Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie

Makes 1 pie.

This pie received rave reviews at Christmas dinner, so it looks like I'll be making it again and again in the future.  I adapted the crust largely from the original recipe, and that is one of the things people commented on most.  It's a primitive crust, simply pressed into the pie plate, but thick and delicious, similar to shortbread.  And even if you're tentative about sweet potatoes, you may be surprised to find you really enjoy this pie.
Adapted from: The Wall Street Journal

Crust:
2-1/4 c. flour
3/4 t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter

Filling:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 t. water
1/2 c. granulated sugar
6 T. butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1/4 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ginger
2/3 c. whole milk

Topping:
Whipped cream

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan.  Add sugar and stir until dissolved; remove from heat.  Stir in flour and salt until a dough forms.  Press into an ungreased pie plate.  Bake for 15 minutes, just to set the crust a bit.

Make filling:
Prick potatoes with a fork and sprinkle each with a teaspoon of water.  Wrap potatoes in aluminum foil. Place in oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour.  Remove and let cool.  Peel and puree in a food processor until smooth.  Set aside 1-1/2 cups puree for the filling.  You will not need the rest, although I use the rest since there was only about 1/4 cup leftover.

Decrease oven temperature to 300 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk the potato puree, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger until smooth.  Add milk and stir to combine.  Place mixture in baked pie shell.  Bake for 60 minutes total.  After 30 minutes, rotate pie and increase temperature to 375 degrees.  Let cool completely.  Serve topped with whipped cream.

Caramel Apple Streusel Pie

Caramel Apple Streusel Pie

Makes 1 pie; Serves 8-10

Probably the best apple pie I've ever made.  Will make again and again.
Sources:
Pie crust: Mimo
Filling adapted from Nutmeg Nanny 
Streusel from Indulge
Caramel addition inspired by Chocolate Covered Everything

Mimo's Pie Crust:
1 stick butter
2 T. sugar
1 cup flour


Filling:
6 cups apple chunks (I used 6 granny smith apples here)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice


Caramel Sauce:
4 T. butter
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. heavy cream
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. caramel ice cream topping


Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon superfine sugar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For pie crust:
Heat butter in a saucepan until melted.  Add sugar and mix until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.
Stir in flour until fully combined.  Pat into pie pan.  

For filling:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Core, peel, and slice apples. Transfer into large bowl with dry ingredients. Top off with vanilla and lemon juice. Toss to coat apples well. Set aside while you prepare caramel sauce.

For caramel sauce, start by melting your 4 Tbls of Butter in a large saucepan.  Then add in the 3 Tbls of brown Sugar, Heavy Cream, and Vanilla and cook for 3 minutes over medium low heat constantly stirring.  Add in 1/2 cup of Caramel ice cream topping or sauce into your homemade sauce and stir to combine. 

To this delicious caramel sauce, add in your apple mixture and stir to combine.  Pour apple filling into pie crust.

For streusel topping:
Combine the flour, superfine sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir the melted butter and vanilla together in another small bowl. Gradually stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture, just until evenly moistened (you may not need all of the butter). Squeeze the mixture in your hands until thoroughly combined. Crumble the mixture in the bowl to make fine crumbs with some small lumps.

Top pie with streusel topping.  Cover loosely with foil.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and continue baking for an additional 35 minutes.  Cool and enjoy.

Mimo's Pie Crust

Mimo's Pie Crust

Makes 1 crust

This pie crust is perfect for sweet pies that only need a bottom crust.  It almost takes like a shortbread crust.  I haven't perfected it as a rolled crust, and maybe Mimo never intended it to be.  Regardless of it's unique form, it's a crust that I love to use for my dessert pies -- it's delicious, simple, and reminds me of Mimo.
Source: My grandmother, who we lovingly called Mimo

1 stick butter
2 T. sugar
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat butter in a saucepan until melted.  Add sugar and mix until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.

Stir in flour until fully combined.  Pat into pie pan. 

If you will be using the crust for a no-bake pie such as coconut cream or lemon meringue (well, yes, it IS baked for a few minutes to brown the meringue...) bake for 15 minutes to set.

Rhubarb Cherry Pie

Rhubarb Cherry Pie

Serves 8.

Requested by my father-in-law, this was my first attempt at rhubarb.  He was pleased with the results so I'd say it was a success.  As you'll notice on the AllRecipes website, it got rave reviews there too.
Crust source: Mimo
Filling slightly adapted from: AllRecipes

Filling:
3 c. chopped rhubarb
1 (21-oz.) can cherry pie filling
1 c. sugar
3 t. quick-cooking tapioca

Pie Crust:
1-1/2 sticks butter
1-1/2 c. flour
3 T. sugar

Make pie crust by melting butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and stir in flour.  Stir until completely combined.  Transfer pie crust dough to pie dish and press into bottom and up sides.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine pie filling, rhubarb, sugar, and tapioca in a bowl.  Let sit for 15 minutes. Pour filling into unbaked pie shell.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.

A Note From The Little Lady: Keep an eye on your pie while it's baking. If the crust browns early, cover it loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time to avoid burning.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Chocolate Chip Pie

Serves 8.

Mmm... yum. It's like eating a huge, soft chocolate chip cookie topped with light and fluffy homemade whipped cream. Actually, that's exactly what it is!

Source: The Dean Bros. cookbook

Pie:
1-2/3 c. all purpose flour
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 t. vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Whipped Cream:
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
1/8 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" pie plate; set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, and mix until fully combined. Fold in the 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips. Transfer the dough to the prepared pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake about 27-30 minutes or until the pie is golden an slightly firm to the touch but still soft. If the pie begins to darken too much before it is baked through, cover with foil and continue baking. Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack.

While the pie cools, whip the cream until soft peaks form (tips curl). Add the powdered sugar and whip until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate whipped cream until ready to serve pie. Spread the whipped cream over the pie and serve.

Strawberry Pie

Strawberry Pie

Serves 8.

Before she went to her eternal home, my wonderful and beautiful grandmother, Mimo, gave me some of her cookbooks. All of them I treasure because of who they came from, but a few of them I treasure even more because of their age and appearance. I found this recipe in a compilation cookbook published in 1948 in the same area my great-great-grandfather, Mimo's dad, built the summer cottage at Atwood Lake we continue to use and cherish today.
Slightly adapted from: Out of Tuscarawas County Kitchens cookbook

Crust recipe: Mimo

Crust:

1-1/2 sticks butter

1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

3 T. sugar

Filling:

1 qt. fresh strawberries (I used 1-1/2 quarts)
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1 T. butter

Topping:

1 c. whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make pie crust by melting butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in flour until well combined. Press into a pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Cut 1/2 of strawberries in 1/2" pieces. Cut the remainer in half only. In a medium saucepan, cook diced strawberries with sugar, cornstarch, and butter over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add remaining halved strawberries to saucepan and stir to combine.

Pour strawberry mixture into baked pie crust. Chill for at least 6 hours, or until set. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream upon serving.

A Note From The Little Lady: The pie crust is Mimo's recipe and, in my opinion, really makes this pie. It's not hard and you'll get rave reviews, so don't skimp and use a store-bought crust!

Raspberry-Nectarine Pie

Raspberry-Nectarine Pie

Serves 8.

Summer is only here for one more week. Take advantage of what's left by making this pie.

Crust recipe source: My grandmother, Mimo

Pie recipe source: Cooking Pleasures magazine, August/September 2005

Crust:

2 sticks butter

4 T. sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 c. sugar

3 T. quick-cooking tapioca

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. ground cardamom

5 large firm, but ripe nectarines, sliced (about 7 cups)

1 pint (2 cups) raspberries

1 T. lemon juice

Place oven rack on lowest level; place baking sheet on rack. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Meanwhile, make pie crust by melting butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in flour. Divide into two sections, one for top crust and one for bottom. From one crust into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

Press the other crust evenly into a pie plate, pushing up the sides of the plate.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 c. sugar, tapioca, nutmeg, and cardamom. Add nectarines, raspberries, and lemon juice; stir gently to combine. Spoon filling into pie crust. Refrigerate while rolling out lattice.

On a lightly floured surface, roll remaining dough into a 12-inch round. Cut into 5 (1-1/4") strips. Place 3 strips lengthwise over pie; trim edges. Fold edge of crust over edges of strips. Brush dough with milk; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar.

Place pie on baking sheet; bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. If crust is brown, cover with foil, leaving center open for steam. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake an additional 15 minutes, or until juices are bubbly and crust is a rich golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Serves well with ice cream or whipped cream.