Strawberry Pie

A friend gave us 2 pints of very fresh strawberries last week.  I knew they wouldn't last long, so the best thing to do was to cook them into something quickly.  I immediately decided I wanted to make a strawberry pie.  I researched several options, finding that some strawberry pies are raw and some are baked.  I knew I wanted to bake the pie, or the strawberries wouldn't last long enough.  Here is my adaptation of several different recipes.

The crust : 1 stick of butter (1/2 c), 1 1/2 c flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 3+ tbsp cold water.  Cut the butter into the flour and salt until mixture is crumbly.  Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time, mix until dough forms a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for an hour.  Then divide the dough into 2/3 and 1/3.  Roll out the 2/3 portion and place in a pie plate. Roll out the 1/3 portion and cut into strips.

The strawberries : Wash and hull the strawberries.  Separate the mushier ones from the firmer ones. Slice the firmer strawberries, mash the mushier ones.  I ended up with about 1/2-1 cup of mashed strawberries.  I added those plus 1/2 cup fresh blueberries to a small saucepan along with the juice of 1/4 lime, 1/4 c sugar (much less than online recipes call for), 1/2 c water, and 2 tbsp corn starch.  Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens.  Place sliced strawberries in pie plate on top of the crust.  Pour over the cooked strawberry mixture.  Place strips of top crust over the pie in a lattice pattern.  (I was in a hurry and feeling lazy so mine is not a real lattice...just strips laid in one direction, and then on top of those I laid the strips in the other direction instead of weaving them.

Bake at 425 for 35 minutes, or until crust just starts to brown.

Lazy lattice crust because I care way more about taste then presentation...

I have no pictures of the finished pie...I was too busy eating it.  It was delicious!  We ate it for breakfast all weekend.  I also had some for an evening dessert with chocolate ice cream...so good!

Foodie Friday

Several times over the last few months, I have considered making some kind of a fruit pie.  And then not done it, because the last time I tried to make a crust it didn't work and I and I had to throw it out.  And making crust is time-consuming and messy and I just haven't had all that much time or patience to make one!  But this week, I decided that I was going to actually make a pie with some nectarines I had.  And since there weren't quite enough nectarines to fill a pie, I decided that I would add blueberries.  And then I wanted to add some kind of herb because I finally have a place to plant herbs in the ground and I love it!  (My rosemary and mint plants are doing fantastically, the basil is struggling...but I managed to pull just enough leaves off of my basil plant to throw in the pie).

I searched around Google for a bit and settled on this recipe/directions from Savory Simple to use as my base.  

The crust

2 cups white flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

scant 1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz cold unsalted butter

~1/2 c cold water

The filling

5 nectarines

2 large handfuls of blueberries

~1 tbsp chopped basil leaves 

(I used cinnamon basil because that was the only basil plants Lowes had when I went to buy my garden herbs!)

scant 1/4 c white sugar

scant 1/4 c brown sugar

~2 tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

3 tbsp corn starch

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes then lower to 375 and cook for 35 minutes.  

(My crust came out slightly burned, so 25-30 minutes probably would have been sufficient.)

I used my pastry cutter and a knife to make the pie dough.  I skipped painting the top crust with milk/sugar.  I did make a lattice crust for the first time!  I was in a hurry to get the pie in the oven before friends came over for dinner, so it was slightly sloppy...but I've always said taste is more important than looks!  And the pie was definitely a big hit!  

There was a giant flour explosion all over the counter by the time I was done rolling out the pie dough...but I managed to keep the mess confined to the counter, so clean up wasn't tooooo bad.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

1 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c whole wheat flour

2.5 c white flour

2 tsp cinnamon

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add vanilla and egg, mix well.  Add baking powder and whole wheat flour, mix well.  Add the cinnamon and the rest of the flour a little bit at a time.  Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick.  (No chilling necessary) Cut out the cookies and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Dip some of the cookies in dark chocolate, if desired.

Chocolate-Covered Espresso Bean Cookies

1/2 stick butter

1/4 c vegetable oil

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c white sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1+ c white flour

1/3 c chocolate covered espresso beans

Beat butter, oil, and sugars together in a stand mixer.  Add the egg, salt, soda, and vanilla, mix well.  Incorporate the whole wheat flour, then the white flour.  Crush the espresso beans, then mix them in. 

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

Awhile ago, I came across a recipe on Some The Wiser for Basil Brownies that sounded delicious.  I was going to make them, but then I ended up making Cinnamon Brownies instead. Today, I finally got around to making some Basil Brownies!  In the process, I compared 3 different brownie recipes : 2 of mine, and 1 from Some the Wiser.  Then, I created my own. (The new creation is in red pen).  Pumpkin was a necessary ingredient, because I just opened the first can of pumpkin this season...it's time to start putting pumpkin in everything!

Pumpkin-Basil Brownies

3.5 oz 85% cocoa chocolate bar

13 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/3 c pumpkin

pinch of sea salt

scant tsp vanilla

2 eggs

scant 1 1/2 c white sugar

1 1/4 c white flour

3/4 c fresh basil 

1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Break the chocolate bar into pieces, put into a microwave-safe bowl with the butter, and microwave 2-3 minutes until mostly melted.  Stir until melted completely.  Add the cocoa powder, pumpkin, salt, and vanilla, mix well.  Incorporate the eggs.  Mix in the sugar, then the flour.  Put the basil in a food processor and chop finely, then add to the batter.   Add the chocolate chips.  Grease a 9x9 pan, then pour in the batter.  Bake for 30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.  

Cinnamon Brownies

Cinnamon Brownies with Coffee Ice Cream

Cinnamon Brownies

(preheat oven to 350)

1/4 c butter, melted

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c white sugar

1/3 c cocoa powder

1/2 c flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c cashews, crushed

pour the batter into a 9x9 pan

bake for 20-25 minutes

Mini Peach-Ginger Pies

Disclaimer : If you have a sweet tooth, this is probably not going to satisfy you.  

If you are like me and prefer your desserts to be less sweet, you might love it. 

preheat the oven to 350

The Crust

1/4 c butter

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2+ c white flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp cold water

The Filling

2 peaches, peeled & chopped

1 inch ginger root, grated

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/8 c flour

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tbsp mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp butter

I rolled the pie dough out and then used the mouth of a large plastic cup to cut out circles, which I then placed in 6 cups of a muffin tin, with some dough left over for the pie tops.  I mixed all of the filling ingredients together and then spooned them into the little pie shells.  I used the extra pie dough to put Xs on top of the pies.  

Bake for 20-30 minutes. 

I almost threw out the peach skins, but then I decided that instead of letting them go completely to waste, I could make a nice, refreshing, cocktail out of them.  

Peach-Skin Cocktail

skins from 2 peaches

2-3 sections of grapefruit

2 sprigs of basil

Jameson

Club Soda

muddle together the skins, grapefruit, and basil

add Jameson and Club Soda

add ice

stir well

Loaded S'more Dip

I had all the ingredients for s'mores...but no fire to roast marshmallows over.  I don't really like marshmallows, and so the thought of eating a s'more made in the microwave was ridiculously unappealing.  I thought about trying to toast the marshmallows in my toaster oven, but that sounded potentially very messy.  So the ingredients just sat for awhile.  

Then I came across this recipe for S'more Crack Dip

Problem Solved. 

Loaded S'more Dip

5 oz large marshmallows

5.8 oz dark chocolate 

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp heavy cream

1 tsp cinnamon

1 large spoonful of crunchy peanut butter

As usual, all amounts are approximate due to my inability to measure things.

The chocolate is exact...it was 4 bars of Hershey's Special Dark, 1.45 oz each.

Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat and stir til melty and delicious.

Dip graham cracker pieces into the molten goodness and eat up.  

Try not to burn yourself...

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Mint Icing

The Cupcakes

2 1/8 c flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 c Guinness

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

Put cupcake wrappers into the cupcake pan, pour the batter into each cup about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

The Icing

Big handful of mint leaves

c 1/2 c plain yogurt

confectioners sugar

c 1/4 c heavy cream

Put the mint in a food process and chop well.  Add the yogurt, mix it up.  Add confectioner's sugar to taste.  If your icing is too thin, add heavy cream and whisk until it thickens.

The inspiration behind using mint for the icing today:

This plant is taking over my windowsill.  And I thought I'd have trouble keeping it alive...I do wish it would put more effort into growing big leaves and less effort into growing long stems...I found a stem that was about 3 ft long the other day.  I keep breaking off the really long ones but it doesn't seem to deter the plant from continuing to reach out.

Chocolate Guinness Cake with Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Icing

For the last...too many years to count, I was able to honestly say that I did not have a sweet tooth.  I'm starting to think that I can no longer say that.  I used to be addicted to salty snacks, like Triscuits. (I think I was eating 2+ boxes a week for awhile) But then one day I discovered that the excessive salt in my diet was causing painful leg cramps when I ran.  So I weaned myself off of salty snacks.  Actually, I think I quit cold-turkey.  Ever since, I have used less and less salt in my food.  Now, I think the only time I use salt while cooking is when I salt the pasta water.

For awhile after quitting the salty snacks, I just didn't snack.  But recently, I have started craving snacks again.  And this time I'm craving cookies and cake.  It's such a weird feeling, after all the years where I could look at a cookie or piece of cake and be genuinely disinterested.  I still don't have a huge love of sugar, and won't eat things that are too sweet.  But I love to have some cookies or a piece of not overly-sweetened cake in the evening.  The Chocolate Cake I made a few weeks ago was probably one of my all-time favorite desserts that I have made.  Last night, as I ate my last 2 delectable Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies, I realized that I would have to make another batch of cookies today.  But then today came, and I decided I wanted to make another chocolate cake.  The fact that there is no milk in my fridge wasn't a problem...I wanted to use Guinness this time. I also had some little 50mL bottles of Bailey's that someone gave me, so I threw one of those in too.

The Cake

2 1/8 c flour

2 c sugar

3/4 c cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 c Guinness

50mL Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur 

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla

grease and flour 2 8.5 inch round cake pans

bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so

let cool in pans for a little while, then transfer to wire racks

when the cakes are cool, spread icing on top of one cake, place the other cake on top, and then cover with remaining icing

The Icing

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 c pumpkin

1+ c confectioner's sugar

I used a fork to mix the icing.  It came out with cream cheese lumps, which are rather unsightly, but don't bother me.  If you want a smoother icing I suggest you use an electric mixer.

Photo Evidence

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

The Cream Cheese Cookies I made on Sunday were so delicious, I just had to whip up another batch!  This time, I added some cocoa powder...can't ever have too much chocolate!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

4 tbsp butter

2 oz cream cheese

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1+ tsp ginger powder

3/4 tsp vanilla

2+ tsp cocoa powder

1 egg

1/2 c wheat flour

1 c flour

handful of craisins

handful of mini chocolate chips

bake @ 375 for 10-12 minutes

These cookies hold their shape very well while baking.  The tops may look slightly under-done when you take them out, but they will firm up the rest of the way while cooling on a wire rack.  You don't want to over-bake the cookies, or the bottoms will burn.

I received a bottle of Smooth Ambler Old Scout Rye Whiskey for my birthday.  Cracked open that bottle this evening and tried it with the cookies.  Perfect match.