Raspberry Pie

 

I love berries of any kind…especially when they’re encased in pie crust and topped with vanilla ice cream. Right now fresh raspberries are in season…and they’re not too expensive. So it’s a great time of the year to make a raspberry pie. Here’s my recipe. And by the way, frozen raspberries work well too.  

RASPBERRY PIE

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie
6 cups fresh raspberries or 5 cups frozen, unsweetened raspberries, thawed slightly
1 cup granulated sugar (preferably ultra-fine or Baker’s Sugar)
1/3 cup (heaping!) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 T. butter, cut into small pieces

Line pie pan with half of the pastry. In a mixing bowl, combine the berries, sugar, flour and lemon juice. Spoon into bottom crust. Top with butter pieces (trying for an even coverage). Moisten edge of crust with water, and place top crust on top. Crimp edges to make crust. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake in 375 degree oven for 50 minutes to an hour. If crust starts browning, put aluminum foil or a pie shield on top of crust. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool on rack 1-2 hours before cutting and serving. Tastes especially good topped with vanilla ice cream.

Happy baking!

~Becky

 

Kahlua Cream Cheese Pie

We had friends over this past Saturday night for dinner and I made a chocolate Kahlua cream cheese pie for dessert. It’s one of my favorite pies to serve to company. You want to make your guests happy….and who doesn’t love chocolate?!!!

If you have leftovers, you can freeze this pie and thaw it to eat more later. It freezes really well! I freeze the leftovers so we don’t eat all the leftovers in one weekend. Of course, I have discovered that frozen Kahlua cream cheese pie tastes good too….

KAHLUA CREAM CHEESE PIE

Crust:

2 ½  cups chocolate wafer sandwich cookie crumbs
3 T. granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture into a deep dish 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 T. unsalted butter
1/4 cup Kahlua
12 oz. (1 ½ pkgs) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream

For filling, melt butter and chocolate chips in double broiler or in small saucepan over very low heat. Stir in Kahlua and heat about a minute more, until mixture is totally melted and blended together. Set aside and let cool slightly. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and salt together until fluffy and there are no cream cheese lumps. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream, and beat just until blended. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake in a 325°F oven for 30 minutes—until center is poofy and no longer jiggly. Remove from oven and cool at room temperature. Then refrigerate several hours, or overnight.

Topping:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extra
Optional: 1 pkt. Dr. Oatker’s “Whip It” (“Sahnesteif”) whipped cream stabilizer

Up until one day before serving, whip cream with vanilla and powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Mix in the whipped cream stabilizer, if desired (This is very helpful if you are piping your whipped cream and doing it more than a few hours in advance, because the stabilizer will allow your whipped cream to keep its shape for several days). Pipe or spread whipped cream on pie. Garnish with chocolate-covered espresso beans, or chocolate leaves, curls and/or sprinkles.

Enjoy!

 

Fresh Fig Pie

Figs are in season here in north Texas, and our fig tree is loaded. My husband brought in a bowl  of figs yesterday afternoon. Now I am not crazy about living in this Texas heat …but I will admit it’s kind of neat to go outside and pick figs for a fig pie.

I “tweaked” several recipes for fig pie and came up with the one below. We had it for dinner last night. My sons’ 17-year-old friend was over and he raved about the fig pie. He said it’s the best pie he’s ever had over here. That’s really something, since I’ve probably served him hundreds of kinds of pies over the years. He did add that he liked it because it tastes healthy. (This young man is really into athletics and staying in shape. Evidently he feels guilty eating most of the desserts I serve him, but not this one!)

If any of you reading this post make the recipe, please make a comment and let me  know what you think too!

FRESH FIG PIE

Pastry for a double-crust pie

1/2 to ¾ cup granulated sugar (to taste)
3 T flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups very coarsely chopped fresh ripe figs (I didn’t have to chop, because my figs were so ripe. All I had to do was break them apart with my fingers.)
1 T lemon juice
2 T cold butter, cut into small cubes

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, chopped figs and lemon juice. Pile the filling in a deep 9-inch pie pan. Dot with butter. Moisten the edges and add top crust and seal. Crimp the edges decoratively, and cut several steam vents. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the fruit filling is bubbly. When done, transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Key Lime Pie

 

There’s something about a super-hot, nearly 100-degree day like we’re having right now in northern Texas that makes a cool, refrigerator pie taste  especially good. One of my top choices on a hot summer day is Key lime pie.

I’ve tried a lot of different recipes for Key lime pie over the years. Finally I came up with my own. The recipe is below. It’s my favorite recipe for Key lime pie. It tastes best with actual Key limes, but if you can’t find Key limes at the supermarket, regular limes also work. I bet you will like this pie as much as my family and I do!

 

KEY LIME PIE

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture into a deep dish 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling:

6 large egg yolks
2 tsp. grated key lime zest
1 cup fresh lime juice (from about 25 to 30 Key limes)
2 (14-oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
Whipped cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. With a hand mixer (ideally with a whisk attachment), beat the egg yolks until thick and pale yellow in color, about 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in zest, lime juice and sweetened condensed milk, beating just until blended. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or just until the filling is set. Remove the pie from the oven. Once cooled to room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap. Garnish with freshly whipped cream.

To whip cream, beat together one pint of whipped cream, 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla until stiff peaks form.

Enjoy!!!

 

PEANUT BUTTER CUP PIE

One of my favorite candies is a peanut butter cup. And as I mentioned in my last post, I LOVE pie. Wouldn’t it be great to put the two together? You can in this pie.  It’s one of my favorites to make.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP PIE

Crust:

1 ½  cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup light brown sugar.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture into a deep dish 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling:

2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups frozen whipped topping (or 1 ½ cups heavy cream that has been whipped until stiff)

1 ½ cups mini peanut butter cups

! cup Reese’s Peanut Butter chips

Beat cream cheese and peanut butter together until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, mixing until blended. Fold in whipped topping.  Measure out 1 cup’s worth of mini peanut butter cups and cut each cup into fourths. Then stir these into the peanut butter filling.  Spoon filling into crust.  Chill for several hours or until firm.

Melt Reese’s Peanut Butter chips in microwave or over double boiler.  Put into decorating bag and pipe over the pie, or just drizzle with a spoon. Garnish with remaining ½ cup of peanut butter cups (you may halve them first).

This pie can be made up to two days before serving. Enjoy!

Strawberry Cheescake Pie

I love pie, and I also love cheesecake. Sometimes it’s fun to put the two together. The recipe is below is for Strawberry cheesecake pie. It has a graham cracker crust and a creamy, cheesecake filling. It is topped with fresh strawberries (you can use other fresh fruit instead, if you like) that have been dipped in glaze. I like to garnish it with whipped cream. This pie tastes scrumptious…and looks impressive too. Still, it’s fairly easy to prepare. You can make it up to a day in advance of serving.

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE PIE

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup light brown sugar.

Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture into a deep dish 9-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling:

2-8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. pure almond extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together in a medium bowl until the lumps are gone and the mixture is slightly fluffy. Add extracts and eggs and beat until smooth.  Slowly stir in cream. Continue beating just until the cream is blended in. Pour into prepared crust.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden and center is poofy and no longer jiggly. When done, remove from oven and cool on rack at room temperature for about an hour. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Once chilled, garnish cheesecake with fresh strawberries. If desired, you can dip halved strawberries in a prepared strawberry glaze (such as Marie’s, which can be found in the produce section of the supermarket) or in melted and cooled courant jelly.

You may also want to whip up a pint of heavy whipping cream (add about ¼ to 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, depending on taste, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract) and decoratively pipe that around the berries. If you are doing this the day or evening before serving, it’s best to add a package of Dr. Oetker’s “Whip It” (whipped cream stabilizer) to the whipped cream to prevent the piped border from losing its shape.

Enjoy!

Michigan Cherry Pie

I am a native Michigander. My home state typically produces 90 percent of tart cherries in the country. Growing up, practically every home in our neighborhood at least one sour cherry tree in their backyard. I remember the cherry picking—and pitting—we all did every July growing up. There was always a lot of cherries to retrieve…before the starlings got them. But afterwards, my mom baked the yummiest cherry pies you could ever imagine.

My family and I live in the north Texas area now, and fresh sour cherries are hard to come by…if not impossible to find. Still, I’ve adapted my mom’s cherry pie recipe by using canned sour cherries. It’s still a super scrumptious dessert, especially fresh out of the oven and topped with vanilla ice cream. Here’s the recipe:

Michigan Cherry Pie

Pastry for double-crust pie

2 16-ounce cans pitted tart red cherries (water pack)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup reserved liquid from canned cherries

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

¼ tsp. almond extract

1/8 teaspoon liquid red food coloring (optional)

2 tablespoons lightly salted butter

Drain the cherries; reserve ½ cup liquid. In a large bowl, sift together the sugar and flour. Add the drained cherries, reserved cherry liquid, almond extract and food coloring (if desired). Let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare and roll out the crust. Divide into two equal portions. Line a 9-inch pie plate with half of the dough. Trim the overhang to ½  inch. Roll out the second dough ball to a circle about 10-11 inches in diameter. Cut into ½ to ¾ inch strips. Place about 6 to 7 strips, evenly spaced, on top of crust. You should have about half of your strips left. One by one, weave these over and under the lengthwise strips that are already on top of the filling. Then moisten your fingertips with warm water and carefully seal the edges of the crust. Trim the overhang of the top strips to ½ inch. Flute the edges of the crust.

Put aluminum foil strips on the crust or use a pie shield. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Remove covering from the crust edges. Bake pie for an additional 20-30 minutes until crust is lightly golden and filling is bubbly. Cool at least an hour before serving.

Delicious served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Pie

Lets make a chocolate cream pie! I just finished it, and the recipe is below. It’s been a family favorite for a long time!


Chocolate Cream Pie

1 prebaked 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
3 T. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, beaten with 1/8 cup powdered sugar and ½ tsp. vanilla
Chocolate curls or sprinkles for garnish


Grate the chocolate and put into medium sized saucepan. Add the granulated sugar, flour, salt and milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir a small amount of the hot pudding into the egg yolks. Return the egg yolk mixture to the rest of the mixture in the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla and butter. Turn the filling into the baked pie shell. Put some plastic wrap over pudding to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate for a couple hours. When thoroughly cool, garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls or sprinkles. Enjoy!