Snow Day Poker Pie

I made this tasty crustacean on one of our more recent snow days (probably about a month ago - shame shame negligent blogger). My husband was home from work to run interference with the children. The fact that we had some dudes coming over for poker that night added some extra motivation. It's always nice to have a few extra mouths to help eat a big pie. A pie is occasionally too much of an edible commitment when you only have two pie eaters in the house. I made the extra buttery crust again with this one - soooooooo good. And the topping came out crispity crunchety (that's a technical term). I also got to sit in for a few rounds of poker; my straight flush took a nice pot of money on one hand. Apple Crumb Pie - it's a win every time! Click here for the recipe. My substitutions are as follows: I used my own crust recipe (the one that involves an entire stick of butter); I used 3 T. of a mixture of fresh orange and lemon juice for the acid/liquid (frozen leftovers from the last one of these pies I made); I baked it for an hour and 10 minutes, because I used a large deep dish.

Current Pie Tally: 136

NFL Consolation Chocolate Pecan Pie

According to my husband, this pie was good because it was "all chocolaty and gooey." Amen. I made this one to eat while watching the Patriots lose the NFL Playoffs. Oh well, at least there was pie! The texture of this one was spot on - like chocolate caramel. Also, I used light brown sugar instead of dark and was a bit short on the nuts. I didn't have time to run out to the store to get more, so it used more like 1.5 cups of pecans instead of the full 2 cups. Maybe that allowed the caramel texture to really take center stage? Anywho, here is the link to the recipe.

Current Pie Tally: 135

Golden Slumbers Apple Crumb Pie

I am really hitting my stride with this pie. I try to use Goldrush, Gingergold, or Granny Smith apples (about 8-10). This particular pie got me through the week of sleep training that followed the ringing in of the New Year. If you are curious, yes, the first phase of sleep training seems to have worked. We are down to waking up once in the middle of the night now. I figure I'll tolerate another week or so of that and then we'll wean down to zero feedings in the night. Eek! I might need another pie for that. Recipe can be found here. My substitutions are as follows: I used my own crust recipe (the one that involves an entire stick of butter); I used 3 T. of a mixture of fresh orange and lemon juice for the acid/liquid; I think I baked it for an hour and 10 minutes, because I used a large deep dish; and I used dark brown sugar for the crumb topping, which I think made it pleasantly crustier (think creme brulee).

Current Pie Tally: 134

Christmas Pecan Pie

I had wanted to make an Apple Crumb Pie for Christmas, but time for that slipped away before I even realized it was gone. It has come to my attention that with two kids underfoot, a fruit pie is probably going to be a two-day endeavor for a while. Oh well. In the meantime, we'll eat Pecan Pie because it's fast, easy, and oh so sweet. I left the orange zest out of this one, because my mother doesn't care for it. I also used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar, thinking the difference would be unnoticeable. Surprise, it isn't. There is a definite molasses tang to the dark brown sugar, which also became apparent when I used it to make cinnamon buns for New Year's. Either is fine in the Pecan Pie, depending on whether you feel like you want a molasses bite or not. But definitely use the light brown sugar for the cinnamon buns. The dark brown tasted off in the cinnamon buns and caramelized all funny.

Current Pie Tally: 133

Tastes Like Christmas

This one was the sugar plum dancing in my head this holiday season. I made this for a rockin' Festivas party down the street a couple weeks ago. I needed something fast with easily obtainable ingredients and I wanted it to be downright festive. This one fit the bill. I lament that I could not find chocolate graham crackers for the crust though, so I used regular honey grahams (the crust from my Chocolate Pudding Pie). I also felt there should have been more crushed candy canes on top. And now for my slam-dunk recipe:

Peppermint Bark Pie (makes one deep dish 10" pie)

ingredients:
cooked graham cracker crust
1/3 c. white sugar
1/4 c. arrowroot starch
3.5 c. half n' half
4 large egg yolks
1 bag of white chocolate chips
2 T. unsalted butter
1 t. vanilla extract
whipped cream (1 c. whipping cream + 2 T. powdered sugar)
1 c. mini semisweet chocolate chips
2 candy canes, crushed in the food processor

Whisk sugar and starch in a pan. Whisk in 1 c. of half n' half. Whisk in remaining 2.5 c. half n' half and egg yolks. Whisk over med-hi heat until thickens and boils (about 8 min). Remove from heat. Add chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Whisk to blend and pour into prepared crust. Put plastic wrap on top and chill for about 6 hours. Beat whipped cream and spread on top of pie. Sprinkle liberally with mini chocolate chips and crushed candy cane bits. Serve.

Current Pie Tally: 132

A Four-Pie Party

First off, my apologies for the crappy photo. There were 60 people in my house and I downed a couple mugs of hot mulled wine just before taking it. So, yeah, I made four pies for a huge Austrian Christmas Market Party at my house. There was one Pecan Pie, two Vinegar Chess Pies, and one Chocolate Pudding Pie (omit the coffee ingredients). The second Vinegar Chess Pie was barely cut into, so I probably could have gotten away with just three pies in all, but I am not complaining about the leftovers. I wish I could have made an Cranberry Apple Pie instead of one of the Vinegar Chess ones, but I just didn't have the time or gumption. I'm still relatively impressed that I made 24 lbs. of gulasch and the four pies. The Chocolate Pudding Pie was the most popular I'd say, but the Vinegar Chess provided more conversation points. The questions on my mind now are, "Will I make another pie for my husband's lab party (also at our house!) this coming weekend?" and "What pie should I make for Christmas?" I've also got visions of a new concoction with a chocolate graham cracker crust, white chocolate pudding filling, and a whipped cream topping sprinkled with smashed up candy cane bits and mini dark chocolate chips. I don't know if I could successfully wing how much sugar to put into the white chocolate pudding though. Hmmm...maybe I could look that up.

Current Pie Tally: 131

Thanksgiving Apple Crumb Pie

Since I just made a bunch of pumpkin pie, I was craving a fruit pie. It's also come to my attention that most of the fruit pies are a lot more work, what with all the peeling and slicing and whatnot. So they are fast becoming more of a holiday or special occasion pie. Reading between the lines, that means my husband is around to watch the kids while I spend half the day baking. This pie is also a testament to how I am becoming less of a pie purist in my old age. I served vanilla ice cream alongside it and savored every bite! Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble! Recipe, with my substitutions, can be found here. I think I used a mixture of fresh-squeezed lemon and orange juices in this one.

Current Pie Tally: 127