Keylime Pie Olson fam fav

 

Olson fam favorite.

I got this from my co worker Robyn when I worked at Apple Yard Art in college around the year 2001.

Still a fam favorite and I always buy the gram crust to save time.

Lime filling:

4 tsp. grated zest plus 1/2 cup strained juice from 3-4 l imes

4 large egg yolks

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Whipped Cream Topping

3/4 cream

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 lime sliced paper thin and dipped in sugar (optional)

1) For the filling:

Whisk zest, and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice, set aside at room temperature to thicken.

2) center rack, 325 middle rack adjust keylime pie

bake until center is set yet wiggly when jiggled 15-17

cool 4 hours or overnight

3) for whip cream up to 2 hours before serving

whip cream to soft peaks

add sugar 1 Tbsp at at time

continue to whip until stiff peaks

pipe or spread on top

Garnish with optional sliced lime slices in sugar

Chocolate Chess Pie or Hot Fudge Pie

 This was in a magazine (The Ultimate Guide to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas CELEBRATE pg. 20-21), that talked about Friendsgiving without a showstopping dessert.  Wow your besties with gratitude and exquisite deliciousness.  This one is chewy, but has that ooey gooey chocolately bites.  A new winner~

Chocolate Chess Pie

I like to make the night before.

Single Crust pie shell

Chess Pie Filling

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup evaporated milk

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 tsp. salt

1.5 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped

Chocolate Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate pieces / shavings

1). Pastry for single crust pie, 9'' pie plate

2). Pie filling- In a large bowl combine sugar and cocoa powder, Add evaporated milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir until just combined. 

 Pour mixture into pastry shell.

3) Bake until top is puffed and knife comes out clean, 50-55 min. (Pie won't appear set but will firm up during cooling.) Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill 2-24 hours.

Chocolate Whipped Cream:

in a chilled bowl (I don't have time for the chilled bowl haha), combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and vanilla.  Beat with a mixer on medium until soft peaks form, tips curl...

Before serving top pie with whipped cream, and chopped chocolate pieces/shavings.

Perfect Pie Crust from Jenn

 

This is my favorite pie crust from my Westminster college pal Jenn Rounds White.

I will forever remember her best wedding gift like a picnic basket, and the supplies, with the 

PERFECT PIE CRUST recipe that is my go to for a pie crust!

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 1/4 cups shortening

5 Tablespoons cold water

1 egg

Mix flour, shortening and salt with a pastry blender.  Mix water, vinegar and egg.  Stir into flour mixture.  Roll on floured surface, or parchment or a towel, 

however you like to roll out your pie crusts.

Makes crust for 2 small pies, or 1 large double crust and 1 shell.

For shell, bake at 425 until brown

I usually use them up in one sitting by making 2 pies, or a double crusted pie, and use my Williams Sonoma pie cutter shapes to decorate the top fancy.  You can also freeze one in a pie tin for later use.

Black Bottom Banana Cream pie

 

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

This is the best of both worlds chocolate custard, vanilla custard and bananas in a ginger crust topped with heavy cream! From A Bountiful Kitchen... Recipe here:

COURSE DESSERT

CUISINE AMERICAN

 PREP TIME 20 MINUTES

 COOK TIME 15 MINUTES

 CHILL TIME 6 HOURS

 TOTAL TIME 6 HOURS 35 MINUTES

 8

Ingredients

CRUST:

• 1 1/4 cups Ginger Snap crumbs about 25-30 cookies
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

FILLING AND TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate chopped
• 1-2 medium bananas sliced
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
• chocolate shavings for garnish

Instructions

CRUST:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate.

   Combine Ginger Snaps with sugar and salt. Pulse in a food processor until no chunks remain. Add melted butter and pulse a few more times. Press the crumbs evenly into the pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Let cool completely. Set aside.

CUSTARD:

1. In a medium size saucepan, combine: sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and 1/2 cup of milk and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the remaining 2 cups of milk.

2. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes, until the custard is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla until the butter is melted. Pour half of the vanilla custard into a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Whisk the chopped chocolate into the custard in the saucepan until melted. Let cool.

4. Once the custard is cooled, spread the chocolate custard evenly into the pie crust and top with the sliced bananas. Spread the vanilla custard over the bananas to cover completely. Refrigerate the pie for 6-8 hours or overnight.

GARNISH AND SERVE

1. Before serving, whip the cream with powdered sugar. Gently spread whipped cream on top of the pie. Use a grater or vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls or finely chop chocolate as a garnish

• Do not use a pie plate that is too deep, about  1 1/2 inch deep works best. 
• I use Trader Joe’s dark chocolate bars for the chocolate layer and also the chocolate  garnish. 
• For milk, I prefer whole or 2%. 
• Be patient when making the custard layer. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring or whisking constantly. The custard will thicken after it is cooked  and will also thicken a bit more after cooling. Lay a piece of Saran Wrap over the custard after cooling a bit to prevent a layer from forming on top of the custard. 
• It is extremely important to allow the crust and the custard to cool completely before assembly. Make sure to allow enough time for cooling and chilling the pie after assembled. 
• To make ahead, prepare the crust (up to 3 days)  early and the custard the day before serving. On day of serving,  or the night before, assemble the pie and chill for 6-8 hours. The crust can also be frozen for up to three months. 
  
  
  

Pecan Bars

From Liz Cowan dear friend Leslie Ison, a fantastic cook. These are so good!

Crust:

2 cups flour

1⁄2 cup sugar

1/8 t. salt

3⁄4 cup butter

Mix flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter. Press into a 9x13-

inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for exactly 15 minutes.

Filling:

1⁄2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

4 eggs

2 1⁄2 cups chopped pecans

1 t. vanilla

In a saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup until sugar is

dissolved. Whip eggs; add pecans and vanilla. Mix brown sugar and pecan

mixtures together. Pour over the crust. Bake at 350o for exactly 30 minutes. 

Cool completely before cutting into 1 1⁄2” x 3” bars. They could also be cut into 1-inch

bars and put in candy papers.

French Silk Pie

 

 Joanna Gaines' French Silk Pie from Magnolia Table Volume 2

I double or x 4 this recipe and always buy the chocolate premade pie crusts for ease... You can choose 9'' prepaked pie crust but I prefer choc. crust.

INGREDIENTS

⅔ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

⅓ cup (⅔ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

⅔ cup heavy cream

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust or tart shell

Whipped cream and shaved dark chocolate, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar and eggs until well blended. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly until the mixture reaches 160ºF and coats the back of a metal spoon (neat trick, you will see the consistency of this as you make more often) . Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for approximately 5 minutes.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3. In another large bowl, beat the cream on medium-high speed until it begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed, then gradually return to medium-high until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture.

4. Pour into the prebaked pie crust or tart shell. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

5. Garnish with whipped cream and shaved chocolate, if desired.

7. Store covered in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.  Ours is always eaten the day of so make more than you plan on...

Chocolate Mixed Nut Pie

Chocolate Mixed Nut Pie

From Better Homes and Gardens

Not really a pecan pie but mixed nuts and a kick of chocolate in every bite.

1 recipe pastry for single-crust pie

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 ¼ cups dry-roasted salted mixed nuts, coarsely chopped

3.3 oz. Dove dark chocolate bar, chopped

Vanilla ice cream or Cinnamon whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350º.   On a lightly floured surface, slightly flatten pastry. Roll into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim to 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate, fold pastry under even with rim, and crimp as desired.

In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter until combined. Stir in nuts and chocolate.

Carefully pour filling into pastry shell and carefully place in the middle of the oven. To prevent over- browning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 25 minutes; remove foil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until pie seems mostly set. Cool on a wire rack. Cover; chill within 2 hours. Serve with cinnamon ice cream or Cinnamon whipped cream.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream

In a chilled small bowl beat ½ cup heavy cream, 1 Tbsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. vanilla, and 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon with a mixer on medium until soft peaks form.

Streusel Topped Peach Pie - fall favorite

I got this recipe from Family Circle magazine 7.16.02 pg. 142-143 and have saved and loved every year since.  I love how easy it is turns out great and you can even mix your peaches with the spices and freeze in the freezer take out / un thaw and add a bit more cornstarch and have a yummy pie in the winter.

enjoy!

pies before i added the streusel topping...  Why not make two and make someone's day!

1 unbaked single crust pie shell (i have a good pie shell recipe if you want that - sometimes I buy in a hurry but homemade turns out nice too!)
3 TBS. finely chopped pecans
1.5 lbs. peaches about 9 medium
3 TBS. granulated sugar
3 TBS. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground allspice

Streusel
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 TBS. (3/4 stick) of butter cut into pieces at room temp.
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Whipped cream / ice cream for topping

1. Get crust ready in 9 inch pie plate.  Sprinkle chopped pecans over the crust.
2. Bring pot of water to boil, drop in peaches, boil about 2 min. until skins peel off easy, spoon into bowl of cold water.  Remove peach skins. Half peaches, make quarter wedges. [never have done this my peaches are so soft/ripe I usually just peel them quick...]
3.Place oven rack in lowest position (stays there whole time).  Heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a medium bowl toss peach slices, granulated sugar, cornstarch & allspice until well blended.  Spoon the peach mixture into the pie shell, spreading evenly, mount form.
5. Streusel, in a medium bowl mix together the flour, light brown sugar and cinnamon until well blended.  Work butter in with fingers  until medium crumbs form.  Lightly toss in pecans.  Sprinkle and mound over top of peach mixture.  
Bake on lowest rack on 400 degrees for 10 min. Reduce the oven temp. to 350 and bake for another 65 minutes or until the filling is bubbling around the edges and pie crust and streusel are brown.  Let cool  until you can comfortably hold bottom of pie plate, slice pie and serve with whipped topping/ice cream.

489 Cal/Serving - just the pie not including the awesome ice cream :)

Key Lime Pie

When a neighbor sent an email asking for my key lime pie recipe, I couldn't believe that I didn't have the recipe on the blog. So, here it is!

Key Lime Pie

Graham cracker crust:

Mix 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 3 T. sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press evenly into a pie tin with a spoon.

Filling:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

3 T. Key lime juice, Nellie and Joe’s (or more to taste)

2 – 3 cups Cool Whip

          Beat cream cheese; add sweetened condensed milk and Key lime juice. Fold in the Cool Whip. Place in graham crust. Chill well. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a quarter slice of lime.

I used to have Aunt Marci bring the Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice from Florida but now I can find it at Dan's next to the Real Lemon juice.

Blueberry Pie

Sweet, juicy berries baked in a flaky crust.  Delightful.

4 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 t. fresh lemon zest
2 T. fresh lemon juice

Pie dough

Preheat oven to 400º.  Roll out crust and fit into a pie plate.  Roll out the rest of the crust and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips with a pizza cutter or knife.

In a large bowl, toss the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Pour berry mixture into the pie shell.  Weave a lattice over the top with the pastry strips. Trim and crimp them to the bottom crust.  Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400º for 15 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 350º and continue to bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the berries are bubbly and the crust is golden.  Tent with foil if the crust is getting too brown. This pie is like apple pie, when the filling bubbles up and over (and makes a mess of the oven) then it is finished.  I like to put a baking tray on the rack below to catch drips.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Thanks, Heather, for another great recipe.


Just so you know:

Before it's rolled: DOUGH
After it's rolled: PASTRY
After it's baked: CRUST

Cherry Squares

I know I missed sending this post for President's Day but I will send it out anyway.  Grandma Nelson always made cherry squares on George Washington's birthday, which happened to be celebrated separately from Abraham Lincoln's birthday when I was growing up.  Cherry squares were always a favorite of Grandpa's.  I tried to make them on President's Day every year when my kids were growing up.  I have added the story of George Washington and the cherry tree at the bottom.  I think there are two lessons here: always tell the truth and give your children a warm and loving environment where they can feel comfortable telling the truth.

Here is the recipe (this is really just cherry pie with a twist and glaze!)

Cherry Squares

2 (21 oz.) cans cherry pie filling
Pastry
Glaze made with powdered sugar and water

Roll out your pastry to fit in the bottom and up the sides of an 8x10-inch baking dish.  Lay the pastry in the pan, making sure it extends up the sides.  Pour in the two cans of cherry pie filling **.  Roll out another crust the size of the baking dish.  Set the dish on the pastry and cut around it so that it just fits on top.  Cut slits in the top.  Lay over the cherries.  Press the bottom pastry edges down over the top crust.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden.  Drizzle with glaze.

**When I was growing up, Grandma would bottle her own pie cherries.  Talk about work.  We would sit out on the lawn, under the trees, with a bowl of tart cherries and squeeze the pits out and throw the cherries in another bowl.  Grandma would put them in bottles with sugar water and process them.  When she wanted to make cherry squares she would put a bottle full in a pan, add cornstarch and sugar and stir until it was thickened.  Then she would let them cool and make her cherry squares.  Besides the homemade being a heck of a lot of work, I like the flavor of the canned better!


The Story of the Cherry Tree

     When George was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was extremely fond. He went about chopping everything that came his way.

     One day, as he wandered about the garden amusing himself by hacking his mother's pea sticks, he found a beautiful, young English cherry tree, of which his father was most proud. He tried the edge of his hatchet on the trunk of the tree and barked it so that it died.

     Some time after this, his father discovered what had happened to his favorite tree. He came into the house in great anger, and demanded to know who the mischievous person was who had cut away the bark. Nobody could tell him anything about it.

     Just then George, with his little hatchet, came into the room.

"George,'' said his father, "do you know who has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? I would not have taken five guineas for it!''

     This was a hard question to answer, and for a moment George was staggered by it, but quickly recovering himself he cried:

     "I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.''  The anger died out of his father's face, and taking the boy tenderly in his arms, he said:

     "My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes - though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!''

When people ask me what my favorite pie is, I tell them apple.  It just is.  Maybe pecan is a close second and fresh strawberry, of course pumpkin, fresh peach, key lime, banana cream,.....

You get the idea!  I like most pies but apple is still my favorite and I especially like it for breakfast.  Warm. With cold milk.

Apple Pie

6 cups apples, peeled and sliced,

           I like Red Romes best

1 cup sugar

3 T. flour

1 t. cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

Butter or margarine

Pie crust for a two-crust pie

          Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the apple slices in a bowl and mix well. Place pie crust in pie pan. Place apples into shell. Tamp down slightly then dot with butter or margarine. Place top crust with slits on pie and seal the edge.

          Bake at 400º for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and apple juices bubble through the slits.  If the crust is brown enough but the pie still needs to bake longer, cover with foil.

          This apple pie cooks best in a glass or ceramic baking dish to keep the crust flaky. It is also a good idea to place a baking sheet under the pie in case the juices bubble over.  In the photo at left you can see how the juices cooked up and over the pastry.  That is a good sign that the juices have thickened.

            Red Romes seem to make the best apple pie.  They have a great flavor and perfect texture.  They are only in season from the end of October to mid February.  Granny Smith's work as well but they don't have quite the flavor or texture of Romes.  I have also tried braeburns and galas and they are fine but don't hold up as well during baking.

Traditional Pie Crust

 2 cups flour

1 t. salt

1 cup shortening

1/3 cup water

1 T. water

          Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender. Make a well in the center. First, add larger amount of water. Stir with fork until flour is absorbed and ball forms. Then add smaller amount of water, only as necessary to get a moist dough. Store in airtight container and refrigerate up to 10 days.

          Flour board and rolling pin well. Mold handful of dough into a ball. Flatten to a flat pancake. Roll out from the center to 1/8-inch thickness. Fold in half. Lift into pan. Open, press in, cut off excess and crimp edges.  Makes two single pie crusts.

          For baked shell, bake at 375 ˚ for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. For 2 crust pies, bake according to directions in recipe.

          One of the greatest things I have learned is to roll the crust out on a tea towel.  It keeps the cleanup at a minimum and just seems to work a whole lot better.