a year of pie

Fruitcake Pie

December 12, 2014

There are 3 kinds of people in the world.

1. Those who love fruitcake.
2. Those who hate fruitcake.
3. Those who hate fruitcake but haven’t/won’t try it.

This recipe is for ALL you.

If you love fruitcake then I’m sure you’ll love this and if you don’t like fruitcake I bet you’ll love this too as pie is always awesome. And the booze.

People tend to hate on fruitcake since fruitcake can be dense and dry. But guess what? That is BAD fruitcake. Not all fruitcake is like a door stop. Good fruitcake will have you begging for more. I’m serious.

Every year Price’s dad sends us a fruitcake and it takes all my self control not to intercept it before he opens the package to eat it all myself and tell them it must have gotten lost in the mail. Now, that is good fruitcake!

Part of what makes fruitcake so good is its boozy goodness. So I used 2 different liquors in this pie. There is rum in the crust and brandy in the pie. Boom!

People will love this pie. The rich crust is a tender, flakey base for a custardy pie. The filling is custardy, and yet crunchy from the nuts. Every bite is jam packed full of brandy soaked fruit and crunchy pecans. It will be a great pie to serve this Christmas.

Fruitcake Pie

Makes a 9″ pie

Ingredients

For the Pie Crust (you only use 1/2 of the dough)

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 Tablespoons Rum, very cold
2 to 4 Tablespoons ice water

For the Pie Filling

3/4 Cup red candied cherries
1/4 Cup candied pineapple
/2 Cup chopped dates
1/4 Cup chopped candied lemon peel
1/2 Cup brandy
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup light corn syrup
1 Cup pecan halves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Process

To prepare the fruit mixture for the pie, chop the candied cherries and pineapple. Combine the cherries, pineapple, dates, and lemon peel in a small bowl. Add the Brandy and mix to coat. Let soak for 1 hour- 24 hours.
To make the crust, cut the butter and shortening into small pieces. Return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture.
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade and pulse a few times to mix.
Add the butter and shortening. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas and the mixture is crumbly While the machine is running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Dump out on a floured surface. Quickly kneed together, divide into equal sized balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While the pie crust is chilling, chop the pecans. In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, corn syrup, pecans, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg.
Preheat the oven to $350 degrees. Grease a 9″ pie plate.
Remove one of the dough balls from the refrigerator. Roll out on the floured surface again. Form a circular disk that is large enough to fit into the 9″ pie plate with some overhanging crust. While you are rolling it out, roll from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the surface.
Drain the soaking fruit. (You may save the the Brandy to reuse for another pie.)
Evenly sprinkle the fruit mixture over the crust. Pour the filling mixture over the fruit.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pie Filling Adapted from Taste of Home, Pie Crust adapted from Ina Garten

No-Bake Chocolate Candy Cane Pie

December 5, 2014

Although we are only a few episodes in, I am so hooked on the new show State of Affairs. Have you seen it?

I stayed up super late the other night trying to finish an episode. Well, I have a really bad cough now that rattles the whole house so I was also trying to let the Robotussin kick in and not wake up the baby. I just so happened to be glued to the TV while I hacked my head off. So bad that I had to keep rewinding what I had just seen so I could actually hear the actors. Classic.

Well, I love Kathrine Heigl in it. I’ve loved her since I first watched ‘My Father The Hero’. I loved her through all the Grey’s drama as well. I think Izzy was annoying but she played that well. (And I still cry when I watch the episodes when Denny and George die). Anyway, I love her as Charleston, a CIA anaylst who develops and reports to the president about national security threats every day, through the President’s Daily Brief. Of course there is your run of the mill national security drama, with a health dose of relationship and personal drama mixed in as well. Such a good mix of drama.

Anyway, I suggest that you should check out State of Affairs if you haven’t seen it. Just like you should try out this pie. Yum.

It’s the perfect wintery treat as it is packed full of candy cane goodness. Oh man, I love candy canes in the winter. Do you decorate your Christmas tree with candy canes? I used to when I was younger. Now I just eat them. I’d totally toss some on the tree but I’d be afraid the dog would knock the tree over trying to get one. Dumby.

The pie is super easy to make. Just some mixing and you’ll have it all together in a short while. The BIGGEST thing is to wait until the heated marshmallow and candy cane mixture is cool. like really really cool. I probably should have waited a few more minutes. It really seemed cool enough but things got a little melty when I folded in into the whipped cream. It worked out well but just be really, really sure that it is really, really cool.

Also, isn’t Charleston a kick ass name?

No-Bake Chocolate Candy Cane Pie

Makes 1 Deep Dish Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust

8 ounces chocolate cookies (I used a ‘dutch chocolate cookie’)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted plus a little extra for greasing the pie plate

For the Chocolate Layer

3 Tablespoons water
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the Peppermint layer

1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candy (I used 8 candy canes)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream

Process

Butter the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Set aside.
In a food processor, finely process the cookies until you produce a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingers, press this mixture into the pie plate and up the sides. Place in the fridge to harden.
To make the chocolate layer, bring 3 tablespoons water to a boil. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the water and chocolate chips, stirring constantly until all the chips are melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.
In a large, chilled mixing bowl, whip the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in the chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula. Spoon into the crust; chill.
To make the peppermint layer, break the candy into chunks. In a blender, pulse the candy until you have a fine powder. Combine the marshmallows, milk , and candy cane powder in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the marshmallows are melted. Cool to room temperature. (I suggest that you put the pot on a kitchen towel and into the fridge, stir every few minutes)
Whip the remaining cream to stiff peaks. Fold in the marshmallow mixture. Spoon onto the chocolate mixture. Chill or freeze for at least 4 hours.

Inspired by The Houston Chronicle

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

November 28, 2014

I feel that desserts get the short end of the stick at Thanksgiving. At least, they kinda get the cold shoulder from me.

…

Double Chocolate Pecan Pie

November 21, 2014

MAYDAY PEOPLE!!!

We are now less than a week from Thanksgiving. It’s the Super Bowl of food. I’m sure I could come up with something about how the QB is the turkey and the special teams is dessert, but that would be ridiculous as there are times when I barely understand football and, well, it’s just lame. Oh, look I did it… I’m lame.

I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving but I’m mainly looking to the time off of work. FOUR DAYS! And I just can’t wait to watch the parade followed up by the dog show.

Sure, the food is great but it’s a whole hell of a lot of work. The turkey isn’t that bad in terms of prep & active cooking time but it’s all the sides. And the sides are the best part. Spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole. Nothing is too difficult buy you just have to plan, prep, and cook according so that it’s all ready at the right time. TA-DA!!!

I feel that Thanksgiving is also about the appetizers. That might be my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I love snacking so I love snagging some Swedish meatballs, pepperoni, veggies and dip, and cheese and crackers. I love it so much that I’m barely hungry when it comes time for dinner. And forget about dessert. Stuffed.

So I’m enjoying my dessert early!

I totally enjoyed having a slice of this Double Chocolate Pecan Pie while staying up late to work on a deadline this week. It made staying up to work on it pretty enjoyable. Have a bite. Write some sheet notes. Have a bite. Tag elevations. And so on.

This pecan pie is for the chocolate lovers in your life. There are chocolate chips and chocolate liqueur in the pie. Unlike Bourbon Pecan Pie, you don’t really taste the booze. It doesn’t have that kick like the bourbon, just a nice smooth chocolate flavor.

I suggest that if you make the pie a day or so in advance that you put it back in the oven on a low temperature (200 degree or so) just to gently warm it up so that chocolate just gets ooey gooey again. Then you top it off with some whip cream. I added some of the chocolate liqueur to my whipping cream before I beat it. Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.

Pecan Pie is Prices favorite Thanksgiving food. I love the appetizers. What are you most looking forward to?

Double Chocolate Pecan Pie

Makes a 9″ Pie

Ingredients

1/2 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
3 large eggs
3/4 Ccup dark corn syrup
1/4 Cup chocolate liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces chopped pecans
3/4 Cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 purchased frozen deep-dish 9-inch pie crust, or a homemade crust
1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tablespoons chocolate liqueur

Process

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Beat thesugar and butter in medium bowl until smooth; beat in flour. Gradually beat in the eggs, corn syrup, then chocolate liqueur, and vanilla extract. Mix in chopped pecans and chocolate chips. Pour filling into crust.
Bake pie until filling is puffed around edges and just set in cente, about 45 minutes. Cover the pie crust edge if browning too quickly.
Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Beat the cream and chocoalte liqueur in a medium bowl until peaks form. Serve with the pecan pie.

Slightly adapted from Bon Appétit | December 1996

Bourbon Pecan Pie

November 14, 2014

Tuesday is Autumn’s first birthday. {Que freak out}

So we are hosting her farm themed party tomorrow.

There is a very good chance we are gonna have about 30 kids and adults in our tiny townhouse. So we have been cleaning and purging and busting our asses to get the house ready for everyone coming to celebrate. Its been a long 2+ weeks.

It’s fun and exciting and I love to chaos leading up to things like this. I have my lists on what needs to get done broken down in priority and time frame. Like washing the sofa cushions was done last night and the last bit of vacuuming is for Saturday morning. When it comes to food, Price made Rice Krispie Treats last night, I’m making 2 cakes tonight, and I’ll frost them Saturday morning after they have completely cooled. The slow cooker chili is also for Saturday morning. Easy peasy. I think.

Oh, there will be a point when I wish we just decided to do a pizza theme and ordered 8 pizzas and picked up a sheet cake but I live for this organized chaos.

I like to think of myself as a small scale Regina Charboneau, who I just read about this week in the New York Times. She hosts about 150 people for Thanksgiving so she preps weeks in advance and approaches it in a very organized fashion. I’m not to her level yet, hardly, but one day I’d love to be. Actually I don’t think I even really know 150 people. We’re having about half of that at our wedding.

Wait, what am I talking about…a birthday party, Thanksgiving, our wedding? I dunno. Let’s move on, shall we?

It’s Friday so it time for a pie! Since Thanksgiving is fast approaching, I made this Bourbon Pecan Pie so it could grace your table in about 2 weeks.

You know how is able to pull off all her massive Thanksgiving dinner flawlessly? She knows when to source out. She has family help pick up things along the way. And she buys pie crusts from a bakery in town.

With so much going on this week, I knew that I didn’t need to add ‘make pie crust’ so I followed the wise words of Mrs. Regina Charboneau and bought a prepared pie shell. Yes, making pie crust is easy but when your to do list has 30+ items on it you don’t need to add another thing.

Besides the pie is so rich that I don’t think most people would mind that you took that short cut. But, hey, if you have time then go for it.

All that matters is that you enjoy this Bourbon Pecan Pie. It’s a slam dunk if you like bourbon. If not, I dunno. Just go home. You’re not wanted here. ha!

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Makes a 9″ pie

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons butter
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup dark corn syrup
3 eggs, beaten
2 Cups pecans, chopped
3 Tablespoons Bourbon
1 9″ pie crust, homemade or store bought

Process

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and melted butter.
Add the corn syrup, eggs, pecans, and bourbon, and stir until all ingredients are combined.
Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie shell, and place on a heavy-duty rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until pie is set.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Slightly adapted from Paula Deen