Category: Desserts

Blueberry Crumble Pie

Blueberries, Desserts

Bon Appetit, July, 2011

Crust:

  • 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for surface
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling and topping:

  • 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 5 cups (1 pound 10 ounces) fresh blueberries
  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

Special equipment: Use a 9″–9 1/2″-diameter glass or metal pie dish. You will need pie weights or dried beans to bake the crust.

Preparation
For crust:
Pulse 1 1/4 cups flour, butter, and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, use the heel of your hand to smear each portion of dough twice in a forward motion to distribute butter. Gather all 4 dough pieces into a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill dough until firm, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Dough can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 13″ round. Transfer to pie dish, gently pressing dough onto bottom and up sides of dish. Fold overhang under and crimp edges decoratively. Pierce bottom of crust in several places with a fork, then chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Line a large baking sheet with foil and place on a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and pie weights. Bake until crust is pale golden, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer crust to a wire rack; let cool.
Filling and topping:
Whisk 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add blueberries and lemon juice; toss gently to coat and evenly distribute. Let filling stand, tossing occasionally, until berries release their juices, 20-30 minutes.
Whisk flour, remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add melted butter; mix topping with fingertips to blend.
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375°. Spoon blueberry filling into crust, then sprinkle topping over. Bake pie until filling is bubbling and topping is golden, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cover with foil after 30 minutes if browning too fast.
Let pie cool on a wire rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Apple Cake

Apple, Desserts, Nuts
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 t. baking soda
  • ¼ t. salt
  • 2 t. cinnamon
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup oil
  • 4 cups diced apples
  • 1 cup chopped nuts

Cream sugar and eggs together.  Add dry ingredients and mix.  Add vanilla, oil, apples and nuts.  Pour batter in greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 45 -55 minutes in a 350 oven.

Topping

  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 3 T. butter
  • 8 oz. Cream cheese
  • salt and vanilla

Raspberry Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Amaretto Sauce

Desserts, Raspberry

The New Basics

Make a regular angel food cake mix according to package directions, but fold in one cup of fresh raspberries before pouring into tube pan.

Serve with following raspberry sauce.

  • 2 cups fresh of frozen raspberries, thawed if frozen
  • ½ cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 T. fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ cup amaretto liqueur

Puree the raspberries in a blender or food processor.  Add the confectioners; sugar, lemon juice, and amaretto, and continue to process until smooth.
Strain the sauce to remove the seeds and serve.

Makes 1 ½ cups

Pie Crust – Martha Stewart

Desserts

Martha Stewart Living

makes enough for one double-crust 9-inch pie.

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
  • ½ to ½ cup water

1.  Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in food processor.  Add butter;  process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 8 to 10 seconds.  For hand method, place dry ingredients in large bowl.  Add butter;  blend with pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2.  Add ice water in a slow steady stream through feed tube of food processor with machine running, until the dough holds together for not longer than 30 seconds.  For hand method, mix dough with a wooden spoon, adding water until dough just holds together.

3.  Turn dough onto piece of plastic wrap.  Press into flat circle, or rectangle depending on what shape you intend to roll out pastry to.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.  May be frozen, double wrapped in plastic, for several months.

Martha advises that the best crusts are made from the coolest pastry, made in a chilly kitchen with ice water, chilled flour and cold butter.

Pie Crust – Evie Davis

Desserts

Evie Davis

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. salt
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2/3 cup room temperature shortening

Mix flour and salt together in bowl.  Measure 1/3 cupful of this mixture and place it in a small bowl or cup.  Stir into it the ¼ cup of water to form a smooth paste.  Cut into the flour mixture in the first bowl the 2/3 cup shortening until the grain is the size of small peas.  Stir the flour paste into the dough.  Work it with your hands until I is well incorporated and the dough may be gathered into a ball.  Cover the dough and chill until firm.  Makes 2 crusts.

For pre-baked crust, roll and place in pie tin, prick the bottom with a fork making small vents, bake in 425 oven for 12 – 15 minutes.

Penuche Icing

Desserts

Josephine Graham

Good on chocolate cake

  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar
  • ¾ t. vanilla
  • ¼ cup and 2 T. milk
  • ¼ cup and 2 T. butter
  • ¼ t. salt

Mix all ingredients thoroughly together in a saucepan.  Bring slowly to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat, add vanilla and beat by hand until icing reaches a caramel-like consistency.  Be patient it takes 15 – 30 minutes -or longer.

Peach Meringue

Cream, Desserts, Peaches

Ellen Bottiny

This is SOOOO good in July and August with good peaches.

  • 6 egg whites
  • ½ t. cream of tartar
  • ½ t. salt
  • 1 ½ cup sugar
  • 1 pint whipped cream
  •  sliced fresh peaches (or other seasonal fruit)

Put egg whites in large mixing bowl, add cream of tartar and salt and beat until frothy.  Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff.  Put in a quiche pan (or large pie tin) and place in a 450 preheated oven and turn off the heat.  Leave overnight.  Spread with whipped cream 3 hours or so before serving to soften it.  Refrigerate.  Top with fresh fruit before serving.

Orange – Almond Lace Cookies

Desserts, Orange

Bon Appetit – December 1999

Makes about 24

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ cup finely chopped almonds
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 T all purpose flour
  • 2 t grated orange peel
  • ½ t salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten to blend

Preheat oven to 325.  Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Stir ¾ cup butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until melted.  Remove from heat.  Stir in nuts, sugar, flour, orange peel and salt; then stir in egg.  Drop some batter by generous tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart (cookies will spread).

Bake cookies until lacy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Gently slide parchment paper with cookies onto rack; cool completely.  Transfer cookies to paper towels.  Repeat with remaining batter, lining cooled baking sheet with clean parchment for each batch.

Mrs. Oliver’s Peanut Butter Cookies

Desserts

Virginia Oliver

makes 5 1/2 dozen

  • 1 cup shortening/margarine
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 ½ cups sifted flour
  • 1 ½ t. baking soda
  • ½ t. salt
  • 1 t. baking powder

Cream shortening, peanut butter and sugar together.  Add eggs.  Sift dry ingredients together and add to the first mixture.  Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheets for 12 – 15 minutes in a preheated 315 oven.  PLEASE..make sure you don’t cookie them too long.