First, I use "good for almost everything pie dough" by Dorie Greenspan. If you've never heard of her, check out her blogs or one of her many cookbooks. I have Baking, from my home to yours.
For a single 9 inch pie crust
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbs sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbs) very cold or frozen unsalted butter,cut into tablespoon size pieces
2 1/2 Tbs very cold or frozen vegetable shortening, cut into tablespoon size pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a large food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter an shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don't overdo the mixing-shoot for pieces the size of peas. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 3 Tbs of the water. Then use a few long pulses to get the water incorporated. If after a dozen or so pulses, if the mixture doesn't look evenly moistened pour in 1 more Tbs of the water. You'll want the dough to hold together when pinched. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a work surface coated with flour.
Shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap well in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out. This dough can be refrigerated for 5 days or frozen for 2 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling out.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, turning the dough a 1/4 turn every roll so it rolls out evenly-ish into a circle shape. Roll the flattened dough onto the rolling pin and gently transfer and unroll onto your pie plate. Cut off excess dough being careful not to stretch it out because it will cause the dough to shrink when baked if it stretches. Put in freezer while oven preheats, or freeze for 30 minutes.
To partially bake the crust, preheat oven to 400. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil, fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. Bake 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and push down any bubbles with the back of a spoon. bake another 8 minutes (to fully bake for other recipes, bake 10-14 minutes until golden brown). Cool crust before filling.
Best Ever Pecan Pie
I got the basic recipe from Dorie Greenspan again, but made some tweaks of my own. I did not have the full 3/4 cup corn syrup her recipe called for, so I did 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup maple syrup. And just by accident because I was out of corn syrup, I happened on what makes this pie the best...subtlety of maple syrup. With the addition of some other nontraditional ingredients, I found my winner. The addition of these things takes it to that much more extraordinary because the pie is not overly sweet like regular pecan pie. You've got to try my variation if you love pecan pies.
1 partially baked pie crust from above
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs, room temp
3/4 tsp instant espresso powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (about 7 oz) pecan pieces
1/4 tsp cinnamon
In a large bowl, whisk the corn syrup, maple syrup and brown sugar together until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until you have a smooth mixture. Add the espresso powder, vanilla, salt, pecans, and cinnamon. Stir until combined and pecans are coated. Pour the filling into the crust.
Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425. Meanwhile, make a foil shield for the crust by cutting a 9-inch circle out of the center of an 11 or 12 inch square of foil. If you need a visual on making the shield, I found this here.
Lower the oven to 350. Place foil shield on top of the piecrust-filing will be exposed, with the crust covered by the foil. Bake the pie for another 15-20 minutes, or until it has puffed, beautifully browned and no longer jiggles when tapped. Transfer to cooling rack, remove shield and cool to room temp.
Ginger Spice Cookies
There are a few cookies I make every year around Christmas, and these are one of them. Perfectly crisp on the outside, wonderful chewy on the inside. Spicy, sweet and the next cookie you will bake ;-)
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
generous pinch cardamom (if you have it)1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening sticks
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup sugar for rolling
In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses, one thing at a time, until blended. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls (I use a cookie scoop). Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 8-9 minutes (do not overbake). Cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Makes 100-120 depending on your cookie ball size.
This dough will keep, covered in the fridge 5 days or can easily be frozen in an airtight ziplock. If taken from freezer and form balls while still frozen, bake an additional minute.
Vanilla Cream Berry Tart
Adapted, of course, from Dorie Greenspan, yet again. I do just love her stuff.
I made this for my MOPS meeting this month. Even though I didn't get to stay and eat it, I heard from all over town (HA!) how amazing it was. Very simple, very elegant, verrry berry good!
1 1/2 cups Vanilla Pastry Cream, recipe follows
1 9-inch almond shortbread crust, recipe follows
2 pints mixed berries: blueberries, raspberries and blackberries
1/3 cup red currant jelly mixed with 1 tsp water, for glazing
Vanilla Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk, don't substitute!
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch (I didn't have this, so I used flour instead and it worked just as well)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 Tbs unsalted butter, room temp, cut into chunks
Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch (or flour) until blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup hot milk. Then add about 1/2 cup hot milk while still whisking. Pour in the rest of the milk, all the while, still whisking. Put the saucepan over medium heat and whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil (making sure to get the edges of the pot). Once boiling, keep it boiling for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Whisk in the vanilla. Let sit 5 minutes, then whisk in the butter. Scrape into a bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap into the top of the cream and refrigerate until cold, about 1 1/2-2 hours.
Almond Shortbread Sweet Tart Dough
(from Baking From my Home to Yours)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground almonds*
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (4 1/2 ounces) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
Put the flour, almonds, confectioners' sugar and salt in the workbowl of a large food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely - you'll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that's just fine. Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each - until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, form clumps and curds.
Butter the 9 inch tart pan with removeable bottom and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be stingy - you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it. Also, don't be too heavy-handed - you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don't want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbreadish texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust. Bake the crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Bake for another 8 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan. *If you want to make a regular tart dough, omit almonds and increase flour from 1 1/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups.
FINALLY you can assemble the tart now. I made the tart dough and pastry cream the night before. I kept the crust covered on the counter and the pastry cream in the fridge.
Carefully remove the crust from your tart pan and place on a flat plate or pedastol. Give the pastry cream a couple of good stirs to smooth it out and spoon about 1 1/2 cups into the crust. Eat the remaining ;-)
Lay the berries on top. Heat the jelly in the microwave for 30 seconds with the water. Drizzle or use a pastry brush and gently brush over the berries.
You are ready to eat!
