A Little Belated (ooops! (-; ) But No Less Tasty!
The holidays are a time for family and feasting and this year my contribution to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner was making dessert! I decided to be very traditional with my baking choices deciding on Apple Pie, Pecan Pie, and the classic Pumpkin Pie. As always, I followed the directions from my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook for my apple pie and pecan pie but turned to my favorite grocery store, Trader Joe’s, for the pumpkin pie recipe. Everything turned out impeccably, with only a few setbacks (ran out of shortening, struggles with crusts, and a minor car snafu). But it wouldn’t be the holidays without some drama, would it? :-D I’m just grateful to have inherited my Fannie Farmer cookbook and love of Trader Joe’s from my older sister, they are the best and make the best food!
The Yummiest Apple Pie
· Click here for the recipe from my previous Apple Pie blog post
Best-of-All Pecan Pie
· Basic Pastry dough (see Apple Pie post here)
· 3 eggs
· 1 cup dark corn syrup (I know, it’s the bane of our culinary existence, but it makes the pie soooooo fabulously gooey!)
· ½ cup dark-brown sugar
· 4 tablespoons butter, melted
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· 1 ¼ cups pecan halves or chopped pecans
· 1 cup heavy cream, chilled for whip cream topping
Preheat the over to 425° F. Line a pie pan with the rolled-out dough and set aside. Beat the eggs in a bowl with a fork or wire whisk until the yolks and whites are blended. Add the corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla, and blend well. Stir in the pecans, then pour the mixture into the pie shell. Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° F and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center quivers slightly. Don’t overbake! (**I love that this cookbook is soooo adamant!! :-D **) Let the pie cool a bit, and just before serving, whip the cream, then spread it over the pie or on the side.
Pumpkin Pie a la Trader Joe’s
· Basic Pastry dough (hahaha, again see my Apple Pie post!)
· 1 can Trader Joe’s Organic Pumpkin
· 1 cup heavy cream
· ½ cup whole milk
· 2 large eggs
· ¾ cup packed organic brown sugar
· 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend (get at Trader Joe’s, it smells heavenly!)
· ¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare pie crust. Mix together pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice blend, and salt, then pour into pie crust. Bake pie in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set but center still trembles slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer to rack and cool completely. To prevent overbaking, you should start checking pie doneness at 45 minutes, as ovens vary.
Eat up and enjoy! And for those of you who love to pamper themselves, the can of organic pumpkin serves double duty of delicious pie filling AND the luxurious seasonal favorite, pumpkin facial! Just smear it on your face, save yourself $150 and soften your skin at the same time! Do I here multi-tasking around the holidays? Getting work doen and making yourself pretty at the same time? Yes!!
(P.S. I am not an esthetician or dermatologist, so if you have any skin questions, please direct them to the proper licensed professionals. :-D)
My First Pie!
I love to cook and I don’t do it often enough! When I do though, I am constantly drawn to homey, happy comfort foods. What’s more comforting than homemade apple pie and whipped cream?? Yum!
Recently, we made the trip to Oak Glen. If you haven’t gone, it’s just two hours down the 10 freeway from Los Angeles nestled at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains. Go visit it right now as it’s apple season and every farm and ranch there is filled to the brim with apples, pumpkins, preserves, butters, jams, jellies, and every perfect country thing you could imagine. I’ll do an official Oak Glen post with tons of pictures soon! My point of bringing up the delightful Oak Glen is we brought home so many apples and cider, I had to do something with them! And what else is there but bake a pie?!?
I pulled out my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook for the classic 2-crust apple pie recipe. After many hours of peeling, coring, and slicing apples, and rolling out the two sides of pie crust (my oh my, is making a pie crust hard!!), my pie was ready to bake. Just 35 minutes later it was the perfect shade of golden and my apartment smelled heavenly. Since it was my first time baking a pie, it took me a lot longer than it normally would because I wanted to make sure everything was done just right. I made a pie the following weekend and it took half the time. It was even a bit of a workout which made eating the pie that much more fun! I’ve posted The Fannie Farmer Cookbook recipe below. A little secret I learned from the lady at Law’s Cider Mill and Ranch where we purchased our apple cider is when making an apple pie, after you’ve peeled and sliced your apples, put them in a microwave safe dish and pour about 1/4 cup of apple cider and microwave the apples and cider for about a minute. Trust me, it makes the pie magical!
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The Fannie Farmer Cookbook Apple Pie Recipe
- Basic Pastry dough for 9-inch two-crust pie**
- 3/4-1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, but use it! (-;)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (also optional, but I say use it! (-: and in fact with the cinnamon and nutmeg, I used a little more than the recipe said and it worked out very well!!)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 6-8 large, firm, tart apples (about 10 cups, or did what I did, after I cut up the apples, I put them in the empty pie dish to see if I had enough)
- 2 tablespoons butter
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a pie pan with half the pastry dough. Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a large bowl. Peel, core, and slice the apples and toss them in the sugar mixture, coating them well. (This is where I added the cider and microwaved the apples for a minute.) Pile the apples into the dough lined pan and dot with the butter. Roll out the top crust and drape it over the pie. Crimp the edges and cut several vents in the top. Bake 10 minutes, then lover the heat to 350°F and bake 30-40 minutes more or until the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer and the crust is browned.
**Basic Pastry Dough Recipe for a 9-inch Two-Crust Pie**
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 6-7 tablespoons cold water
Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives. Combine lightly only until the mixture resembles coarse meal or very tiny peas: its texture will not be uniform but will contain crumbs and small bits and pieces. Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently into a ball. Divide the dough into two balls. Roll the bottom crust out 2 inches larger than the pie pan. Ease it into the pan, fitting it loosely but firmly. Roll out the top crust. Fill the pie generously, then put on the top crust and prick in several places with a fork or cut vents. Or cover with lattice strips. Crimp or flute the edges. Bake as indicated in the recipe.
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I’ve found that when rolling out the dough, I need just a teensy bit more water and a dusting of flour on the board you’re working on and the rolling pin you’re using. Take your time with the dough because it can be tricky, but don’t handle it too much or the texture gets funny.
As far as topping goes, I forbid you from getting whipped cream in a can! It’s super easy to make yourself and takes less than 10 minutes. Grab a pint of heavy whipping cream from your local grocery store, my favorite to use is Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream, pour it into a bowl or the bowl of the mixer machine, add a dash of vanilla extract and a couple spoonfuls of sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon (if you like) and use a hand electric mixer or the mixer machine and whip it up until soft peaks form. If you whip it too long though it starts to resemble butter, so don’t do that. (-: Also, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on the side is such a tasty compliment to the sweetness of the apple pie.
Okay! Get baking! It’s fun!!
