Tag: Homemade Pie

Mixed Berry Crumble Pie

This weekend, Memorial Day weekend, is the unofficial start of the summer. Bring on the BBQs, warm weather, and all the other fun things associated with this time of the year! One thing I personally love about this time of the year is the in-season fruit and veggies. Yes, you can get most fruit and vegetables year-round, but certain ones just taste better now. Especially berries! Today I am sharing a pie that is perfectly patriotic for your Memorial Day & July 4th celebrations, but, truth-be-told, perfect for all your summer get-togethers… A Mixed Berry Crumble Pie. It’s also super simple to put together and perfect for a last-minute dessert.

I started off by making the crumble topping since I needed to refrigerate it for a few minutes before sprinkling it on the pie. In a medium bowl I whisked together old-fashioned oats, flour, light brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Then, using my hands, I mixed in cold butter that I cut into small pieces. If you are averse to using your hands you could also use a fork or pastry cutter. You want the butter to be completely incorporated into the mixture. Once its ready the ingredients should easily clump together. While the topping chilled, I prepped the rest of the pie.

As I am sure I’ve mentioned before I normally use store-bought pie crust. It’s fool-proof and it saves time. Before making the filling, on a lightly floured surface (my countertop) I rolled out a store-bought pie crust and an extra inch or so. I then placed it in a 9-inch pie dish and crimped the edges. To make the filling, I gently mixed fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries together along with light brown sugar, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and salt. I started off using a wooden spoon but quickly switched to a rubber spatula to avoid breaking up the berries. I wanted most of them to remain intact during baking so the pie would still look appealing once done and have some texture to it. 

I transferred the berry mixture to the prepared pie dish…

And then sprinkled the crumble topping on top before baking in a 375 F preheated oven.

I checked on the pie after 25 minutes and noticed that the edges of the crust and the topping were beginning to brown, so I tented it with a piece of aluminum foil until to prevent it from burning. After about another 40 minutes the pie was ready. The crumble topping had a nice golden color and the filling had just started to bubble.

After letting it cool it was time to enjoy a piece and it was DELISH! Not too sweet and some of the berries were still intact.

Mixed Berry Crumble Pie

            

Ingredients:

For the Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the Pie:

1 single pie crust (either store-bought or homemade)

2 cups fresh blackberries

2 cups fresh blueberries

2 cups fresh raspberries

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

For the crumble topping: In a medium bowl whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon & allspice. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter (or much easier your hands), until everything is well combined and the mixture clumps together. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the pie: Roll out the pie crust to about 10-11 inches and then place in a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl gently mix the berries, both sugars, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together until well combined. Transfer to the pie dish and then sprinkle the crumble topping on top.

Bake in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the filling just begins to bubble. If the edges of the pie and/or the crumble topping begin to brown too quickly tent with aluminum foil.

Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing and enjoying.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Peanut Butter Chai Pie

Happy Pi Day! The day that math lovers celebrate the irrational number Pi (3.14159…) – the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter – and a day others use as an excuse to bake a pie, eat a pie, bake a pizza pie or eat a pizza pie. While I thought about making a pizza this year to honor the day, I decided to go with a pie instead. Mainly because I wanted to try a Peanut Butter Chai Pie recipe I ripped out of an issue of Food & Wine magazine last year. And I must say, it didn’t disappoint.

And yes, you read that correctly… Peanut Butter Chai. While some might scoff at the idea of peanut butter working with the flavors of chai – cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger to name a few – surprisingly they complement each other quite well.  

To begin, I made the crust. I opted to make something a little out of the ordinary – a Sweet & Salty Pretzel and Waffle Cone Crust – but, if you want to go with something simple or you just don’t feel like making your crust you could use a store-bought graham cracker crust (I would go with the one that has 2 extra serving just to be sure it’s large enough). To start, I processed miniature pretzels and a few waffle cones along with brown sugar in my food processor until it was finely ground. I then added in a stick of melted butter and processed it a few times until it appeared to be wet sand. Next, I pressed it an even layer along the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish I sprayed with cooking spray. After baking and cooling it was ready for the filling.

To make the filling, I used my stand mixer to whisk together peanut butter and cream cheese along with a spice mixture, honey, vanilla extract and salt. Once that was well combined, I gradually whisked in heavy cream. I set the peanut butter filling aside and then whipped up a batch of whipped cream sweetened with honey and the remaining spice mixture. I then folded in some of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture and then transferred it to the prepared pie crust. Finally, I spread the remaining whipped cream over the filling and then refrigerated the pie overnight.

Before serving the pie, I sprinkled cinnamon over the whipped cream along with roasted salted peanuts and chocolate curls. To make the chocolate curls I microwaved a chocolate bar for about 10 seconds in the microwave and then used a vegetable peeler to shave it.

The first thing I noticed about this pie was that it wasn’t sweet, not that I am complaining. But there is definitely a difference when you sweeten anything with honey versus sugar. I like to think it’s a tad but healthier. As for the crust, you get hints of the waffle cones and a slight saltiness thanks to the pretzels. Overall, all the flavors worked well together.

Peanut Butter Chai Pie with a Sweet & Salty Pretzel and Waffle Cone Crust

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

2 cups miniature pretzels

6 (5 ½-inch) waffle cones, broken into pieces (about 4oz.)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus more for topping

3/4 teaspoon cardamom

3/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 8oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey, divided

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

For the Topping:

Roasted Salted Peanuts

Chocolate curls

Directions:

For the Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Add the pretzels, waffle cones and sugar to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground and well combined. Add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie dish and press into the bottom and up the sides of the dish in an even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, until the crust is set and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before using.

For the Filling:

In a small bowl stir together the spices – cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice and nutmeg – and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon-cardamom mixture on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

With the mixer running, gradually add in a 1/2 cup of the heavy cream. Beat until well combined and fluffy. Transfer the peanut butter – cream cheese mixture to a large bowl.

Clean the mixing bowl and whisk the remaining heavy cream (2 cups), honey (2 tablespoons) and cinnamon-cardamom mixture in the bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.

Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the peanut butter-cream cheese mixture until no streaks remain. Transfer the mixture to the prepared crust and spread into an even layer. Top with the remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours.

Garnish the top of the pie with cinnamon, peanuts and chocolate curls.

To make chocolate curls: Microwave a chocolate bar for about 10 seconds in the microwave – you want it soft but not on the verge of melting. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the chocolate into curls.

Recipe from Food & Wine – Peanut Butter Chai Pie and Sweet & Salty Pie Crust

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s Thanksgiving week! Do you have your menus set or are you still searching for one of two sides to round things out? Or maybe, you are still looking for that perfect dessert to serve or bring to your get together. Below I’ve assembled 5 of my most favorite pies that I have made over the years. I will personally be making the Apple Crumb Pie.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Mousse Pie

Honey Pumpkin Pie

Apple Crumb Pie

Brown Butter & Vanilla Pear Pie

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Peach Mango Pie

Summer is a great time to make pies with all kinds of fruit being in season. Although, if you prefer to enjoy your fruit as a snack and want to ensure that you are using the ripest fruit possible there’s nothing wrong with using frozen. That’s just what I did for this Peach Mango Pie. I happened to have frozen peaches (leftover from another recipe) and mangoes (I was planning on making smoothies) in my freezer so I decided to put them to good use.

While you can bake with frozen fruit, I opted to thaw out the peaches and mangoes beforehand. Once they were defrosted, I stirred together flour, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl and then added in the peaches and mangoes. I gently folded everything together. I always opt to use refrigerated pie crust, it’s a great short-cut and foolproof. After rolling out 1 of the pie crust and extra inch or two I pressed it into a 9-inch pie plate and filled it with the peach mango filled and then drizzled it with fresh lime juice.

I then decided to get a little fancy and cut the other pie crusts into strips to make a lattice design. I used to be a bit intimated by making a lattice pie but after making a few of them I have the pattern down pat.  Finally, I brushed the top of the pie with an egg white wash, sprinkled turbinado sugar over it and placed it on a baking sheet to bake in a 375 F preheated oven. 

Once it cooled a bit it was time to slice into it. The peached and mangoes were a wonderful complement to each other and that squeeze of lime juice over the filling really brightened the flavors of the fruit.

Peach Mango Pie

Ingredients:

1 box refrigerated pie crusts (2 count)*

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups thinly sliced peeled peaches, fresh or frozen**

3 cups, peeled & sliced mangoes, fresh or frozen**

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 egg white

1 tablespoon water

Coarse sugar

*You can also make your crust from scratch

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375F. Whether you are using a store bought or homemade pie crust roll out one of the crusts into a 12-inch circle and then place in a 9-inch pie dish. Set aside.

If using frozen fruit, thaw the fruit and then drain. You can thaw the fruit in a colander in the sink to make it easier to drain.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Add in the frost and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Transfer the mixture to the pie dish and drizzle with the lime juice.

Roll the other pie crust into a 12-inch circle as well and place on top of the filling. Cut slits into the top crust and then trim and crimp edges of the pie. Whisk together the egg white and water and then brush over pie. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar.

Place the pie on a baking and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. If the edges of the pie begin to brown too quickly cover with foil for the last 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens

Apple Cranberry Pie

Are you deep into prepping for Thanksgiving? Or, are you just showing up somewhere with an empty belly and possibly a bottle of wine in hand? Or, maybe you are like me, you bring the desserts? If you are the latter, today I am bringing you a pie that’s quick to prepare and combines two traditional flavors of Thanksgiving… Apples & Cranberries.  Simply stated an Apple Cranberry Pie.

Now, cranberries are not a favorite among many. Most prefer it in the canned jellied form when it comes to eating it with their holiday meal, and don’t get me wrong, I won’t pass up a slice or two of it, but, even though fresh cranberries are tart and not enjoyable to snack on like a blueberry, they can be turned into a delicious sauce. While I don’t go all out and cook a Thanksgiving meal, I will whip a batch or two of cranberry sauce around this time of the year. For this pie, I used some of the same ingredients I use in my cranberry sauce (orange zest & ginger) along with the traditional sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg from apple pie to create a filling that would allow both fruits to complement each other.

When it comes to making pies, I take a major short-cut and use store-bought pie crusts. It’s fool-proof and a great time-saver. The one time I decided to make a pie crust from scratch it didn’t bake evenly and even though my pie filling was delicious the failed crust just took away from it. One day I will attempt to do it again though. For this pie, I opted to use a frozen pie crust as my bottom crust. In a large bowl, I folded all the pie ingredients together and then spooned it into the crust.

Since I was planning on making a decorative top crust I let two refrigerated pie crusts come to room temperature and then lightly rolled them out on a floured surface before slicing them into strips to create a lattice design on the pie. I also cut out a few leaf and acorn designs to apply to the crust. I then brushed it with a beaten egg and sprinkled it with turbinado sugar. I used turbinado sugar since I had it on hand and it gives the crust a nice golden color, but, you could use regular sugar instead. Alternatively, if you are not planning on making a decorative top crust, you can use 2 refrigerated pie crusts to make your pie. Simply roll out one into your pie dish, fill it and then top it with the second pie crust. Seal the edges, cut slits into the top crust, brush with an egg, sprinkle with sugar and then proceed to bake it.

I placed the pie on a baking sheet and baked it in a 400 F preheated oven for 20 minutes. I then lowered the oven temperature to 350 F and tented the pie with aluminum foil so it wouldn’t brown too quickly on top and baked it for an additional 35 minutes. I removed the foil for the last 5 minutes so the pie could get a nice golden color.

After letting the pie cool completely it was time to slice into it and enjoy a piece. And I must say all the flavors worked well together. The orange zest helped to cut the tartness of the cranberries and the sugar, of course, brought out the sweetness of both the apples and the cranberries. I was also about to taste hints of the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

Another great thing, the pie held together perfectly when sliced. No runny messes.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Apple Cranberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 box refrigerated pie crusts (2 count)

3 large Granny Smith Apples, peeled & sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons orange zest

1/3 cup flour

Egg Wash:

1 egg, beaten

Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place 1 pie crust in an ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly into the dish.

In a large bowl, gently mix the remaining pie ingredients with a rubber spatula until well incorporated. Spoon the filling into the prepared pie dish.

Top the filling with the second pie crust and press the edges together to seal. Cut 4 slits in the center of the top crust. Brush the pie with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven to 350F and tent the pie with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes. Or until the filling begins to bubble. If desired, remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of baking so the crust can brown a bit more.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Honey Pumpkin Crumble Pie

So, I am trying to bring you a new pumpkin treat every week. I am hoping up until the week of Thanksgiving. And with the way time has been flying by it will be here before we know it. This week I am bringing you a twist on your traditional pumpkin pie… A Honey Pumpkin Crumble Pie. Don’t worry, it’s not super sweet because of the honey and the crumble topping offers a nice texture and crunch thanks to the addition of walnuts. And while I love pumpkin pie, I will admit that it can be a tad bit dense, but this pie is creamier and lighter.

Honey Pumpkin Crumble Pie

                      

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

1 15oz. can pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 12oz. can evaporated milk

1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the pie crust on a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves and using a hand mixer whisk together until just combined. Continue beating while gradually adding the evaporated milk. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

While the pie is in the oven make the crumble topping. In a medium bowl combine the flour, chopped nuts, brown sugar and butter. Using a fork or your hands mix the ingredients together until they are crumbly.

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the pie after the 25 minutes and then continue baking the pie for an additional 20 – 25 minutes. Until the crumble topping lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe from Mixing Bowl Magazine

Blueberry Lattice Pie

Truth be told I am not a big pie eater or baker; I may have mentioned that on here a few times before. I sometimes find them too sweet and pie crust is not one of my favorite things to work with. I always have these ambitious thoughts to make pie crust from scratch, but it never happens. My go-to is always Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts. It’s been a no-fail for me and why risk a good thing. A bad crust can ruin any pie, even one with a delicious filling. With berries being in season I decided to try my hand at a Blueberry Pie. And this pie was a WINNER! Everyone who had a piece loved it and my niece, who is also not a big pie eater, had two pieces.

To make the filling I combined fresh blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice in a large bowl. Using a store-bought pie crust, I rolled out one of the crusts an extra inch or so and then placed it in a 9-inch pie plate. I then filled the crust with the blueberry filling. I won’t lie, I thought it looked a bit sparse, but I figured the filling would be the perfect amount once the pie was baked.

Next, I worked on the lattice topping. I rolled out another store-bought pie crust an extra inch or so and using a pastry wheel lattice cutter I cut strips of the crust. This small tool makes it super easy to make a lattice pie. Each strip is the same width so there’s no need for measuring and hoping you will cut each piece the same size.

I don’t have a great way of explaining how to make a lattice topped pie and unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures while making this one. It was 90 degrees outside, and my oven was already preheated to 400 F so I wanted to get it done quickly and, in the oven, so I could get out of the kitchen. After cutting all the strips, I placed half of the strips on the pie close together. Next, I weaved in the strips to make the lattice design by folding back every other strip that was on the pie and placed a pie strip perpendicular to the strips folded back and then unfolded the strips I folded down. For the next row I folded back those strips I hadn’t folded back from the first row and then placed another pie strip across. I repeated these steps until my pie was covered with the lattice design.

To finish the pie, I trimmed the edges around the pie and crimped the edge of the pie with a fork and then brushed the entire pie with an egg wash and sprinkled it with sugar.

I placed the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked it in a 400 F preheated oven for about 45 minutes, the blueberry filling was quite bubbly. After about the first 20 minutes of baking I placed a pie shield around the pie so the edges of the pie wouldn’t burn.

Unfortunately, my lattice wasn’t as pretty coming out of the oven as it was going in, but it was delicious!

And as you can see, my filling was the perfect amount. It was also the perfect consistency; it wasn’t runny at all.

 

Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Store-bought pie crust, or your favorite homemade pie crust

4 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried

1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the pie

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup freshly lemon juice, from two lemons

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk for egg wash

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix the ingredients together well. Set aside.

Place one of the crusts into a 9-inch pie plate and fill with the blueberry mixture. Lay the second crust on top of the pie, or, use the second pie crust to create a design for the top of the pie. Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and then brush with the egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust has a nice golden color.

Cool on a wire rack to room temperature and then serve and enjoy!

Passion Fruit Pie

Happy Pi Day! That wonderful day on the calendar, 3/14, were we celebrate the irrational number Pi. Irrational because it cannot be expressed exactly as a simple fraction and therefore is an infinite decimal. What it is exactly though is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and regardless of the size of the circle, it will always be the same number. So, due to this fun math themed day I bring you a new recipe for pie. I am always stumped to come up with a new pie recipe for today. When I start searching for a recipe most of the ones I come across are some sort of variation of an apple or pumpkin pie. Both of which I prefer baking during the Fall months. And of course there are the berry pies, but, I think those are better in the summer months when berries are in season. So I run out of options quickly. This year I started to think about pies I’ve made and flavors that I haven’t come across and I thought to myself what about a Passion Fruit Pie.

I decided to follow the recipe for my go-to Key Lime Pie but switch out the key lime juice for passion fruit pulp. I purchased frozen passion fruit pulp and let it defrost in my refrigerator overnight. I also switched up the crust I use. Normally I make Key Lime Pie with a store bought graham cracker crust, but for this pie I decided to make a shortbread cookie crust. And that was my first step in making this pie.

Using my food processor I pulsed shortbread cookies, I used Keebler Sandies Classic Shortbread Cookies, into fine crumbs and then combined the crumbs with melted unsalted butter. Next, I pressed the crumbs into the bottom and along the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. After baking it in a preheated 350 F oven for 10 minutes I let it cool while I made the filling. While baking the crust beforehand isn’t completely necessary I decided to do so so that the crust would be firmer once the pie was done. This would minimize the chances of it crumbling when cutting a piece of the pie.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, I beat egg yolks until they were light and fluffy. I continued beating the eggs while gradually adding in sweetened condensed milk. And finally, I added in the defrosted passion fruit pulp. Once the mixture was combined I poured it into the shortbread cookie crust and returned the dish to the oven for an additional 20 minutes. When done, the pie filling will be set.

I let the pie cool completely on a wire rack before transferring it to the refrigerator to chill before serving.

Before serving I whipped up a small batch of homemade whipped cream and decorated the top of the pie. To create the swirls I used a Wilton 6B piping tip.

This pie was delicious… It was the perfect texture and a wonderful combination of sweet and tart! And yes, pre-baking the crust did help in preventing it from falling apart when slicing into the pie.

Passion Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 3/4 cups shortbread cookie crumbs*

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

4 egg yolks

14oz. can condensed milk

1/2 cup passion fruit pulp**

Whipped cream for decorating and/or serving

 

* I used about 15 Keebler Sandies Classic Shortbread Cookies. You could also purchase a 9-inch shortbread pie crust. If using a store bought pie crust there is no need to pre-bake it. Just fill it with the pie filling and bake as directed below.

** I purchased a frozen 14oz. package from Goya and left it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost.

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine the shortbread cookie crumbs and the butter in a medium bowl and mix them together. Once mixed, transfer to a 9-inch pie plate and press the crumbs in an even layer along the bottom and sides of the dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the crust is cooling make the filling. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium, beat the egg yolks until they are light and fluffy. Gradually add in the condensed milk and continue beating until combined. Finally, add in the passion fruit pulp and continue beating until combined.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 20 minutes. The filling will be set.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely and then refrigerate for a few hours before serving and/or decorating with whipped cream.

 

Whipped Cream

  • Servings: About 2 cups
  • Print

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar and beat with a handheld mixer until soft peaks form. Add in the vanilla extract and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Key Lime Pie Revisited

I made Key Lime Pie for the first time last year when I came across the small limes while grocery shopping. I picked them up having only tried Key Lime Pie once and not caring for it and unsure how easy or difficult the pie would be to make. A quick call to friend and a Google search later let me know it wouldn’t be all that bad. And after my second tasting of Key Lime Pie I was hooked. Unfortunately key limes aren’t something that are readily available in my area throughout the year so I haven’t gotten to enjoy the pie since last year. Granted, I have seen key lime juice in the baking aisle of my local supermarket, but, I have a feeling that using the bottled juice just won’t taste the same as the freshly squeezed version. During a recent shopping trip I came across the limes once again and without hesitation I bought a bag and made another Key Lime Pie and just wanted to share the recipe with you all once again.

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Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

1 9-inch graham cracker pie shell

1/2 cup key lime juice (approximately 12 key limes)

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

Grated lime zest of one lime

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2) Whisk together the four eggs yolks until pale and fluffy

3) Gradually add in the condensed milk and continue mixing until the mixture becomes light and fluffy

4) Add in the lime juice and finally the lime zest.

5) Pour the filling into the graham cracker pie shell and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the filling is set.

6) Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack and then cover and refrigerate for a few hours.

7) Decorate with whipped cream or save for serving and drop heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream on each slice.

 

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Whip cream and sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Add in the vanilla extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

A Delicious Short-Cut Peach Pie

Short-cuts aren’t always a bad thing. When you are driving they can get you where you have to go quicker and hopefully help you avoid some traffic along the way. In our day-to-day lives they can make us a bit more efficient to get daily tasks completed. And in baking they can guarantee us a flakier crust and fruit that’s perfectly ripe for a pie!

A few weeks ago I got it in my head that I wanted to make a peach pie. I’m actually not a big fruit pie fan – I’m not that keen on fruit pie filling, especially when it’s on the runny side – but, I think the Pillsbury Pie Crust sitting in my refrigerator got me thinking. I’ve made pie crusts from scratch once or twice before but, like I said there’s nothing wrong with taking a short-cut every now and then. I went one step further with my short-cut and opted to use frozen peaches. I just wasn’t in the mood to peel and slice a few pounds of peaches.

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I combined 2 pounds of frozen sliced peaches with sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, allspice and almond extract. I decided on the almond extract after reading that many bakers used to add the nut – sometimes called a “bitter almond” –  that’s inside the pit of the peach to the pie while baking to give it an almond flavor. That practice has since diminished as it was discovered that the nut contains trace amounts of cyanide, granted you would have to eat a large quantity of them for anything to happen, but, who wants to bite down on something hard when they are enjoying a piece of pie.

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Next I unrolled one of the pie crusts and pressed it into the bottom of the pie dish.

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I then added the filling and mounded it slightly in the middle and dotted it with small pieces of unsalted butter.

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Instead of just unrolling the other pie crust on top of the pie I decided to give it a little pizazz with a lattice pattern that wouldn’t require weaving. First I sliced the top pie crust into 6 1-inch strips…

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And then divided those strips in half to end up with a total of 12 1/2-inch strips.

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I laid five strips across the pie, doing my best to equally space them

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Then I laid four strips across the previous strips diagonally.

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And after some trimming and crimping, voila, a simple lattice pattern.

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I then placed the pie on a baking sheet in a 400 F preheated oven for about 25 minutes. I then lowered the oven to 375 F and baked the pie for about another hour. Prior to lowering the temperature I brushed the top of the pie with an egg wash to ensure a nice golden brown color. I kept a close eye on the pie and when I noticed the rims of it were browning a tad bit too much I covered it with aluminum foil. I knew it was time to take the pie out of the oven when the filling was bubbling.

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After letting it cool it was time to slice into it…

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And I happy to say that the pie was a perfect consistency… Not too watery and not too dry! It was a definite winner!

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Peach Pie – Adapted from here

1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling:

2 pounds of sliced and peeled frozen peaches (Use frozen, do not thaw)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour (I doubled the amount the original recipe called for to allot for the water the frozen fruit would release while baking)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Make the filling by mixing the peaches in a large bowl with the sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, all spice and almond extract.

3. Unroll one pie crust and place in an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Add the filling, mounding it slightly in the center and dot with the butter.

4. Unroll the second crust and dust it lightly with flour and cut it into 1/2-inch wide strips. Lay half of the strips on the pie in one direction, leaving about a 1-inch space between each strip. Lay the remaining strips on top, crossing them diagonally to make a faux lattice pattern. Trim the edges of the strips leaving a small overhang and crimp the edges into the bottom crust with your fingers.

5. Place the pie on a baking sheet and place it in the oven for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature of the oven to 375 F and brush the pie with an egg wash (beat the egg with a tablespoon of water). Bake for another hour until the filling it bubbly. If you notice the out crusts of the pie is browning too quickly cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Once baked, transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing. Store remaining pie in the refrigerator.

 

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