berry pie

This pie is one of my favorites that I made this fall. It was my first lattice-top pie and it was fun to make that pattern. I like that about pie: it's easy to decorate.

Ozark Mountain Berry Pie

Taste of Home

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, optional

dash salt

1 cup blueberries

1 cup strawberries

3/4 cup blackberries

3/4 cup red raspberries

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

pastry for double crust pie

2 Tbsp. butter

1. In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in berries. Add water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil.

2. Line a 9 inch pie plaste with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Fill with berry filling and dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry; make lattice crust. Trim, seal, and flute edges. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Cool on wire rack. Store in refrigerator.

banana cream pie

This one would be great with a graham cracker crust too.

Banana Cream Pie

Betty Crocker

Pastry for one crust pie

4 large egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine, softened

4 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sweetened whipped cream

1. Bake pastry for one crust pie.

2. Beat egg yolks with fork in medium bowl; set aside. Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2 quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

3. Immediately stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks, then stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Cool filling slightly. Slice 2 large bananas into pie crust; pour warm filling over bananas. Press plastic wrap on filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.

4. Remove plastic wrap. Top pie with whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate cooled pie until serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

French Silk Pie

Sorry for the break, but we were out of town for a few weeks. Back to pie-making! Yesterday I made my favorite pie so far. When I was little we lived outside Kansas City, Kansas and I remember my parents going on dates to eat at KC Masterpiece and picking up pies from Tippins. The one kind of pie I remember them bringing home was a french silk pie. I found a recipe for that and tried it last night. It was really, really good and pretty easy. I think I'll make it one of my traditional pies this time of year.

French Silk Pie

Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

1 baked pastry shell

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (6 ounces)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 beaten egg yolks

3 tablespoons creme de cacao or whipping cream

1 cup whipped cream

chocolate curls, optional

1. In a medium heavy saucepan combine 1 cup whipping cream, chocolate pieces, butter and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat. Gradually stir half of chocolate mixture into beaten egg yolks. Return egg mixture to chocolate mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and begins to bubble (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. (Mixture may appear to separate.) Stir in creme de cacao. Place the saucepan in a bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until the mixture stiffens and becomes hard to stir (about 20 minutes). Transfer to medium mixing bowl.

2. Beat cooled chocolate mixture with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread filling into baked (and cooled) pastry shell. Cover and refrigerate pie for 5-24 hours. To serve, top with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate curls.

pumpkin pie

Pie Sunday #2 has come and gone. I tried a new crust recipe and you make it in a mixer, which was nice. I love my kitchen aid, you know. The recipe actually made crust for three pies, or one two-crust and one one-crust, so I've got some for the coming Sundays. Should be fun!

Pumpkin Pie

from the Lion House Cookbook

1 1/2 cups pumpkin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup water (this made too much filling for my pie, so I would omit the water next time)

Pastry for 1-crust pie

Whipped cream, if desired

Place pumpkin in large mixing bowl. In separate bowl, mix cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Add to pumpkin and mix until well blended. Add eggs and evaporated milk and mix until blended. Add water and mix well. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Top with whipped cream, if desired. Makes 1 pie.

tradition!

I just started a new one. I decided to make apple pie on Sunday and then, on a whim, announced that I will be making a pie every Sunday until the end of the year. So, I went through all of my cookbooks and picked the five pie recipes I want to try and I put them on the calendar. No turning back now. I think I may even try a new crust recipe every time. I wasn't a huge fan of the one I did on Sunday, but how can you go wrong with sweet and cinnamony apple filling? It was still tasty. So... I'll post my recipes, and my favorite crust recipe once the Sundays are all spent. Happy baking!

Apple Pie

from Betty Crocker

Pastry for 2-crust pie

1/3-2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

dash of salt

8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (8 medium)

2 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine, if desired

1. Heat oven to 425 and make pastry.

2. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over apples. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2-to-3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

3. Bake 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours. Refrigerate after 24 hours.

I used my frozen apples from our berry order, so that made it so much more pleasant to make an apple pie. Eight apples is a lot to skin and thinly sliced. I am not quite patient enough for that. So, thank goodness for the fruit order!

halloween treats: part 4

This tart didn't work out as well as I wanted, logistically at least. But it is delicious. It tastes a lot like hello dollies, if you've ever had those.

dark side chocolate caramel tart

from the Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 in.)

1/2 cup each chopped pecans (I used walnuts), milk chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

Drizzle:

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. milk

1. In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture turns an amber color, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat; slowly stir in cream (mixture will appear lumpy). Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is completely smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9 in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Prick the botom with a fork. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

3. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips into crust. Whisk eggs, one at a time, into warm caramel mixture. Pour over chocolate and pecans.

4. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until top is completely bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

5. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth. Cut a small hole in corner of plastic bag. Fill with chocolate mixture; pipe a spider's web over tart. Store in refrigerator.

Yield 12 servings.

halloween treats: part 3

This recipe was much better than I thought it would be. It's easy, fast and really quite good. It's also really good to give away since it packs well. That's what I did with most of the batch I made. But I can make it again, and I think I just might.

halloween layered fudge

from Taste of Home Halloween magazine 2008

1 tsp butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk, divided

8 oz. white candy coating

1/4 tsp. orange extract

2-4 drops orange paste food coloring

1. Line an 8 in. square pan with foil; butter foil and set aside.

2. In microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and 1 cup milk on high for 30 seconds; stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Chill 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating with remaining milk. Stir in extract and food coloring. Spread over chocolate layer.

4. Chill for 1 hour or until firm. Using foil, remove fudge from pan. Cut into 1 in. squares.

Yield: about 2 pounds