Fresh-picked Blueberry and Peach Pie

There are many, many things I miss about home.  In summertime, its watching a sunset over Lake Michigan and the endless amount of fresh produce everywhere you turn.  While home a few weeks ago we went blueberry picking.  Mom and Dad and purchased a flat of peaches grown across the street from our house.  Obviously, I needed to bake a pie.  Using the every trustworthy Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook I whipped up a blueberry peach pie which was served warm and a la mode shortly after pulling it out of the oven.  I also must admit, it was was probably more delicious eaten for breakfast the following morning.

Blueberry Peach Pie (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)
serves 6-8

Pie Filling

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons  flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

4 cups peeled, thinly sliced peaches

2 cups blueberries
Mix together the sugar and spices.
Gently fold in fruit. Set aside until pie crust is ready.

Pie Crust

2 1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup shortening

8-10 tablespoons cold water

Mix together flour and salt.

Cut in shortening until pieces are pea size.

Sprinkle 1 T of the water at a time over flour mixture and toss with a fork.  Repeat until flour mixture is moistened.

Divide in half and form into balls.

On lightly floured surface roll one ball into 12 inch circle.  Use rolling pin to carefully transfer into pie pan.  Trim pastry.  Add filling.

Roll out  top crust. Cut into strips.  Weave strips on top of pie and press down edges.

Bake in 375 degree oven on top of a cookie sheet for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

 

 

Grasshopper Pie

Guest post #1!  We welcome Jonathan for a friendly battle of the grasshopper pie.  I'll let him take it from here (with a few interjections every now and then).

Grasshopper pies... either a remnant celebration of the creepy crawly goodness of Halloween, or a delicious dessert, depending on whether you’re familiar with the term.  But what really is a grasshopper pie?  That’s the question we set out to answer in this non-competitive bake-off (And it was only non-competitive because Jonathan knew EWeage would win and his pride couldn't take it).

Briefly, who am I? I’m Jonathan.  A resident fortunate enough to have been the recipient of several of the delicious recipes posted earlier in this blog which found their way to the hospital. Father of the superstar of his own blog, Noah.  And a friend of EWeage, who happened to mention in passing that she knew a recipe for grasshopper pie… one that was different from mine!

My recipe comes steeped in a healthy dose of family tradition.  Every Thanksgiving, my aunt makes grasshopper pie.  For 364 days every year, my family and I look forward to this dessert.  I have a hefty slice (or two or three) on Thanksgiving, but you can pretty much guarantee there won’t be left-overs to enjoy the next day with all of the turkey and stuffing that didn’t get eaten.

Grasshopper Pie JEgle Style

Filling

2/3 cup milk

28 marshmallows

Pinch of salt

8-oz. package thawed Cool Whip

2 oz. crème de menthe

1 oz. crème de cocoa

Green food coloring (if you’re using clear crème de menthe)

(For any teetotalers out there, I tried making this in high-school with extracts, rather than the alcohol - acceptable results, but definitely not preferable.)

Crust

21 Oreos

1/3 cup melted butter

In a generously sized sauce pan (remember, marshmallows expand), heat the milk until just prior to the boiling point.  Meanwhile, puree the Oreos for the crust in a food processor.  Mix with the butter in a bowl and then press into a pie pan to form the crust.  Refrigerate until the filling is ready.

Add the marshmallows to your sauce pan, and stir occasionally over low heat until melted.  Remove from heat and add a pinch of salt.  Once cooled, add the remainder of the ingredients and stir.  Pour into your crust and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (the more set it is, the easier to serve).  You’ll probably have a little extra filling, so you can either pour generously (like I did), or set it aside for sampling later... perhaps a dip for your left-over Oreos?  Just before cutting and serving, dip the bottom of the pie pan into warm water to loosen the bottom of the pie from the pan.

There’s an art to the degree of thawing of Cool Whip and the degree of marshmallow cooling before adding the other ingredients.  My aunt has it perfected.  Sometimes I get it right.  The only potential pitfall is aesthetics.  Taste is the same regardless.  In this pie, I let the Cool Whip thaw a little too much, and the filling had a slightly more airy texture than normal.  Still tasted amazing, though.  And if the bake-off had been competitive, well... to avoid any negativism, let’s just say Noah would’ve been proud of his Dad.  Our judges agreed they'd be more than happy to enjoy either dessert again if we so desired to share.

Grasshopper Pie EWeage Style

25 Oreos

1/3 stick butter

1 1/2 quart mint chocolate chip ice cream

1 8 ounce tub Cool Whip

hand-full of mini chocolate chips

Remove ice cream and Cool Whip from freezer to thaw.

Crush Oreos with bottom of cup in pie pan (we're avoiding dishes here!) or use food processor as Jonathan suggested.

Melt butter in microwave.  Mix in to Oreo crumbs.

Press in pan to create crust.  Chill in freezer until ice cream is a scoopable consistency.

Use large spoon to scoop slices of ice cream and layer into pie crust evenly.

Top with Cool Whip and mini chocolate chips.

You pick which ingredients you'll pick up at the store tonight!

Going Bananas!

Friday was my last official day rotating at Providence (insert pouting, crying face here).  After being there all last year and two additional months during fourth year, I'm pretty sad to be done.  I love the residents and attendings and always see a smiling face I know in the hallway.  Definitely the type of hospital I want to pursue further training at!  As a "last hurah" and a thank you to my residents for giving me Thursday off (we didn't have any patients!), I made Joy the Baker's Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Cream Pie.  This pie has become one of my go to favorites for serving a smaller group (cupcakes are obviously my favorite for more people).  If you're a fan of the peanut butter, chocolate, banana combo this is a must try!

And speaking of cupcakes, I whipped up a batch of Banana Split Cupcakes for the surgery residents.  Of all the departments I baked for over the course of last year they were definitely the most appreciative.  And oh so flattering... so they continue to get baked goods dropped off every once in awhile.  I do realize its not summer anymore and I should be baking more with pumpkin and apples, not strawberries and whipped cream, but I found the cutest ice cream cone paper cupcake liners in the clearance section at Meijer this week.  I just couldn't resist picking them up and making this recipe that I had mentally bookmarked and never got around to baking this summer.  As usual the residents raved about these cupcakes.  However, I was less than impressed with how the cake turned out.  It was like a super dense, too sweet, spongy banana bread.  The recipe I used is posted below, but I might suggest one of these as an alternative:  Baker's Royale, Paula Deen, Fake Ginger.  I haven't tried any of them, but they MUST be better than the recipe I used.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Cream Pie (adapted from JTB)

Crust
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sealed package)
1/2 stick butter, melted
dash of salt

2 ounces dark chocolate
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (or smooth if you prefer)

Custard
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
4 egg yolks
1 cup milk (closer to whole the better)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
3 ripe, on the verge of mooshy, bananas

Preheat oven to 350*
To be uber conservative in the clean-up department, the graham crackers can be crushed and mixed with the butter and salt in the pie pan.
Crush graham crackers (use your measuring cup and an oven mitt so you don't get marks all over your hand).
Add salt.
Pour melted butter over top.
Mix with fingers until evenly moistened.
Press in bottom and up the sides of your pie pan.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until browned.
Set aside to cool.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  To make your own place a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Be sure the bowl fits well, or you'll have to avoid the spouts of steam as you stir the chocolate.
Pour melted chocolate in center of crust.
Carefully spread the chocolate as the crust easily crumbles. *1
Put in refrigerator to harden.  While its cooling, make the custard.
When cool, spread layer of peanut butter over chocolate. *2

Heat milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally to a simmer.
Whisk sugar, corn starch, and egg yolks together in a bowl.
Pour a portion of the milk into the egg mixture while beating to temper the eggs.
Pour it all into the pan of milk.
Stir constantly until the custard thickens.
Add vanilla.
Remove from heat.
Pass through metal sieve to remove any scrambled egg bits.
Stir butter until melted.
Fold in sliced bananas.
Pour into pie shell. *3
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings before serving. *4

Banana Split Cupcakes (adapted from Annie's Eats)
Makes 30ish cupcakes.

Cake Batter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (make your own by adding a little white vinegar to milk)
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup diced strawberries

Ganache
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Frosting
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1-2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add one egg at a time.  Turn off mixer so the shell doesn't get accidentally incorporated!
Add salt and baking powder.
Beat in flour and milk, alternating which is added to blender.
Mix in mashed banana and chocolate chips.
Fold in strawberries.
Fill paper lined muffin tins  mostly full (this batter didn't rise very much at all).
Bake for 20 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.
Once melted, whisk in cream.
Cool for about 10 minutes.
Spoon on the top of the cooled cupcakes.

Heat milk and flour over medium heat.
When the mixture starts to thicken, begin to stir constantly.
Remove from heat once paste forms and transfer to a bowl to cool.
Beat sugar, butter, and shortening until fluffy.
Add cooled flour and milk paste and beat until smooth (no more sugar granules).
Chill for about 30 minutes.
Use piping bag and tip to make frosting look like whipped cream.
Decorate with sprinkles and a maraschino cherry, or your favorite banana split toppings.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So it is tradition in the Weage family for the youngest child to celebrate a birthday month. And by tradition, I mean that I declared it to be so when I became the youngest child. As the "birthday princess" I forced everyone to bend to my will, and if they did not comply, they were bopped on the head with my birthday wand while I declared, "Poof! You're a peach!" (I have no idea how I decided that a peach was the proper punishment for a disobedient subject, but in my mind it was clearly appropriate.)

This year, instead of forcing everyone to do my bidding, I have decided to provide them with a pie for my birthday. And not just any pie. The love-child between two of the best pies I have ever consumed (and for those of you who like to say that there are many categories of pies, this is the best dessert pie I have ever eaten. Not to be confused with fruit pie, or meat pie of course). The first pie has been a part of my recipe repertoire since high school.

While in high school, I often used the kraftfoods.com website to find easy recipes to use. Our church had a picnic at a local camp and the meal is potluck style. This particular year they decided to have a pie baking contest. I wanted to participate, so I went on to kraftfoods.com and discovered this little gem. It's called Mile-High Fudge Brownie Pie. I won the contest. And for good reason. Not for any of my baking skills, but because it was a great recipe. We continued to bake that pie on many occasions. Then the unspeakable happened. And some things that should not have been forgotten...were lost. History became legend...legend became myth. Until, when chance came, it sparked a new flame...My precioussss. (But I digress).

The second recipe came to me in an even more modern fashion. I stumbled upon it. Literally. Through the use of stumbleupon.com. I have the tendency to email both EWeage and my roomie when I find recipes I think should be tried. My roomie decided that this is what she wanted for her birthday, and so I gave it a shot. And boy am I glad I did. It was a huge hit. And then I made it again.

But my thirst for the perfect pie could not be quenched. I continued to think about how to improve the pie, although it was pretty close to perfection. Until I came up with a crazy idea. Why not combine the two best pies into one. And that is when this pie was born. (As a side note, we still have yet to come up with a fitting name for this pie, so if any of you out there have a suggestion, feel free to leave it in the comment section).

Brownie Crust

4 ounces (squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350*

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl for 2 min. or until butter is melted

Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Add sugar; mix well.

Blend in eggs and vanilla.

Stir in flour until well blended.

Spread onto bottom of a greased 9-inch pie pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

When cool, scoop out middle, making a crust and saving the crumbs (Picture 1).

Peanut Butter Fluff

8 ounces (one bar) cream cheese

2/3 cup peanut butter

Beat until well blended.

Spread into brownie crust (Picture 2).

Chocolate Ganache

2-3oz good (preferably dark) chocolate

Chocolate Pudding Deliciousness

2 packages (3.9 oz. each) Chocolate Instant Pudding

2 cups cold milk

1/2 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip

Beat pudding mix and milk together.

Fold in Cool Whip.

Add brownie bits scooped from crust.

Pile it high on the ganache layer (Picture 4).

Top it all off with the remaining Cool Whip and chocolate shavings (Picture 5).

Peach Pie

We're a little behind in posting here at Simple Baking Machines as KW has started back to school and I take Step 2CK tomorrow (eeek)!  But since the experts recommend taking a break the day before a big exam to relax your brain and since it doesn't take much to convince me not to study, we're getting a little caught up.

It just happened that peach season was in full swing during the week I spent back at home after returning from the Yukon.  Mom had nearly a bushel of sun ripened, sweet smelling fruit on the kitchen counter.  And may I add that these peaches were grown directly across the street from our house!  While fresh peaches are perfect to eat plain, they also have endless possibilities for more involved preparation and enjoyment.  Oh, like grilling with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon and serving with vanilla bean ice cream (the kind with the little black flecks in it), peach and blueberry crisp, or peach cobbler (a childhood favorite, especially the ooey-gooey biscuits!).  But this is not a post about any of those things.  Its a modification of our secret ingredient strawberry pie.

Mix and Press Pie Crust
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cold water
Combine all the ingredients except butter.
Stir together with fork or pastry mixer.
Add water.
Dump dough into pie pan.  Press evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Bake 12-15 minutes at 450* until the edges start to brown.

Pie Filling
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons peach Jello
6-7 peeled, sliced peaches (Carefully slide in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes and then transfer to a bowl ice water for easy skin removal.)

Put water, sugar, and corn starch in sauce pan over medium heat.
Stir constantly until thick, about 15 minutes.
Add peach Jello.
Transfer to another bowl to cool.
Fold in peach slices.

Extra layer of goodness
4-5 oz. cream cheese (the secret ingredient!)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Beat in mixer until well blended.

Assembly
Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture in the bottom of the cooled pie crust.

Pour Jello and peach filling on top.

Cool in refrigerator for several hours until firm.
Top with whipped cream.

Cut into extremely large pieces and serve.