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Written on November 5, 2009 by Kate

When it comes to left-overs there are three types of people, the “Don’t You Dare Throw That Away” type, the “Count Me Out” group, and my favorite type, the “Don’t You Dare Throw That Away…I Will Keep it in My Fridge For a Week and Then Throw it Out!” people. I think we’ve all had the experience of looking into the refrigerator of someone who fits into the latter category.

I’ve never been a left-over girl, but candy is a definite exception. One of the best ways to get rid of left-over Halloween candy is by baking with it. Cookies, brownies, cakes, pies… think outside of the recipe card! Last year my boy and I decided to make a candy bar coffee cake after Halloween. It turned out great – coffee cake and chocolate, what’s not to love? I have already pilfered my son’s candy bag. Is that morally wrong? I do feel a little guilty. I’ve eaten the Snicker’s bars (my greatest weakness), but have hidden the Butterfinger’s for a recipe I’ll share next week.

Here are some of my favorites sweets I’ve baked with candy (pictured above)

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Written on September 5, 2009 by Kate

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It’s Pie Time for the “You Want Pies With That?” baking group. This month’s theme, “Vacation Pies” was chosen by Jenn at Piccante Dolce. It’s the perfect theme to celebrate the end of our summer vacation. Next Tuesday it’s back to reality in our house. My son starts third grade – can’t believe it! I head back to work and once again try to figure out how to juggle being the chauffeur, short order cook, homework monitor – oh and somehow manage to fit in that full-time job at the school district, since that’s the job that pays the mortgage.

The beach is hands down my favorite vacation spot and was the inspiration for my pie this month. Hawaii, St. Lucia, Monterey… the geographical location really doesn’t matter. As long as I have a lounge chair, a bit of sunshine, and a romance novel, I’m in heaven. I’ve spent my life in Southern California at the beach, so you might think a vacation would actually mean going some place different. But me, do something different? Don’t bet on it!

I used my new mini cheesecake pan from Sur La Table to make these cinna-mini pies. I LOVE this pan! Bite-sized desserts are my favorite for their automatic portion control. These pies are filled with rich, creamy white chocolate cheesecake, surrounded by a graham cracker crust, and a cinnamon streusel topping. The crumbly topping helped me achieve the sand-like texture I was going for, and the taste was to die for! I garnished these little babies with chocolate swirled shells that were made with my chocolate seashell mold. I have to say I didn’t go into this one with total confidence. I wasn’t sure how the white chocolate/cinnamon streusel topping would taste. Fortunately, this one was a big success. Oh my gosh, these were good! At the point in which I realized these could not stay in my kitchen (too dangerous to keep around), I wrapped them up individually and brought them to work as little welcome back greetings for the people in my office. They turned out really cute and were a little morale booster for a workplace that desperately needs a bit of sunshine!

White Chocolate Streusel Tartlettes

Crust

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

2 ½ tbsp. butter, melted

2 tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use nonstick spray to lightly spray pan. Mix ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide mixture evenly into 12 mini cheesecake cups. Bake for 3-4 minutes and cool.

Cheesecake

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup sugar

2 oz. white chocolate baking bar

Blend ingredients until smooth. Fill cups evenly with cheese mixture. Bake 14-16 minutes.

Streusel Topping

2 Sticks cold salted butter

2 1/4 Cups flour

1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1 3/4 Cups brown sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla

While cheesecake layer is baking, prepare crumb topping. Use electric mixer to combine, butter, flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla until all crumbly. after cheesecake is removed from oven, break crumb topping into marble size pieces with fingers, divide among the 12 cups, sprinkling on top of cheesecake layer. Put back in oven and bake an additional 5-7 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Lightly loosen cheesecake tarts around the edges. Carefully remove cheesecakes. Garnish with a chocolate shell. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Written on August 6, 2009 by Kate

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It’s pie time for the “You Want Pies With That?” group. This month’s theme is “Nuts About Pie” selected by Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes . I knew if I was going to pull off a pie this month, the nuts needed a disguise. My son, the Picky One, would reject it before even trying it if he saw a nut. I can think of no better disguise for a nut than chocolate and ice cream.

Candy bars are one of my biggest weaknesses and I love to bake with them. The Take Five candy bar was my inspiration for the pie – sadly a lot of people don’t even know this one exists. It’s considered the “baby” of candy bars since it was born into the Hershey family in 2004. It combines five of the best ingredients - chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, pretzels, and peanuts. Whoever came up with this bar at Hershey is a genius. It’s the pretzel addition that gives it a little bit of salt to complement the sweet that earned this bar “genius” status - Yum!

Okay, so technically this is a few more than five steps, but I took the liberty to combine a few. This pie was pretty simple, but like most ice cream pies took awhile from beginning to end because each layer needed to be firm before adding the next. The pretzel crust, like the candy bar, added a nice salty element, but didn’t take over the pie. The carmel-peanut mixture in between the two ice cream layers gave it a tiny bit more crunch. I dipped the pretzels in chocolate and added sprinkles prior to starting the pie and had those harden in the fridge.

Guess what, the disguise worked! The circus-esque look of the top layer enticed my boy to dig right in! Hooray – I love outsmarting him! This is my favorite ice cream pie to date – Loved it!!! Be sure to check out all of the other nutty pies this month. I can’t wait to see what everyone created!

Pretzel Crust (allrecipes.com)

10 ounces pretzels

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crush pretzels in food processor. Add sugar and butter and mix well. Press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool.

Filling

4 c. (1/2 of a half gallon) of vanilla or chocolate ice cream

caramel sauce

1/4 cup chopped peanuts, lightly salted

4 c. (1/2 of a half gallon) vanilla ice cream + 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

hot fudge sauce

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Spread one pint of vanilla or chocolate ice cream on top of pretzel crust. Freeze until firm (about 1 hour). Spread a layer of caramel on top of ice cream layer and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Freeze until firm. Using a medium mixing bowl combine one pint of vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and mix until smooth. Spread onto caramel peanut layer. Refreeze until really firm. Spread a layer of hot fudge sauce and top with chocolate pretzels. It’s best to let it freeze solid over night, but give it at least a few hours.

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Written on July 6, 2009 by Kate

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It’s pie time for the “You Want Pies With That?” group. This month’s theme is “Summer Pies” selected by Mary at Alpineberry and Rebecca at Ezra Pound Cake. When I found out the theme, I started to think of all of my favorite summer treats and suddenly flashbacked to childhood to those mini sundaes that my sister and I used to beg for.

You know, the ones stacked in the long, plastic bags with the little wooden spoon underneath the lid, sitting on top of the chocolate or strawberry swirl. Shortly after the flashback, I became obsessed with finding them. I still have yet to find the ones that we used to get, but this one comes pretty close. Once I had taken the first bite and had that little wooden spoon in hand, I knew what I would create.

I’ve never made one of those swirly cheesecake pies, but always love the way they look. This pie doubled as one of our 4th of July desserts. Lord knows, at this point in summer the last thing I need is two pies tempting me. I made them in mini stars and winged it way more than usual. It started with the standard graham cracker crust recipe (which we’ve all probably memorized). The cheesecake recipe was the condensed milk and cream cheese filling. I’ve never made

a cheesecake this way. The filling was good, not the best I’ve had – maybe it’s because I was raised on my mom’s version. The second time around, I’ll try another cheesecake filling recipe. The highlight of the process was making the little marbelized swirls (It doesn’t take much to excite me these days!).

Does this compare to my memory of those strawberry sundaes I used to have on hot summer nights? Well…no, but isn’t that how memories usually are – just a tad embellished over time?

Need more summer pie ideas? Head over to “You Want Pies With That?” and see this month’s roundup.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Pie

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter or margarine until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7 minutes. Cool.

Cheesecake Filling (Adapted from Southern Food recipe) *

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk; beat until smooth. Add flour, eggs, and vanilla; beat until sell blended. Pour into prepared crust. Wrap the bottom of the springform pan in heavy duty foil; place the pan in a shallow baking pan, such as a jelly roll pan. Put the pans in the oven and add about 2 cups of hot water to the shallow baking pan, or to a depth of about 1/2-inch. Bake for 1 hour, or until lightly browned. The cheesecake will be just slightly jiggly in the center. Cool.

*Note- When using 6 small ramekins, I halved the recipe for the filling and it was plenty. I did not do the water/jelly roll pan method for these mini ones. I placed them on a baking sheet and cooked for about 20 minutes.

Strawberry Swirl

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 tbsp. sugar

Combine strawberries and sugar and puree in a food processor until smooth. Spoon dollops of strawberry sauce onto cooled cheesecake. Use a toothpick to create the swirls, but don’t over do it. Refrigerate for several hours before serving (up to 24 hours).

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Written on June 4, 2009 by Kate

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It’s pie time for the “You Want Pies With That?” group and this month’s theme is “Childhood Memory Pie”, selected by Emma at Kitty Mama in the Kitchen. But it’s not just “pie time”. It’s also ”days before summer vacation time”. Ten school days to be exact (not that anyone’s counting!) My son could probably tell you how many hours, minutes, and seconds until our break officially begins. His class refers to him as the “human calculator”, so I don’t put anything past him. I love summer vacation and since I became a teacher right out of college, I have never had to experience a year without my summer vacation. I think summer vacation should be a requirement for everyone!

Since I’m in summer mode, the first childhood memories that come to mind take me right to the beach – riding the bus to the beach, looking for cute boys, and working on my oh-so-important tan. My best girlfriend and I are still in shock that our moms actually allowed us to take the bus to the San Clemente Pier as pre-teens (What were they thinking?). That was around the same time when I thought Baby oil was good for my tan. Ironically, I’m now the mom rubbing in spf 50 on everyone (babies, children, adults – I don’t discriminate.). My girlfriends and I still log a ton of hours at the beach and have made so many great memories there with our own kids. Isn’t it awesome to see your kids enjoying the same things that you loved as a kid?

It’s an unwritten rule, you can’t stay at the beach after sunset unless you’ve brought your s’mores emergency kit. And you’re talking to the master s’mores maker. If you’re wondering, there is a proper technique to making the perfect s’more. It’s all in the marshmallow. It has to be just warm enough to melt the chocolate, but not too warm to burn your tongue. It should be gooey without being drippy, and the outside should be slightly tan and a tad crispy (not crunchy). Is it just me, or aren’t you pretty disgusted when you see someone completely char the heck out of a marshmallow, proceed to eat it, and then tell you that’s how they like it. Check out my mini-me s’mores master in training below. (We’ll have to show the “after” photo to your first boyfriend Miss Macy!)

BEFORE

AFTER

Yes, I’ve spent way too much time thinking about s’mores, which makes it no surprise that I set out to make the perfect s’mores pie this month. There are a lot of different recipes out there so I knew mine needed a little twist. What pairs well with chocolate and marshmallows…peanut butter and more chocolate! Reese’s Peanut Butter cups seemed like the perfect addition.

The pie starts with a graham cracker crust (an obvious choice) and is covered in a layer of fudge. Dryer’s peanut butter cup ice cream serves as the filling and it’s filled with chunk of Reese’s and chocolate and peanut butter swirls. Marshmallow creme and mini marshmallows are put on top to conceal all of these yummy ingredients. It wouldn’t be a s’mores pie without toasting the mini marshmallows (see above for how to toast the perfect marshmallow – kidding!). Finally. it’s topped off with half of a peanut butter cup. Oh my goodness, this was out of this world and better than my perfect s’more! Don’t forget to check out all of the memory pies this round.

Tip: You definitely want to do this the night before. I did mine the afternoon of and it’s better the day after. It also won’t melt as quickly when broiled for a few minutes, so it makes for a better presentation.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Pie

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 c. butter, melted

ice cream fudge topping

1/2 gallon Dryer’s Reese’s Peanut Butter ice cream, softened

1 jar Marshmallow Cream

Mini Marshmallows (enough to cover top of pie)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar; add butter and blend well. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a lightly greased 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack completely and freeze for 15 minutes.

2. Spread a layer of fudge sauce onto frozen crust and refreeze (about 30 minutes). Spread softened ice cream onto fudge layer and refreeze until firm. Spread a layer of marshmallow cream and sprinkle with mini marshmallows. Refreeze for about 4 hours. (Freezing overnight is best).

3. Prior to serving broil pie until mini marshmallows are lightly toasted. Watch closely. It will only take a minute or two and will burn quickly. Garnish each slice with 1/2 of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

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Written on May 7, 2009 by Kate

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“Where’s the lemon meringue pie?”. This question has been asked countless times over the years during family holidays when we sit down for a meal together. Well, it’s pie time! This month Natalie at Oven Love selected the theme “Family Pie” for the “You Want Pies With That?” baking group. The first thing that came to mind was that ever-so-sarcastic question, “Where’s the lemon meringue pie?”.

Since I was little, we’ve all come to expect this question from my dad when my mom serves up her feast. When it’s time for dessert, something amazing comes out of the oven and it’s never lemon pie. For the rest of the family, lemon pie is not at the top of our favorite pie list, and the truth is, I don’t think it is at the top of my dad’s either. You think after all of these years, my mom would try to throw us a curve ball and appear in the dining room with that infamous lemon meringue pie in hand, but she never does. I think she knows if she did, it would take away this tradition that we’ve come to expect. Since the tradition is really the asking of where the pie is, not the eating of the pie itself, I think it’s about time the man had his pie, don’t you? And since it’s not a major holiday, it won’t take away from tradition.

Well, guess who shared her recipe with me? My mom, of all people! It seems she had a lemon pie recipe up her sleeve and was withholding all of these years.

I decided to make a mini-me version of the pie he’s been pleading for. It’s all about portion control with summer around the corner. These premade tarts from Bristol Farms were perfect for this recipe.

This is not your typical lemon pie recipe. Hidden under the dollop of meringue is vanilla ice cream topped with a thin layer of lemon curd.

Once the meringue is ready, the fun begins. The next step is to take out the kitchen torch and fire those babies up for a few seconds. I’m not into fire by any means, but there’s just something great about having the torch in hand. Is anybody with me on this?

The final product is so refreshing, with just the perfect amount of tart and the perfect amount of sweet. Forgot portion control, it’s hard to limit yourself to just one or two. I love making appetizer desserts. The dieters who usually turn down dessert will eat them and not feel guilty. You can keep these in the freezer for a week and when friends stop by, take them out of the freezer and impress the group with your torch firing skills.

Okay dad, you want to know where the lemon pie is? Head over to my house and you better hurry. These little babies are disappearing fast! As for everyone else, go check out all of the other pies the group created this month.

Lemon Meruinge Tarts

2 BOXES MINI TART SHELLS (24 EACH)

I PINT VANILLA ICE CREAM (SOFTENED)

LEMON CURD

1 LARGE EGG

1 LARGE EGG YOLK

3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1/2 CUP SUGAR

JUICE OF ONE LEMON

ZEST OF ONE LEMON

MERINGUE

2 LARGE EGG WHITES, ROOM TEMPERATURE

PINCH OF CREAM OF TARTAR

3 TABLESPOONS SUGAR

LEMON CURD:

1. WHISK EGGS AND EGG YOLKS IN A MEDIUM BOWL.

2. MELT BUTTER IN A DOUBLE BOILER. WHISK IN SUGAR, LEMON JUICE AND ZEST.

3. GRADUALLY WHISK IN EGG MIXTURE. WHISK UNTIL THICK, ABOUT 8 MINUTES. TRANSFER TO A SMALL BOWL. PRESS PLASTIC WRAP ON TOP OF CURD; CHILL 2 HOURS. (CAN BE MADE 2 DAYS AHEAD.)

4. PLACE 1 TEASPOON OF SOFT ICE CREAM IN EACH TART SHELL.

5. SPREAD 1 TEASPOON OF LEMON CURD OVER ICE CREAM. COVER AND FREEZE FOR 2 HOURS.

MERINGUE:

1. BEAT EGG WHITES WITH ELECTRIC MIXER UNTIL FROTHY. BEAT IN CREAM OF TARTAR. GRADUALLY ADD SUGAR AND BEAT UNTIL STIFF PEAKS FORM.

2. SPREAD MERINGUE OVER PIE AND SEAL EDGES. (TARTS CAN BE MADE 1 DAY AHEAD OR CAN BE FROZEN.)

3. BEFORE SERVING TOAST MERINGUE WITH BUTANE TORCH UNTIL LIGHTLY BROWNED AND SERVE IMMEDIATEY.

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Written on April 29, 2009 by Lynda

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A few weeks ago, Kate posted her Whopper ice cream pie with a waffle cone crust. I have my own Whopper recipe that I made for dessert at Gourmet group. Hope you like it!

1 10-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies

1/3 cup walnuts

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick butter (8 Tbl.)

16 ounces milk chocolate (broken apart)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup malted milk powder (Ovaltine)

2 pounds (4 8-oounce packages) cream cheese (softened)

1 cup sugar

5 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups Whoppers (malted milk balls) ground

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot fudge

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Butter 10-inch round springform pan and wrap bottom with heavy duty aluminun foil to avoid leaks.

3. CRUST: Pulse cookies and walnuts in processor until fine. Add sugar and melted butter. Pulse a few times until mixture is blended. Press into bottom and partially up the sides of the springform pan. Chill

CHEESECAKE:

1. Place milk chocolate in top of a double boiler and melt, stirring often.

2. Bring cream to boil over medium heat in saucepan. Turn off heat and add malted milk powder. Whisk and let steep for for 10 minutes. Strain.

3. Place cream cheese in large bowl and beat until fluffy.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg.

5. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.

6. Add strained cream and melted chocolate. Blend throughly

7. Process 1 1/2 cups malted milk balls in processor until fine and add to batter.

8. Pour batter into spring-form pan and place in a shallow roasting pan. Pour boiling water halfway up the the spring-form pan and place into oven. Bake for 1 hour and 50 minutes until top is set, (It will move slightly). Remove pan from the oven and place on a rack to cool. Remove foil and cool completely. Remove from springform pan and place on plate. Cover with waxed paper and wrap with foil. Place in refrigerator. Can be stored up to 4 days or frozen.

9. To serve, heat hot fudge until it spreads easily. Spread over top of cheesecake and decorate with Whoppers. Variations: I have made this cheesecake with shortbread cookies and pecans add topped with chocolate curls or whipped cream and garnished with strawberries or raspberries.

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Written on April 7, 2009 by Kate

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It’s pie time for the “You Want Pies With That Group?”. Jacque from Daisy Lane Cakes and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen With Puppies picked “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” as this month’s theme. I thought this theme was going to be a piece of cake (I mean pie!). After all, I am a magazine junkie and have been known to stalk my mailman on Thursdays for the lastest installment of People magazine. Yes, sadly, I can tell you the latest celebrity to give birth (Trista on the Bachelorette) and I know that the latest celebrity trend is hideous jumpsuits (What is this about?).

However, when it came time to commit to a pie, I was stumped. While in deep thought, pondering pie possibilities, my son burst into the room to remind me that it was our favorite night of the week- American Idol night. My son counts the days until American Idol, while I count the days until I get to see Danny Gookey sing his heart out. Yes, I love that man. I have a huge crush on him (as I’m sure many women in America do.). But I’m sorry Danny, I’m still working on your pie. This pie goes to the one who has a love/hate relationship with the viewers…Mr. Simon Cowell.

Without question, the pie had to be a frozen because when this man doesn’t like a performance, he is downright cold. Once he told a singer,“If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning.” He told another contestant, “Shave off your beard and wear a dress. You would be a great female impersonator.” Every time he opens his mouth, the audience waits to hear his latest whopper of a critique – Aha, a Whopper Ice Cream Pie!

This malt shoppe pie starts with a crust made out of waffle cones. The crust is arguably the best part of the pie! A few years back, I saw this idea in Cooking Light and remembered how great it was. The ice cream is blended with malted milk powder. A layer of chocolate sauce with crushed Whoppers separates the ice cream flavors because if you’ve watched Simon long enough, you know that deep down there is a sweet side to him. This pie will not help you look like Jennifer Aniston in a bikini, but the calories are definitely worth it!

Be sure to check out all of the other pie entries this month at “You Want Pies With That?” . I can’t wait to see these rich and famous pies!

Whopper Candy Malt Shoppe Pie (Adapted from Cooking Light, 2005)

2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. butter, melted

8 waffle cones, crushed (this will vary based on size, but you need 2 cups crushed)

2 c. vanilla ice cream, softened

2 c. strawberry ice cream, softened

1/4 c. malted milk powder, divided

1 c. chocolate syrup

carmel sauce

1 box of Whoppers (1/4 c. crushed)

Combine the first three ingredients, stirring well. Firmly press mixture into the bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Freeze 30 minutes or until firm.

Place softened ice cream and 2 tablespoons milk powder in a medium bowl, beat with a mixer on medium until smooth. Spread mixture over crust. Freeze until firm.

Spread chocolate sauce over ice cream layer and sprinkle crushed Whoppers on top. Freeze until firm.

Place softened vanilla ice cream and remaining two tbsp. milk powder in a medium bowl, beat with a mixer on medium until smooth. Spread mixture over chocolate sauce layer. Press Whoppers onto the top of the pie. Freeze until firm (or overnight). Top with carmel sauce before serving.

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Category Archives: Pies