French Silk Pie

2 squares of chocolate
1 stick of butter - softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt chocolate on a double boiler. Set aside to cool for ten minutes. In an upright mixer cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add melted chocolate until well incorporated. With the mixer on high add one of the eggs and beat for five minutes. Then add the second egg and beat for another five minutes. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Gently put into a cooked and cooled pie crust (see flakey pie crust post) and chill for at least two hours.

For topping add cool whip, or take 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spread on chilled chocolate silk. Shave pieces of chocolate on top of whipped cream as a garnish and serve.

There is raw egg in this dish so be sure to chill when not being served.

Pumpkin Pie

1 refrigerated 9in pie crust - home made or store bought

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

1 1/2 cups condensed milk

2 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 425°F. 

Mix together ingredients and pour into prepared crust. Be careful not to overfill crust. This mixture will expand during the baking process and boil over the top if too full. 

Bake 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 40 - 50 minutes longer.

Store in refrigerator.

Pineapple Cake

Simple comfort food!

Take a boxed Butter Recipe Yellow cake and prepare it as directed on box except for one substitution. In place of the water that the instructions on the box call for dump in one can of crushed pineapple in pineapple juice. Everything else is the same. I don't even ice this cake....its delicious on its own. If you want something extra though I'd suggest whipped cream or a very light and creamy version of my versatile dessert cream. 

Versatile Dessert Cream

The first step is to whip some cream. I use 1 cup of whipping cream and 1/4 cup sugar and whip with a mixer until peaks have formed. This will make about 2 cups of whipped cream. Alternately you can use cool whip but the cream you get by whipping your own is thicker and richer.

The general rule for desserts is to use exact measurements. However for a versatile cream like this there is some room to budge. The exact measurements are 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 package cream cheese at room temperature and 1 cup of the whipped cream. If this is more cream than I need I usually scale down the cream cheese and add the powdered sugar gradually, tasting after each addition until the desired sweetness is met.

So the next step is to take your cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix until the sugar is incorporated and the mixture has formed into a paste. Then add whipped cream and mix until well incorporated. The whipped cream is what determines the thickness of the cream. For a thick cream use less whipped cream. For a lighter and fluffier cream use more whipped cream.

This dessert cream has unlimited uses. The cream itself can be used as a delicious fruit dip. Its the "sauce" on fruit pizzas. It makes a perfect layer in pudding desserts. It can be used as a frosting for cooking and cakes. I always have the ingredients on hand to make this quick add on because it compliments and enhances almost any dessert.

Flakey Pie Crust

1 cup Flour
1/4 cup Shortening
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Powdered Sugar
2 tbsp Butter (cold)(cubed)
glass of ice cold water

I make my pie crusts in the food processor. Its quick and I get uniform crusts every time.

Place all ingredients except for water into the food processor. Pulse several times until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour and the mixture looks gritty. Then turn the food processor on and add the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time until all of the dough forms one ball in the processor. Remove the dough and transfer to a flour board to roll out.

I always find it better to add a little too much water than not enough. The more water just means the stickier the dough which means more flour when rolling out. Too little water means the dough falls apart on the flour board and you have to place back into processor and restart from the pulsing step.

Once the dough is placed into the pie dish I refrigerate the crust while i'm making the filling.

If the pie requires a top crust I take and egg white and tbsp of water and beat until frothy. Then I brush that on the rim of the bottom crust before I place the top crust on. This will act as a glue for the top and bottom crusts. Once the top crust is in the arrangement I intended I trim the excess from around the pie dish and flute the edges. Then brush the top crust with the egg white mixture just before placing in the oven. This gives the top crust a golden gleam.

If you require a baked crust place crust in pie dish and prick holes in bottom and sides of crust with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding filling.

Oatmeal Crispies

OATMEAL COOKIE CRISPIES


2 sticks butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Kosher salt
3 c. instant Quick oats

Beat butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Add rest of ingredients and mix. Add 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4 dozen. Crispy and Salty - my favorite, enjoy :)

Anjou Pear Crisp

Anjou Pear Crisp

1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. quick cooking rolled oats
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. granulated sugar
3 Anjou Pears (cubed with skin)

Preheat to 375°

Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Place pear cubes in 8x8x2 baking dish. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Top with crumble mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes.