it tastes similar but is so much fresher since it doesn't use the canned stuff. The best part is that fresh sweet potatoes are a whole lot easier to work with than fresh pumpkin because all you do is peel, slice and dice. With pumpkins you have to scoop out the guts and deal with the thick peel.

I agree that this pie was super easy. The only problem was that it wasn't a huge hit at Thanksgiving because everyone went for their favorite classics as fast as possible. I think though if we hadn't brought a pumpkin pie as well, and we removed the toasted pecans from the top, people would've eaten the Sweet Potato and not really noticed a huge difference. I think that this was one of the prettiest pies we brought to Thanksgiving, of the five.

I learned that at Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes are suddenly synonymous with yams even though they aren't really the same thing. The first time I bought yams with a yellowish flesh. The second time (after one got moldy from improper storing techniques)I purchased red yams which were on special and they were really more sweet potato-esque with orange flesh. I'm kind of glad the first set went moldy cause otherwise the color would have been way off.

Ingredients

* 1 pound 3 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
* 3/4 cup packed, dark brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
* 5 egg yolks
* Salt
* 1 (9-inch) deep dish, frozen pie shell
* 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
* 1 tablespoon maple syrup
* Special equipment: steamer basket

Directions

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer basket into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Mash with potato masher and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment. Add yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, and salt, to taste, and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the pie shell and place onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard reaches 165 to 180 degrees. Remove from oven and cool. Keep refrigerated after cooling.

Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie

Joey and I watched a video of Alton Brown's take on apple pie and were hooked on trying it out. Of course, it requires all sorts of things we didn't have so it was quite the shopping list to get it all taken care of. The result? An apple pie that tastes like apples--not the traditional spices--with a hint of rye bread. Perhaps if we had reacted earlier to the grocery list, we would've gotten the Grains of Paradise and then not had that hint of rye bread involved. We made two apple pies Alton style, one following the recipe and one with traditional spices. Both were eaten and well liked. Different strokes for different folks I guess. The liquids in the pie made it more of a sticky pie like peach pie than your typical apple.

We got a lot of use out of our kitchen scale for this recipe. We also bought the 2 inch deep tart pans so that the sides could come off for easy slicing and serving. Those worked really well, but if you want to stick with the fall-apart slice from a traditional pie tin that's your prerogative. Alton used a 12-slice apple cutter, but you could just cut your apple slices in half. We got a 16 slicer from William-Sonoma and it wasn't as great as we hoped it would be.

We didn't have a pie bird. For one pie we just cut the slits in the top. For the other, Joey constructed a pie bird (or funnel) out of tin foil. It was quiet the topic of conversation but it let the steam escape so that we didn't have to slice the top. The glaze on the top is from the apples but I don't think it looks that pretty--although it did taste good.

The addition of crisco and brandy in the pie crust made it so easy to work with when I rolled it out! I couldn't believe how easy it was. Usually any kind of dough fights me for the last word and wins. The crust didn't really even taste like the brandy at all.

Alton Brown's Super Apple Pie
For the crust:

* 6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 2 ounces vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 5 to 7 tablespoons applejack
* 12 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
* 1 teaspoon table salt
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
* This must sit in the fridge at least 1 hour or overnight

For the filling:

* 3 to 3 1/2 pounds apples, mixture of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn and Golden Delicious, about 6 large apples
* 1/2 cup sugar, divided
* 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
* 2 tablespoons apple jelly
* 1 tablespoon apple cider
* 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

Directions

For the crust:

Place the butter, shortening and applejack into the refrigerator for 1 hour.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.

Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of the applejack. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more applejack as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Weigh the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
For the filling:

Peel and core the apples. Slice into 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain for 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer the drained liquid to a small saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool. Toss the apples with the remaining sugar, tapioca flour, jelly, cider, lime juice, salt and grains of paradise.

For assembling and baking the pie:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator. Place the dough onto a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Place into a 9 1/2 to 10-inch tart pan that is 2-inches deep. Gently press the dough into the sides of the pan, crimping and trimming the edges as necessary. Set a pie bird in the center of the bottom of the pan.

Place the apples into the unbaked pie shell in concentric circles starting around the edges, working towards the center and forming a slight mound in the center of the pie. Pour over any liquid that remains in the bowl. Roll out the second pie dough as the first. Place this dough over the apples, pressing the pie bird through the top crust. Press together the edges of the dough around the rim of the pie. Brush the top crust with the reduced juice everywhere except around the edge of pie. Trim any excess dough. Place the pie on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake on the floor of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to the lower rack of the oven and continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the apples are cooked through but not mushy. Remove to a rack and cool a minimum of 4 hours or until almost room temperature.

Kona Coffee Ice Cream Pie

Joey and I decided to try our hand at making an ice cream pie now that 31 Flavor's prices have soared. Joey looked through the ice cream book and decided on Kona coffee ice cream, an Oreo cookie crust, and hot fudge. We thought it would be fun to just make all the elements from scratch...it turns out, it is actually pretty expensive to make your own ice cream pie...but I dare say, tastier. I don't have a picture because it was all melty by the time i thought of it...but just picture delicious and try it yourself, or, stop on by and we'll make one for you.

Joey basically made the pie himself. Meanwhile, I made baked beans.

Kona Coffee Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 C half & half
6 T coffee beans (we used Kona)
4 large egg yolks
2/3 C sugar
1 C heavy whipping cream

Special Equipment: Ice cream maker

Directions:
1. In a double boiler, heat half and half and coffee beans over simmering water until steaming. Remove from heat and steep for 40 minutes.
2. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks until blended. Add sugar and whisk until combined.
3. Prepare a large ice bath that will hold the top of the double boiler pot.
4. Whisk half the hot half & half into the yolk mixture and then pour the whole mixture back into the pot and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until custard coats the back of a silicone spoon.
5. Remove from heat and place in an ice bath immediately, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches room temperature.
6. Strain through sieve into container (to remove beans), cover, and place in refrigerator to chill at least 3 hours.
7. Once the mixture is chilled, mix in ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions, place in container and freeze.
Yield: 1 qt.

Oreo Cookie Crust
Ingredients
20 oreos
5 T butter

Directions:
1. Melt butter.
2. Mix melted butter and oreos. Press into a 9inch pie plate on the bottom and up the sides.
3. Place in refrigerator or freezer for later.

Hot Fudge
Ingredients:
6 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped or 1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 C half & half
1/4 C light corn syrup
1 t vanilla extract
1 T grand Marnier, brandy or cognac (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine chocolate, half & half, and corn syup over a double boiler and heat, stirring, until smooth.
2. Stir in vanilla and grand mariner, if desired. (we happened to have cognac on hand and put it in but we thought it smelled like alcohol and didn't love the flavor, we might use another fudge recipe next time).
3. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Ice Cream Pie Construction
Ingredients:
1 1/2 qts ice cream
1 recipe hot fudge
1 cookie crust
whipped cream in the can

Directions:
1. Remove pie crust from freezer. Spread with half the hot fudge. Freeze.
2. Remove ice cream from freezer and let soften so that it is spreadable.
3. Remove pie crust, spread ice cream on top of the hot fudge until it fully covers. If it starts to get too melty and moveable, Freeze for about 10 minutes.
4. Continue spreading ice cream until all the ice cream has been used or the pie looks full. Freeze.
5. Remove from freezer and top ice cream with a layer of hot fudge. Freeze.
6. Pipe whipped cream around the edges and one dollup in the center.
7. Freeze for at least an hour before serving.

Ok fine, here's a picture but it is terrible...it has melted, and been devoured and it doesn't look half as good as it did when we made it.