Last Minute Pecan Pie

This pie was an exercise in "crap the stores are closed" plus "what can I substitute for what."

Didn't have a pre-made crust and couldn't buy one so I made one of the simplest pie crusts I could find. Thank you, Internets!

PECAN PIE - PIE CRUST
CRUST:
3 c. plain flour
2 sticks butter
6 tbsp. water

CRUST: Mix well and pat with fingers into pie pan (will make 2).

from http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1637,158175-234193,00.html

and then for the filling, I used a more complex recipe...

Pecan Pie filling

Ingredients 

•  1 3/4 cups white sugar
•  1/4 cup dark corn syrup (thank goodness we had this! would've ruined the whole thing)
•  1/4 cup butter
•  1 tablespoon cold water
•  2 teaspoons cornstarch
•  3 eggs
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond extract, rum, maple syrup, whatever's handy)
•  1 1/4 cups chopped pecans 
•  1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell (or make your own like me!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter, water, and cornstarch. Bring to a full boil, and remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in cooked syrup mixture. Stir in salt, vanilla, and pecans. Pour into pie shell.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set.

from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pecan-pie/

How it looked...

at first it was a little scary, bloated coming out of the oven, but after a few minutes, it settled down.

 

How it tasted....

Bland. Apparently using the old bag of pecans I had on hand, even unopened, was a bad plan. Pecans are very important!

Or possibly I just expected the pie to make me OD on sugar like Grandmas, and this is what regular pecan pie actually tastes like...

Key Lime Pie

This was the easiest key lime pie ever! I even screwed up the ingredients, and it was still awesome!

Key Lime Pie VII from AllRecipes.com


Ingredients

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
3 cups sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice (or 1/4 cup from one lime if you're not able to find "key lime juice")
1 tablespoon grated lime zest (or a lot more if you're measuring-challenged like me)

Directions


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

Happy Meme Day Pie!

It's Memorial Day! Or as I like to think of American holidays, create your own meme to reflect your feelings toward today's holiday!

Anywho, let's make a pie!

This is Betty Crocker's Caramel Toffee Apple Pie with Pecans!


Ingredients

Filling

• 6 medium apples (mixed varieties, such as 4 Gala, 2 Granny Smith), peeled, cored and sliced (about 6 cups)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 container (4 oz) snack-size cinnamon applesauce
• Juice of 1/2 medium lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup toffee caramel dip

Crust

• 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 tablespoons half-and-half or milk
• 2 tablespoons white decorator sugar crystals, if desired

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Cover cookie sheet with foil; set aside. In 4-quart saucepan, cook all filling ingredients except toffee caramel dip over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until butter melts and mixture develops "juice."
2. Unroll 1 crust; smooth crust with hands. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the pecans on crust, leaving 1 1/2 inches around edge. Using rolling pin, press pecans into crust without them breaking through other side of crust. Run spatula under crust; place in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate, pecan side up.
3. Spoon half of the filling mixture into crust. Spoon and spread caramel dip evenly over top. (Hint: Use 1 teaspoon to measure and another teaspoon to scrape dip out of spoon.)
4. Spoon other half of filling mixture on top. Unroll second crust; smooth crust with hands. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup pecans on crust, leaving 1 1/2 inches around edge. Using rolling pin, press pecans into crust without them breaking through other side of crust. Place crust over top of filling, pecans side up. Seal edge and flute.
5. Stir together egg and half-and-half; lightly brush over entire crust, including fluted edge, brushing gently on areas that have pecans. Sprinkle evenly with sugar crystals. (I didn't do the sugar) Cut 2 slits in top crust. Place pie on foil-covered cookie sheet.
6. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 40 to 45 minutes longer or until juice begins to bubble through slits in crust and crust is golden brown. Cool 1 hour 30 minutes before serving. (I only waited about 30 minutes. PIE!!!)

Cutting in!

Best served with ice cream.

Hot Date Pie

This pie is so worth the time and effort put into making it. I didn't change a thing, though crushing gingersnaps a major pain so buy them already crushed. Taken from Betty Crocker's Harvest Pie.

And can I just ask why are cloves seasonings freaken $8 for a tiny little container? Is there something illicit you can do with them? Like roll your own cloves smokes? Come on. This purchase better last me a year.

Hot Date Pie

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Filling
2 large sweet potatoes
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons dark molasses
3 large eggs
1 cup whipping cream

Cranberry-Pecan Streusel
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Crust
1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
1 cup crushed gingersnaps (about 20)
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely ground
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Wash and pierce sweet potatoes. Place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cut lengthwise in half; scoop out inside; discard skins. Mash sweet potatoes until no lumps remain.
2. Combine dried cranberries and hot water. Set aside until ready to put into the streusel.
3. Turn oven temperature down to 350°F.
4. Unroll and place crust into ungreased deep-dish 9-inch glass pie plate. Crimp edges. Combine remaining crust ingredients. Press in bottom and about 1/2 inch up side of pie crust. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
5. Beat all filling ingredients except molasses, eggs, cream and sweet potatoes together in large bowl with whisk. Beat in 1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes, molasses and eggs. Beat in cream. Pour mixture into cooled crust. Place pie on middle oven rack; place sheet of foil on rack below pie in case of spillover. Bake about 40 minutes or until filling is set around edges.
6. Drain cranberries. Stir in remaining streusel ingredients. Gently sprinkle streusel around edge of crust. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until set.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely on cooling rack, about 3 hours.

Lazy girl pie

This is my version of the Betty Crocker Blueberry Pudding Pie recipe. The original recipe calls for frozen blueberries, which my little convenience store didn't have. Being too lazy to go out, I made do with what I had in the freezer which turned out to be a Yoplait berry smoothie mix. I picked out the yogurt bits, and just used the frozen berries for the pie.

Lazy Girl Pie

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries, thawed, well drained
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crust as directed on box for one pie using 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake 7 minutes.
2. Remove crust from oven; sprinkle berries over bottom of crust.
3. In large bowl, beat all remaining ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Pour over berries.
4. Return to oven; bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; cover edges of crust with foil. Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 20 minutes. Serve warm or cool, though cold is better. Store in refrigerator.