Pie: It's my bag, Baby.

[Wink Holliday]

I bake. I've always loved to bake. I somehow seemed to fall into specializing in pie, and while I don't make them every day, I make them frequently enough to be known (in my circle of friends) for it. Last week was a buttermilk custard apple pie in a gingersnap crust. Because that's what I had in the house. Tonight's pie was a sour cream dried tart cherry pie* with a meringue topping, and Poppy asked for the recipe, so here goes:

1 pre-baked pie shell (pie crust is a touchy subject, so please use the recipe of your choice)
1 C dried pitted tart cherries
1/2 C water
1/2 C light brown sugar
3 Tb flour
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 egg whites
3 Tb sugar

Preheat oven to 350°
Combine the cherries and water in a saucepan over medium heat until cherries are plumped; about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Combine brown sugar, flour, egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Heat in a double boiler until custard thickens, stirring frequently.
While the custard is cooking, whip egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form.
When custard thickens, stir in the cherries and pour into pie shell. Top with meringue and bake for 10-12 minutes, until peaks turn golden.
Cool, and eat!

Seanna, I know you asked for my key lime pie recipe, but it isn't perfected yet... and I probably won't give it away once it is. That one has been a LOT of hard work! But I'll bake you one any time you come over.

*I originally found this recipe online and tweaked it to my taste. Now I can't remember where I found it, so I can't source the original. That's okay, my version is better. ;)

[...Soggystella...]

My girl is a heck of a pie maker too, gonna show her this one, sounds so good. Thanks.

[Wink Holliday]

OOooooooooh! I have apples!

Alas, I still have most of a tart cherry pie in the fridge, and I've been commissioned to make a key lime for a friend of mine tomorrow... this one may have to wait. Which is really too bad, because I want this NOW! :)

sfphotojournal said:

Wink

Because you love bacon and you love pie - behold the bacon apple pie

Can you imagine what it would taste like with melted cheddar cheese?

I just can't stop drolling

[Poppy Fields]

Oooooh, thank you Wink! I even know where to find dry cherries: Cosco! Assuming they still have them... It will be saved with the other recipes I have stored in my "One Day When I Open a Pie Shop" drawer. Pie is a noble food that is best honoured by GETTIN' IN MAH BELLAH!!! Mmmm, Pie Shop dreams...

I saw the bacon apple pie when I was searching for bacon pics the other day :D It looks like a fabulous idea, especially now that I've conquered GF pie crust! The whole cheese-with-apple-pie thing was a new one to me, but I support it fully. Extra strong cheddar, tart Granny Smiths and cranberries, little bit of ginger jelly ::droolio::

[Seanna {Madam}]

I can't wait until we get married and you can bake me some pies! ;0)

[Wink Holliday]

Okay, okay, I also posted this in the Vegetarian/Vegan Recipe Swap thread, but it's a pie after all, so I'm cross-referencing here. :)

TWO BERRY PIE WITH PECAN-SUNFLOWER CRUST

1-1/2 C pecan pieces
1/2 C unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 C pitted dried plums (formerly known as prunes)
1/4 tsp stevia
2 C fresh blueberries
2 C sliced fresh strawberries
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp psyllium powder (you can find this natural fiber in the, ahem, "cleansing" section of natural food stores, but it's used here as a thickener)

Combine the pecans and sunflower seeds in a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Add the dried plums, 1 tsp of psyllium powder, and 1/8 tsp of stevia, and process until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into a pie plate.

Stir together the blueberries and 1-1/2 cups of the strawberries. Pour into the pie crust and set aside.

In a blender, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of strawberries, lemon juice, remaining 1 tsp of psyllium, and remaining 1/8 tsp of stevia. Blend until smooth. Pour the sauce mixture over the berries and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. For best results, serve this pie the same day you make it.

NOTE: You should wind up with enough sauce to come to the tops of the berries in order for the pie to "gel" together. I didn't have nearly enough, so I added about 1/2 cup of water and another 1 tsp of psyllium to the sauce and reblended before pouring. Just be forewarned that you may need to make adjustments, and if you add liquid, you'll have to add enough psyllium to match.

Serves 8
Per serving: 261 calories, 21 g fat, 5 g protein, 17 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 0 cholesterol, 12 mg sodium

[Poppy Fields]

Pecan-sunflower crust sounds yummy! Really "nutty" flavour? That against the berries... I'm like frikkin' Pavlov's dog here!

Wink Holliday said:

Okay, okay, I also posted this in the Vegetarian/Vegan Recipe Swap thread, but it's a pie after all, so I'm cross-referencing here. :)

TWO BERRY PIE WITH PECAN-SUNFLOWER CRUST

1-1/2 C pecan pieces
1/2 C unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 C pitted dried plums (formerly known as prunes)
1/4 tsp stevia
2 C fresh blueberries
2 C sliced fresh strawberries
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp psyllium powder (you can find this natural fiber in the, ahem, "cleansing" section of natural food stores, but it's used here as a thickener)

Combine the pecans and sunflower seeds in a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Add the dried plums, 1 tsp of psyllium powder, and 1/8 tsp of stevia, and process until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into a pie plate.

Stir together the blueberries and 1-1/2 cups of the strawberries. Pour into the pie crust and set aside.

In a blender, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of strawberries, lemon juice, remaining 1 tsp of psyllium, and remaining 1/8 tsp of stevia. Blend until smooth. Pour the sauce mixture over the berries and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. For best results, serve this pie the same day you make it.

NOTE: You should wind up with enough sauce to come to the tops of the berries in order for the pie to "gel" together. I didn't have nearly enough, so I added about 1/2 cup of water and another 1 tsp of psyllium to the sauce and reblended before pouring. Just be forewarned that you may need to make adjustments, and if you add liquid, you'll have to add enough psyllium to match.

Serves 8
Per serving: 261 calories, 21 g fat, 5 g protein, 17 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 0 cholesterol, 12 mg sodium

[Wink Holliday]

Because you were unsure of your calculations, I double-checked your measurements against The Joy of Baking, which calls for 2.5 cups of flour and 2 sticks of butter. Add a touch more sugar, and it's practically shortbread. Yummers!

Bourbon pecan pie? That does it. I want to die by food.

sfphotojournal said:

Wink,

As some here may know my family owned a bakery for around 30 years.

I don't know about this vegan nut crust. Give me a pate brisee anyday. All buttery and flakey.

Here's the reciepe for a pate brisee, or all butter pie crust. It's actually quite easy to make.

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1/4 to 1/2 cup cold ice water

Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter until coarse, slowly pour in ice water until firm. Refrigerate.

The measurements might be off because the receipe I've got is for around 10lbs of dough.

You can use this classic crust for anything.

Oh and pecan pie is one my favorite, but I like including 1/4 cup of bourbon in the receipe for taste or try replacing the pecans with shaved almonds.

I don't know about the calories of a slice of bourbon pecan pie. Hmmm maybe like 1,000 calories?

[Wink Holliday]

I'm anxious to try a pie crust with almond flour, but not the rolling rolling rolling, keep them dogies rolling crust. Layers and butter sounds like puff pastry... would it rise too much for pie filling?

sfphotojournal said:

Had dinner with a pastry chef and a baker aka "mom and dad".

Asked them if they knew a flour less pie crust. Mom said to use almond flour and increase the butter by 50%, but that it would taste more like a cookie.

Dad said you can make anything flakey by treating it like croissant dough. Roll the dough out. Layer it with soften butter. Fold over. Repeat over and over and over again. The more layers the flakyer the dough gets. After you finish chill the dough so it rests.

I think this would work out, but without a commercial dough roller, it's hard on the arms and is super tedious. Plus you need to have cool hands or maybe dip them in ice water so the dough doesn't stick to your hands.

So what I'm really saying is does anyone want to try this technique and report back?

Wink?

Poppy?

Anyone?

[Poppy Fields]

I really do need to suck it up and buy some almond flour so that I can experiment a bit.

I've made flourless crusts using just finely chopped nuts, sugar and butter and they work out great. When I still worked with gluten I made great puff pastry - cold hands! I find the "tedium" of traditional pastry techniques meditative, so I will happily tackle the layers and rolling 'til kingdom come! :D I've found that tapioca starch goes a long way to adding a bit of the "stretch" that's missing from GF; I've even made pizza dough that "springs" when you poke it by kneading tapioca.

Note to Self: keep your friends close and your sfphotojournal and his pastry chef connections closer ;)

sfphotojournal said:

Had dinner with a pastry chef and a baker aka "mom and dad".

Asked them if they knew a flour less pie crust. Mom said to use almond flour and increase the butter by 50%, but that it would taste more like a cookie.

Dad said you can make anything flakey by treating it like croissant dough. Roll the dough out. Layer it with soften butter. Fold over. Repeat over and over and over again. The more layers the flakyer the dough gets. After you finish chill the dough so it rests.

I think this would work out, but without a commercial dough roller, it's hard on the arms and is super tedious. Plus you need to have cool hands or maybe dip them in ice water so the dough doesn't stick to your hands.

So what I'm really saying is does anyone want to try this technique and report back?

Wink?

Poppy?

Anyone?