Perfect Pie Crust

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Perfect Pie Crust

Before I found this recipe, pie crust – and really pies in general, had been my nemesis. Jon prefers pie over cake. So I tried, God I tried. But I always had issues with the dough splitting and cracking, or not rolling out evenly. Not to mention my rolling skills weren’t the best to begin with. But I knew that pie crust was something that I had to get the hang of, so I soldiered on and finally came across this recipe from Annie.

Couldn’t be simpler! There’s no funny techniques or weird ingredients (I’m looking at you, vodka) to worry about. It’s made in the stand mixer, which is always a plus – the paddle attachment breaks up the butter pieces as a pastry cutter would do. A little chilling period in the refrigerator to firm it up before rolling out, and then voila – a pie crust that rolls out beautifully, and it still sturdy enough to work with to get in the pan and get your crimping done. Not to mention it’s always perfectly tender and flaky as well…everything that a pie crust should be!

I’ve used this recipe for pies that require a blind bake (for something like this Cherry Cheese Pie, where you need a baked pie shell, but the pie-filling doesn’t need to be cooked) or for something like Ricotta-Pineapple Pie, where the whole pie needs to go in the oven to bake. In either even, it always turns out beautifully. If you too have struggled with pie crusts in the past, give this recipe a try. It really was a lifesaver for me, and now I’m so proud of my many pie accomplishments in the kitchen!

Perfect Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into cubes
3 Tbsp. ice water

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly to blend. Add in the butter pieces and mix on medium-low speed to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the largest butter pieces are not much bigger than peas. Mix in the cold water on low speed just until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes . Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Use as directed in your desired pie recipe.

Source: adapted from William’s Sonoma via Annie’s Eats

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

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Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Happy Valentine’s Day! I know it’s kind of last minute, but I wanted to share these adorable whoopie pies with you guys today anyways. I made them yesterday to send in with Andrew for his class party today, and I was just smitten with the cuteness factor.

I was debating making a red velvet brownie of some sort, or these – but since I’d not made whoopie pies before, I went with them. The first batch I made using another recipe turned out…not so good. They spread way too much and were just kind of flat. But, I can always count on my buddy Annie to steer me in the right direction – because the recipe that I found on her site turned out absolutely perfect.

I remember my first taste of a whoopie pie was when my mom traveled up to Pennsylvania to purchase a draft horse to pull our wagon for hayrides at the farm she was managing – the people were so friendly, stuffing my pockets with whoopie pies. After one bite, I was instantly hooked. Nowadays, I usually stock up on them when we visit Annapolis on the weekends and stop by the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmer’s Market – it’s this really cool spot where Amish families gather on the weekends to sell their goods…everything from produce, to baked goods, to meats. It’s wonderful, and everything they offer is top-notch!

At any rate, I’m glad to be able to make these at home. And, I’m looking forward to trying different flavors in the future. I embellished them with some Valentine sprinkles to make them a little more festive, and I think they’re really the perfect treat to send in with the little ones. Compact, hand-held, and relatively clean. I hope they have as much fun enjoying them as I had making them. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, and a great weekend too!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 oz. red food coloring

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 375? F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, soft together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition just until incorporated. Repeat so that all the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients. Be careful not to overmix. Blend in the food coloring.

Using a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop, scoop batter onto the prepared baking sheets – leaving about 2 inches between each cake. Smooth out tops with a moistened finger. Bake about 8 minutes, or until the tops are set. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets at least 10 minutes, until they can be easily transferred to a cooling rack. Repeat with any remaining batter. Allow cookies to cool completely before proceeding.

To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip. Carefully pipe about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling onto one side of the whoopie pie. Top with the other half. Let pies sit for an hour before wrapping them individually with plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: adapted from Annie’s Eats

Frosted Raspberry Pie Bars

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Frosted Raspberry Pie Bars

I still haven’t been able to get over my berry craving, even though it’s currently February, and it’s costing me an arm and a leg. So when Lucky Leaf sent me a few cans of their pie filling, including raspberry, I thought that it would be a nice opportunity to feed my addiction without breaking the bank. So after browsing through some recipes, I decided on these delectable raspberry pie bars.

The dough is rolled out into a large rectangle, pie filling is spread on top, then more dough is placed in a lattice formation on top – then it’s all baked, chilled, and finally drizzled with a delicious cream cheese frosting before being cut into individual squares. I chose raspberry, but I think they’d be delicious with just about any variety of pie filling you’d want to use – I’m definitely looking forward to trying cherry and apple in the near future.

I was not having the best day when I made these…not feeling well in general, kids acting crazy, you know how those day go…so when I took the dough out of the refrigerator to take the chill off and roll it out, I let it sit on the counter a little too long. It softened quite a bit, and I had a little bit of a hard time rolling it out, and forming the lattice crust. So, make sure you act quickly when you go to put it together! Once in the oven, it baked up beautifully. The filling stayed in place, and the dough got nice and puffy – creating a gorgeous bar. I let them cool for about an hour before I drizzled them and cut, and enjoyed them after dinner for dessert. Everyone really loved them, and it was great to have all the delicious flavors of a pie in a bar form.

They’d be a perfect sweet treat for Valentine’s Day, either to share with your family – or that special someone in your life. And, it’s a break from all the chocolate that usually goes hand-in-hand with the holiday. We’ve also got something else pretty sweet for you guys – a set of these adorable Rachael Ray Bubble & Brown Individual Servers, and a Lucky Leaf gift pack to go along with them!

luckyleaf

They’re perfect for individual servings of cobbler, bread pudding, or even something like a creme brulee. To enter, just leave a comment telling us what your favorite berry is. I’d say mine is blackberries. Giveaway will run from today through February 14th (Valentine’s Day) at 11:59 PM. I’ll select a winner using the handy, dandy Random Number Generator and contact the winner.

Frosted Raspberry Pie Bars

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (21 oz) can raspberry pie filling

For the frosting:
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
2 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the eggs, milk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with egg mixture, beating well after each addition. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and grease with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

On a floured work surface, roll out one portion of dough into a 15-in. x 10-in. rectangle; carefully transfer to prepared baking pan. Spread evenly with raspberry filling, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge.

Roll out remaining dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into 1/2-in.-wide strips; make a lattice crust over filling.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over bars. Chill until set. Cut into bars.

Yields about 16 bars.

Source: adapted from Taste of Home, October/November 2002

Disclaimer: Lucky Leaf provided me with products to sample. As always, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Macadamia Key Lime Pie

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Macadamia Key Lime Pie

When I first saw this pie in a recent issue of “Taste of Home” I literally gasped. I bought all the ingredients the next time I went to the supermarket, and them promptly kept on putting it off – for one reason or another. I got around to making it this week, and let me just say that my waistline is wishing that I’d kept putting it off…because I found myself eating close to half of the damn thing by myself!

It’s a no-bake pie, which is always a winner this time of year. Although, I did end up toasting the pie crust for a few minutes – to bring out the rich flavor of the macadamia nuts in the crust. I loved the use of shortbread cookies instead of the traditional graham as well! The filling had plenty of pucker from the addition of fresh lime juice and zest, but was balanced out with a perfect sweet creaminess.

A simple garnish of fresh whipped cream, lime slices, and chopped macadamias makes this one gorgeous pie! Perfect for any summertime soiree, or to brighten a dark winter’s day alike. This one is definitely a keeper!

Macadamia Key Lime Pie

For the crust:
1 cup shortbread cookies, finely crushed
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted

For the filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 lime, zested
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
1 lime, halved and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl combine cookie crumbs, macadamia nuts and sugar. Mix in butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie plate using the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream cheese until smooth. With mixer on low, carefully pour in milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until mixture is combined and thickened. Transfer to crust. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

In a small bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form; spoon or pipe onto pie. Top with slices of lime and macadamia nuts.

Source: adapted from Taste of Home, June/July 2013