Baking a Pie.....or Five

When I decide to bake pies it always goes something like this:

Oh, we have a pumpkin left. I think I'll make a pie.

Hmm. Will one pie be enough? Better make two.

Dear me...just to be safe, I should make two recipes of dough.

oops......now instead of simply whipping up a couple of pies, I now have 5 crusts to fill.

Yes, that is exactly how it went one afternoon this week. I always overestimate, so ended up with many piepans, and without an exact idea of what to put in them. I only had enough pumpkin puree for two pies, so I finally decided to do one mock mincemeat (that was easy, as I had some mincemeat all ready that we had canned a couple of years ago...) and then (my favorite) custard pies. Yum!

 There is just something so fun about pie-making. I love to make them as pretty as possible, and experiment with decorating the tops in various ways. (And you must wear a checkered apron. That makes everything better.:)

Piecrust

(makes 2)

Mix-

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

Cut in 3/4 c. shortening

Add - 7-8 Tb. cold water

Mix until it just all comes together. Don't overwork.

Take half the dough and roll out thin with a rolling pin. Use a thin spatula to carefully raise the dough off the table and flip it over on to the pie-pan. Press gently down into the pan. Trim the edges with a butter knife and then crimp with your thumb and first two fingers. (at least that is what I do! :)

For the shortening, I prefer to use some type of oil. I've been using cottonseed oil, but this time we were out and I used a mild olive oil, and it was wonderful! Easiest, smoothest, stretchiest pie dough I've ever worked with. And since it was so mild, there wasn't a strong taste. So, I think I may be switching to olive oil permantenly...

Mock Mincemeat Pie

1 1/2 c. raisins

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled cored and sliced

1 Tb. orange zest

1/3 c. orange juice

1/2 c. apple cider

3/4 c. white sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

2 soda crackers, finely crushed

Preheat oven to 425. Stir the raisins, apples, orange zest, orange juice, and apple cider together in a pan. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are very soft, about 20 minutes. Stir in the sugar, spices, and crackers until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use, or pour into pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven, then reduce oven temp to 350 and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes more.

For mincemeat, I think you are really supposed to do a complete top crust, but...

I love using mini cookie cutters for pie tops!

The other day I made a blackberry pie and used a star shaped cookie cutter for the top - it looked quite patriotic and pretty.

This particular leaf shaped cutter came from the cute Fall Leaves set.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

I learned a valuable lesson while chopping up pumpkins. (after a cut and bleeding finger...)

 DON'T try to peel the pumpkin fresh. Instead, half, clean, and cube the pumpkin with the peel on, boil the cubes until soft, and after they are cooled and drained, THEN peel and puree them.

So. Much. Easier. (and safer) Wish I had been doing that all these years. Sometimes I feel really dumb. *ahem* Anyway. Now I know.

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree

3 eggs, beaten

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

1/2 t. ginger

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 t. vanilla

salt

1/3 c. milk

1/2 c. honey (or 3/4 c. sugar)

Mix all together and pour in uncooked pie shell. Bake at 350 until center is firm.

Coconut Custard Pie

4 eggs, beaten

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

3/4 c. shredded coconut

Mix and pour into uncooked crust. Bake at 350 until firm and and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

This particular coconut variation of custard, I just tried for the first time. It was excellent! The recipe came from a great little recipe book called 'The Lost Art of Pie Making".

 

It was a nice treat for the boys when they came home from work to see all the pretty pies just waiting for supper to be over! (but they didn't last long....)

What is your favorite type of pie? Any pie-making secrets you'd like to share?



French Bread Recipe

We usually buy French bread when we want to have it with an Italian dish, but last Saturday Mom suggested since we weren't going to be in town, that I found out how to make it so we could take some to a lasagna supper at a friend's house that night. I was very pleased with the recipe I found - super easy and fast! The bread only requires one 20-minute rising. The results were yummy! I have a feeling we won't be buying French bread again....

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon cornmeal

GLAZE:

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons sesame seeds + dried Italian herbs

Directions

1.In bowl mix warm/hot water, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add flour and knead.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Roll each portion into a 10-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal.

3.Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaves seam side down on prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes.

4.Whisk egg and water; brush over loaves. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Sprinkle with sesame seeds/herbs if desired. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

 

Modified from recipe found here.

- Lemon Scones -

I love bringing scones to a holiday gathering. They are always somehow impressive. 'Scones' just sound so very dignified and British.  "Yes, I just had tea and scones with Lady So-and-so..."

Anyway. This is my very favorite scone recipe. It came from the recipe section of Sense and Sensibility forums, from British costumier Suzi Clarke.

Later I'll be sharing a recipe for savory scones, but for now.....

Lemon-Poppyseed Scones

3 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 Tb. sugar

3 Tb. poppy seeds

1 Tb. baking powder

2 t. grated lemon rind

1 t. salt

10 Tb. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

2 Tb. fresh lemon juice

1/3 c. whole milk

Preheat oven to 375. Mix flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt. Add the pieces of butter and combine until mixture resembles coarse meal. I usually end up having to work the butter in with my hands.  

Whisk egg and lemon juice together and add to flour mixture. Mix until moist clumps form. Add milk and mix until dough just comes together, adding more milk if dough seems dry.

Using floured hands, gather part of the dough into a ball. Flatten into 8" round.

Have a small bowl of sugar and a small bowl of milk and a pastry brush handy.

Brush the round of dough lightly with milk...

...then sprinkle with sugar.

Cut into 8 wedges.

Transfer scones to a large baking sheet. Bake until scones are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean. Anywhere from 10-25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.

I've taken lemon scones everywhere, to many reenactments especially. They are so elegant, have such a nice texture, and aren't too sweet.

Also, lemon curd makes a great topping! I'll try to make some of that soon, so I can post a tutorial. 

How to make Crumpets

Crumpets are a delicious breakfast or tea-time treat. I first heard them mentioned while watching a British  movie - and I wondered 'What are crumpets??' So, I looked up a recipe and suddenly we had a new favorite! Basically crumpets are a small, round yeast pankcake that goes perfectly with butter and honey!

So - here's how to.....

Ingredients:

6 Tb dry yeast

3/4 c. warm water

3 t. sugar

1 c. warm milk

12 Tb butter melted, divided

3 eggs

3 c. flour

1 1/2 t. salt

In a mixing bowl, dissolve  yeast in warm water. Add sugar, let stand for 5 minutes. Add the milk, 3 Tb. butter and eggs, mix well. Add flour and salt, beat until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. (note - do not cover with a towel - the dough will stick to it like crazy! Plastic wrap would probably be better)

After it rises it will be very bubbly, runny and 'alive'. It's sort of creepy, actually.

Brush griddle and clean wide-mouth jar rings with butter. Place rings on griddle; heav over medium/low heat.  

Ladle bater into each ring. Leave some room for it to rise. cook until bubbles begin to pop and the tope appears dry. Remove rings, turn crumpets and cook until stides are golden brown.

Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack and toast before serving.

Inside they are very soft and porous, so they are best split open and topped with butter and honey or jelly!

Homemade Granola Bars

This is one recipe you simply must try. You can see the original recipe at the lovely Alisa Burke blog.

Here is the recipe with the changes I made:

2 c. seven grain mix (oats + other goodies, you could just use oats)

1 1/2 c. sliced almonds and walnuts

1/2 c. unsweetened dried coconut

Mix the above together and toast on a baking sheet at 350 for 5-10 minutes.

In a sauce pan stir together 1/3 c. butter, 2/3 c. honey, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 c. sugar, and 1/2 t. cinnamon. Let boil for about 30 seconds.

Apples that we dehydrated last summer were the only type of dried fruit I had on hand - so I added 2 cups of chopped dried apples. (tomorrow I"m going to try using chopped fresh apples...)

Mix liquid and apples with oat mixture. Spread out on a highly buttered baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes, until browned on top. Cut them into squares and get them out of the pan as soon as they have started to harden.

They were so good - we ate them for supper.

Yum!

Scottish Shortbread

On Friday afternoon I attended a tea-party at a friend's apartment. It was quite lovely to see old friends and to meet new ones. For my contribution to the dainty buffet I brought my special Scottish shortbread. Scottish because that is where shortbread was supposed to originate, Scottish because that is part of my ancestry (okay, yes from a couple of centuries back, but I still like to say it!) and Scottish because of the amazing thistle-motif shortbread stone ware pan.

This was one of my special Christmas presents from a few years ago. It was meant to go into my hope chest - but it was so cute, I just had to keep it out and use it!

It' a stone pan/cookie mold, quite small decorated with the national flower of Scotland.
It's from Brown Bag Cookie Art and they have so many other cute designs...

Just look at all the darling shortbread pans!

So here is a mini-tutorial on shortbread. It's such a good dessert to whip up when one doesn't have many fancy ingredients in the house.

Classic Shortbread

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

1/3 cup powdered sugar (unsifted)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour (unsifted)

Using the back of a large spoon, (I use a fork) cream the butter until it is light. Cream in the powered sugar, then the vanilla. Now work in the flour.

Knead the dough on an unfloured board until nice and smooth. Spray the shortbread pan very lightly with a non-stick vegetable oil spray. Put the ball of dough in the middle of the pan, and working out from the center, firmly press the dough into the pan.

Prick the entire surface with a fork, and bake the shortbread right in the pan at 325 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

Let the shortbread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you loosen the edges with a knife and flip the pan over onto a wood cutting board. If the shortbread does not come right out, hold the pan upside down over the cutting board and firmly tap one edge of the pan against the board. This should loosen the shortbread and it should drop out.

Cut the shortbread into serving pieces while it is still warm.
(Recipe found here)

Out pops the shortbread - perfectly decorated and lovely, then you already have the little lines molded in where you can cut them into perfect wedges. (I really like this as I always have a hard time cutting desserts into even shapes :^)

Do you have a favorite dessert recipe?

Strawberry Limeade Smoothie

One day last week it was 105. I really really wanted something cold and scrumptious. So - time to invent a new recipe!

Strawberry Limeade Smoothies

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen strawberries

1 can of frozen limeade concentrate

Milk

Place 6-7 strawberries in the blender. (if they are really hard frozen, you may need to cut them in half) Add two spoonfuls of frozen limeade. Blend until the berries are smooshed up and smooth. Now add a little or a lot of milk. (1/2 c. to 2 cups) Depends on if you want thicker ice cream texture, or thinner drinkable smoothie! (directions are for 1 large smoothie - unless you have a really large blender, you'll have to repeat for each person)

Really yummy. If I do say so myself.

I love strawberries - the limeade makes it sweetly tart, and the milk smooth and creamy. 

The perfect cool treat for a summer afternoon.

You could subsitute any type of frozen fruit with any type of juice concentrate that suited your fancy! 

Have fun and let me know if you try the recipe!  

Recipe: Coconut Macaroon Bars

Time for me to share my latest recipe discovery!

One afternoon last week I made this delectable dessert to take to a friend's house that evening. The recipe is from MyRecipes.com and is actually called Lemon-Scented Coconut Macaroon Bars. Except I prefer to leave off the 'lemon-scented' bit. Sounds too much like a candle.

I was a little afraid what with the delicate beating of the egg white topping, it would be difficult - but I was pleasantly surprised! If you can make brownies - or cornbread - this recipe will be a cinch.
The only change I made was to use unsweetened flaked coconut instead of sweetened. The bars were absolutely delicious - very light not overly sweet - but very flavorful. The lemon and coconut flavors are wonderful! Do be careful not to over-cook the crust - and have fun spreading the topping! I did! It was like playing with snow that doesn't melt. :^) Enjoy!

New Cook Books!

For Christmas I recieved a set of wonderful little books by Barbara Swell. I would highly recommend them to anyone who loves cooking, history, and all things old-timey! Besides being full of great recipes (many unchanged from the original recipes handed down from generation to generation), every page is gorgeously decorated with tintypes, CDVs, and black-and-white illustrations pulled from old fashioned books and ladies magazines. So it's great - I can look for a new recipe, and do costume research at the same time!
The author also includes various tidbits of old-time lore and Southern wisdom - and little true stories that often have me laughing out loud. Excellent for just a good read by the woodstove - and for a great recipe resource! Published by Native Ground.

My Favorite Recipe Source

I love to cook. I love to bake even more. Whenever I get the urge to stir up something delicious, I have a formidable pile of recipe-books, some new, some old, some homemade, to choose from. But - sometimes I want to find something new, so I can expand my culinary horizons and surprise the family with a sweet treat.
Several years ago, while searching for new recipes, I stumbled upon Joy of Baking. What a find! It has proven to be an invaluable source for recipes that are reliable, have excellent directions - and best of all scrumptious magazine-worthy pictures of the final product. (I love that. It's so hard to choose something new to make when you can't see what it looks like!) Anyway - I hope you enjoy the fresh recipes and inspirations as much as I do!