Triple Layer Mud Pie

My third recipe from Gooseberry Patch’s  new cookbook Hometown Harvest.

If you are a chocolate lover like me, you will LOVE this easy pie.  I used sugar free products where I could and I purchased a Keebler chocolate crust.  I think it would be great on one of those purchased Oreo crusts, too.

I still take crappy pictures of pies ~ that hasn’t gotten any better 🙂

Triple Layer Mud Pie
Submitted by Beth Williamson, Wakefield, RI

3 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
9-inch chocolate pie cookie crust
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
2 cups milk
2 small pkgs instant chocolate pudding
8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed

In a bowl, stir together the melted chocolate and the 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk and pour into the crust. Sprinkle pecans over the top.

Combine milk and pudding mixes in a bowl and whisk together for 2 minutes. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the pudding over the pecans. Set aside.

Stir half of the Cool Whip into the remaining pudding and spread over the chocolate pudding in the crust. Top with the rest of the Cool Whip.

Cover and chill until serving time.

Makes 6 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Wild Blueberry Pie

PIE!! Pie is supposed to be this year’s cupcake and while I don’t know if that’s true, I do know I like pie better than cupcakes.  I found this recipe on Epicurious.  It’s really, really good.  Just make sure you have a deep dish pie pan and be sure to put a cookie sheet underneath to catch the drips.  I’m sure you can make this with regular blueberries, but the wild blueberries are perfect ~ they are tiny little blueberries.  I buy mine frozen in a huge bag at B.J.’s.

The reason you will *rarely* see a cut piece of pie picture on this blog is because I wreck pie when I cut it.  I make such a mess that I’m embarrassed to photograph it.  If I had my own cooking show, I would never make pie because then I would have to cut it.

Wild Blueberry Pie

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
6 cups fresh wild blueberries or 3 (10-ounce) packages frozen (not thawed) ~ I went with 6 cups frozen, unthawed, since mine came in a huge bag
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pastry for a double-crust pie
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces ~ I didn’t use
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water ~ I didn’t use

Preheat oven to 425°.

Whisk together brown sugar and tapioca and toss with blueberries and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Fit dough into pie plate for bottom crust.

Spoon filling with any juices into bottom shell, dot with butter, and cover with top crust. Trim top crust, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang of top crust under bottom pastry and press against rim of pie plate to reinforce edge, then crimp and brush with egg wash. Make sure the blueberry filling is completely encased in dough to avoid a blueberry mess.

Bake pie on a baking sheet in oven 30 minutes, then cover edge with a pie shield or foil to prevent over browning or burning.

Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes more. Mine took the whole 50 minutes.

Cool pie completely on a rack, about 4 hours (filling will be runny if pie is still warm).

Makes 8 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Peach Blueberry Crostata

We had friends stop by that we hadn’t seen in almost 30 years so I wanted to make some nibbles without making the lunch thing.  We had a great time and really picked up right where we left off 30 years ago.

I made this crostata (it makes 2) with some variation since I KNEW it would juice all over and make a mess.  It started out as a Cooking Light recipe but needed some help in the juice department.  It’s really very good and uses little sugar so the taste of the fruit really comes through.  Because of that, make sure you use fruit tha tis nice and ripe.

Peach Blueberry Crostatas

1 (15 oz) pkg refrigerated pie crusts, such as Pillsbury brand
6 cups peeled, sliced fresh peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten and mixed a a tsp or 2 of water
3 or so tbsps instant tapioca
Turbinado (sugar in the raw) or granulated sugar for sprinkling

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll one dough on top of the parchment. Brush the dough (this will be the inside) with the egg wash and sprinkle with some tapioca.

In a bowl, mix the peaches, blueberries, sugar, and 1-2 tbsps tapioca. If your fruit is very juicy, add the 2 tbsps. I ended up using 2 tbsps.

Arrange half of the fruit in the middle of the dough, leaving a 3 inch border all around the edge. Fold the edge toward the center, gently. Brush egg wash over the dough and then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.

Bake at 425º of 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350º and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the dough is browned.

Repeat this same procedure with the other dough. I baked both of mine at the same time.

Serve warm or at room temp.

Each crostata serves 4.

Happy Cooking!

Easy Strawberry Pie

Hooray!  I finally found a strawberry pie recipe that actually cuts into a pie shape instead of having pie soup on my plate.  Plus it has the added bonus of having jell-o in it and I LOVE jell-o, LOL!

You can make your own pie crust or buy a premade one ~ either way, this pie is nice and strawberry tasting!

Easy Strawberry Pie

1 (9 inch) baked and cooled pie crust
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 cup water
1 (3 ounce) pkg strawberry jell-o (I used sugar free)
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries, I just chunked mine up and kept the small ones whole

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir int he jell-o until it is dissolved. Refrigerate this mixture until slightly cooled ~ about 15 minutes.

Arrange berries in the pie crust and pour cooled jell-o over the them. Refrigerate until set.

Makes 8 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Apple Pie

Apple pie!  I love this recipe that I have using for many years.  It came from the Fannie Farmer Baking Book which I *think* is out of print now.  It’s not overly sweet like some apple pies.  I usually use Granny Smith apples but sometimes I mix the apples up and use a couple of different kinds in the same pie.  Try to use ones that hold their shape some or you will get an applesauce pie. I am pie dough challenged so I use the Pillsbury ones from the store.

Apple Pie

Crust:
Dough for a 2 crust pie, either homemade or store bought

Filling:
6 large apples, peeled and sliced
about 3/4 cup sugar, if your apples are very sweet you can cut down on the sugar amount
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsps flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter

Mix all filling ingredients, except butter, together in a large bowl. Place filling ingredients in bottom crust, dot with butter, put top crust on. Crimp the pie dough edges together. Cut a couple of slits in the top of the pie crust.

Sometimes, I brush half and half over the top crust and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at425º for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes.

Happy Cooking!

Lemon Meringue Pie

T.S. Hanna Update: I am heading out in a bit to take some pictures of the storm ~ I’ll post them later if any are good. If I can get my DH to drive me around, I’ll be even happier but I don’t think it’s going to happen. So far, so good ~ just some rain and wind so no biggie.

Lemon meringue pie is one of my very favorite pies. I know several people that won’t even attempt to make it because they think it’s too hard. It’s not. Remember, I rarely make anything that’s difficult, LOL!. I like this recipe because it doesn’t seem as sweet to me as some.

Lemon Meringue Pie

1/2 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts or make your own single pie crust

Lemon Meringue Pie Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks (save whites for meringue)
2 cups milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue:

6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons sugar

Bake single pie crust as directed on package.

To make lemon filling: Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a heavy non-aluminum saucepan.
Whisk together egg yolks, milk and lemon juice in a bowl; whisk into sugar mixture in pan over medium heat. Bring to boil, and boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter, lemon rind, and vanilla until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on filling.

Proceed directly to making meringue as it must be spread on hot pie filling.

To make meringue: Beat egg whites and vanilla at high speed with a mixer until they are foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time and beat 2 to 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Remove plastic wrap from pie and spread meringue evenly over warm filling, making sure to seal the edges with meringue.

Bake at 325º for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool pie completely on a wire rack.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Happy Cooking!

Upside-Down Blueberry Pie

This is one of my absolute favorite pies ~ I’m sure it’s the whipped cream filling that I love so much. It’s a summer pie so only use fresh blueberries. I also like it because it seems like it’s upside-down to me ~ the whipped cream in the filling and the blueberries as the topping…I always have to be different!

Fresh Blueberry Pie

1 pastry shells, baked
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
3 cups blueberries, fresh only
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Blend in water and 1 cup blueberries. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until very thick. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Cool slightly. Fold in remaining berries. Chill about 1 hour.

Beat heavy cream until thick, add powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread whipped cream over the bottom of baked pie shell. Top with blueberry filling.

Chill 1-2 hours before serving.

Serves 8

Happy Cooking!

Tyler G.’s Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

Tyler is my son’s friend who gives me some wonderful recipes ~ for which I am always grateful. This pie will make a peanut butter lover out of anyone who tries it. It’s a great choice for a hot day since it’s frozen. It’s also easy to make which is always a good thing in my book. I left it in the freezer and did not even let it thaw a little before cutting ~ it cut easily even frozen. Thanks, Tyler!

ETA ~ I forgot to add that I used light cream cheese and light Cool Whip.

Tyler G.’s Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 8 ounce whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed
1 chocolate graham cracker crust
1/4 cup finely chopped salted peanuts

Whip cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar and peanut butter. Slowly add milk, blending thoroughly into mixture. With a wooden spoon, fold in whipped topping and pour into graham cracker crust.

Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Freeze until firm. Store in the freezer.

Happy Cooking!

Blackberry~Raspberry Pie

This pie is so easy to make and since it uses frozen berries, it can be made all year long. I make it in the spring and summer before I can get fresh berries ~ just to whet my appetite for the fresh ones.

This pie is super juicy so make sure you put something in your oven under the pie plate to catch the juice or you will have a mess on your hands (don’t ask!).

Blackberry~Raspberry Pie

1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tbsps quick-cooking tapioca
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups frozen raspberries
2 cups frozen blackberries
2 tbsps butter
pastry for double crust pie

In a large bowl, combine sugar, tapioca, and cornstarch. Add berries and toss gently until coated. Let stand for 15-30 minutes or until fruit is partially thawed but still icy.

Transfer berry mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Place remaining pastry over filling. Trim and crimp as desired.

To prevent the over browning of the crust, cover edge of pie with foil.

Bake at 375º for 50 minutes. Remove foil from edges and bake for 20 to 25 more minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

There will be lots of juice in this pie.

Happy Cooking!

My Nana’s Rhubarb Cream Pie

My grandmother used to make terrific rhubarb pies and fabulous raspberry jam. I do not have the canning gene (although I try) but I make a mean pie. She had a BIG garden and grew her own rhubarb. I LOVE this pie ~ it’s sweet with a bit of sour thrown in and I love that combo. This is an old fashioned pie. I like to think that my Nana is looking down smiling at me when I make this. Someday, I might get my DH and kids to eat it, too. Make sure you cut off ALL leaves on the rhubarb stalk ~ they are not good to eat.

Nana’s Rhubarb Cream Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs, well-beaten
3 cups rhubarb, cut up

Blend sugar, flour, nutmeg and butter. Add eggs, beat smooth, pour over rhubarb in 9 inch pie shell (it doesn’t really pour but more like spreads). Top with strips of pastry. Bake 450º for 10 minutes then 350º for 30 minutes.

Raw Rhubarb:

Chopped Rhubarb in Crust:

“Cream” Part on Top of Chopped Rhubarb:

Unbaked Pie: