Pies
Hand pies are all the rage these days. So naturally I jumped on that wagon and whipped up six of them, happy to have something to do with the blueberries that seemed to be multiplying in the fridge. Happy to feel like a trendy baker, hip with the baking times. (I am the antithesis of […]
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With all of those nectarines going on, this dessert looks pretty darned healthy, doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly guilt-free. (If you want to pig out without the cloak of shame and guilt to weigh you down, try the Angel Food Cake, or the Guilt-Free Mandarin Orange Cake, or the Healthy Peanut […]
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I couldn’t not sneak a bit of coconut into this cherry almond crisp. I think I was channeling one of my all-time favorite holiday bars into this summery dessert… you know the one, the Cherry Chew Bars… you basically meld cherries with coconut and nuts and sugary goo, and you’re a happy camper. (Wow. Thinking of […]
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I have been holding this recipe out on you. But I think you deserve to know about it now. It’s one of my Top 10 Desserts Ever- and trust me when I tell you it’s a long, long, long list that I’ve carefully selected the Top 10 from. It might even make my Top 5, […]
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I recently announced my intention to pay more attention to the Fruit when baking, in light of the whole spring season thing going on outdoors. (Oh, and because I have been baking with a whole hell of a lot of chocolate lately, which is really quite a wonderful thing and a problem not worth correcting, […]
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Is this Rocky Road Brownie concoction a pie or a cake? Or just a massive brownie with a crapload of fantastic chocolate candy on top? I don’t think I’m asking the right questions. The real questions are: Why haven’t I made this before? And… How was I able to live my life without this dessert […]
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Don’t ruin Thanksgiving by not making a pumpkin pie. People expect pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and they expect it to be good (translation: not too pumpkin-ey). Don’t worry, fellow baker: I’ve got you covered. Clearly I’m serving up a savory, sweet & spicy recipe that will keep you coming back for pumpkin long after […]
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I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like key lime pie. Think about it. Have you ever heard someone say “yeah, I just don’t like key lime pie”? (If so, these are likely the same people who prefer their brownies cakey and fluffy. It’s best to not associate with these unsavory types.) (Normal) people go all crazy for key lime pie, especially after a gluttonous steak dinner when the server tells you it’s their signature dessert or whatever.
So let’s get cracking. Once you get past the task of juicing 1,200 little limes, it’s really an easy dessert to make. I tend to make them in little tart pans (like pictured), but I don’t know why because it’s just more work. Throw your crumbs in a big tart pan, press ’em in and bake them for a bit, and then add your limey-sugary-eggy mixture and bake until set. Other than adding a huge plop of whipped cream (real whipped cream, I implore you!) on top, the pie is good to go.
Oh- and one thing- you can’t make or serve key lime pie unless you say it with a southern accent… key lime pah… say it now. There.
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It’s almost too cute to eat. But that would be stupid, to not eat something this good. Here’s how the whole galette thing works (for me, at least): you take the leftover pie dough from a real pie you’re making (like the Decadent Deep Dish Pecan Pie or the Proper Peach Pie) and roll it […]
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What would you say if someone offered you a fresh peach pie, laced with a bit of cinnamon and ginger (but almost indiscernibly so), and baked with a flaky, buttery crust? You’d say ‘yes please’, and you can’t even pretend you wouldn’t.
I have been making a crapload of pies lately, so it was much to my surprise last week when The Husband asked me this:
“When are you going to make me a real pie?”
I looked at him (lovingly) like he was an idiot, and asked him this:
“Are you an idiot? All I’ve been making are pies.”
(Seriously- I just made Strawboffee Pie, Banoffee Pie, and S’mores Pie in like the last three weeks. I have been a pie making machine.)
And in the way that The Husband picked up from the many Brits he’d been working with, he said this:
“Yeah, but I want a proper pie.”
He’s right. I have been making imposter pies as of late, ripoff pies. If a pie doesn’t have a crust (especially a flaky buttery one), then is it really a pie? Does a graham cracker crust (or a McVitie’s Digestive Biscuit crust for the Brits) count as pie, just because it’s baked in a pie plate? (Technically yes, but The Husband wanted a pie with a crust and fruit.)
After I conceded that I had been depriving him of real pie (having not made one since the Good Old Fashioned Raisin Pie, which I technically made for his Dad anyway), and after apologizing for making his life so miserable because of this, he asked for apple pie. I promptly shot him down, because everyone knows that apple pies are for fall. After suggesting peach pie, he simmered down, like a baby with a pacifier. A pie pacifier.
So this one’s for you, Husband- a proper peach pie.
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I have been baking with strawberries quite a bit lately, and I’m not even going to apologize for it. (I am thinking of strawberry shortcake as I type this, and so you’ll probably end up seeing that dessert here soon.)
If you don’t like strawberries then a.) I don’t know if we can continue with this relationship, b.) you can always swap the strawberries for another fruit of your choice, and c.) hold on for another three months for when I go through my pumpkin phase. Pumpkins in, strawberries out. Fall- it’s a ‘comin.
But back to the dessert at hand.
Can I tell you how much I love puff pastry? (Can I tell you how uncomfortable I feel calling it “puff pastry” instead of “puffed pastry”?) One day I am going to be a bakeasaurus and make the puffed pastry on my ownsome, but for now the freezer pastry will do just fine. It’s lovely to thaw pastry that has already been slaved over by someone else (although I still can’t bring myself to buy a frozen pie crust, which makes no sense at all). I have noticed over the years that you can stuff pretty much anything you want inside of two rolled out pieces of puff pastry, as long as you seal the edges well. It’ll bake up and you’ll have a successful dessert in front of you (hopefully just you, so you don’t have to share.)
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I was going to make a red (raspberry), white (whipped cream) & blue (blueberries, duh) meringue cakey thing for an obvious 4th of July dessert, but I’ve been baking with so much fruit lately that I felt the need to get back to chocolate and sugary goo. So in honor of an American staple, I introduce […]
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Work with me on this one, okay?
There’s this heavenly dessert known as Banoffee Pie, and if you’ve heard of it you’re nodding your head right now because you agree that it was made in heaven. Picture the layers starting from the bottom: cookie crumb crust, thick layer of toffee, sliced bananas, fresh whipped cream, chocolate shavings. Now you understand.
I was introduced to this masterpiece on a trip to Ireland with my Dad and sister back in 2003… and I have no plausible reason as to why I haven’t made it since my sister and I wolfed down that inaugural piece in a pub somewhere around Waterford. Or maybe Wexford. I have denied The Husband (who was not on said trip) the pleasures of Banoffee Pie, and that makes me a shameful wife. Up until now.
This is the legit recipe- not to be confused with the Strawboffee Pie, that’s a twist on the banana classic (swapping strawberries for the bananas, if you must). Banoffee Pie is just plain right. Cookie crumb crust, layer of toffee, layer of bananas, then blob of whipped cream (and a sprinkling of chocolate on top […]
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It’s just as it sounds. It’s a pie, filled with raisins, and it’s old-fashioned (meaning that it doesn’t have any fancy newfangled trendy fillings). And it really is good, in a classic “I don’t need to be dressed up with caramel or chocolate or ganache” kind of way. (Although those do sound like really good additions for next time.)
Of all the decadent desserts out there, why make a humble raisin pie (or mini little pies, as pictured)? Well, Fil (the name I affectionately call my father in law… get it? Father In Law?) is having a birthday, and as the story goes, he used to polish off the 99¢ raisin pies from the A&P grocery store that no one else would touch. (Or maybe no one else in the family ate them because Fil hoovered them down all to himself- hard to say. All I know is that the family has laughed at this for years.) So I wanted to make something that I knew he’d like, since he’d never be so bold as to request anything special.
Fil was happy with the pie, although he’s so nice that he’d say he liked it even if it tasted like crap. Served with heavenly hash ice cream (totally his idea), it made for a nice birthday evening. And it’s fun to stick really big candles in a really small pie.
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Pecan Pie is not for the faint of heart, even when baked into a regular-size pie tin with a regular amount of sweet, rich filling and then topped with regular whipped cream. This version of Pecan Pie (both words capitalized because there’s nothing regular about it and caps = deserved importance) takes it to the next level, in a deep-dish-Chicago-style sort of way.
The facts: a swirl of toasted pecans creates a crispy, caramelized upper crust- a crust that dares you to poke a fork through its perfect pecan surface- a dare you will win, because you know what’s waiting for you underneath that pecan roof: an unprecedentedly (almost obscenely) thick layer of smooth, intensely (but entirely appropriately) rich Pecan Pie goo… all housed in a tender, baked-till-golden-brown cream cheese crust, capped with a generous dollop of Bourbon Whipped Cream- an adult-rated way to finish this serious, proper Pecan Pie.
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Sometimes fruit calls out to you in the grocery store, when it’s impossibly fresh, just asking to be baked into a double buttery crust. When cherries are in season, heed that voice. Even though they are as expensive as hell.
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Looking for your official standby pie crust? That reliable staple that does justice to your favorite pie or tart? I think you’ll be happy with this fella- he’s easy to work with, and tasty to boot. The butter gives it the flavor and texture you know you want, and the shortening acts as the structure insurance policy- with an extra bit of flakiness. Enjoy.
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