Grits Pie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup quick-cooking grits
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) frozen pie shell, thawed
Sweetened whipped cream and strawberries, optional
 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the grits and cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the butter and cook for 1 additional minute. Set aside and cool slightly.

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Slowly stir into the cooled grits. Pour into the pie shell and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Blackberry Crumble Pie

Ingredients:

For the Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger

For the crumble: 

1 cup flour

3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 ounces melted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the Pie crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Add the water and pulse just until the dough begins to come together. Do not overprocess. Turn the dough onto a floured board and shape into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out the dough to a 10-inch circle that is 1/8-inch thick. Place in a 9-inch pie dish and blind bake for 10 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and cool completely. For the filling: In a large bowl, gently mix together the blackberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and ginger. Pour the mixture into the cooled pie shell. 

For the Crumble: In a bowl, mix together the flour, almonds, sugar and cardamom. Mix in the melted butter. Top the pie with the crumble and place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crumb topping is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Butterscotch Pudding Pie

Ingredients:

 

Pudding

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 1/2 cups whole milk

3 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons whiskey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Pie

1 9-inch pie crust (homemade or store bought)

1/4 cup finely chopped semisweet chocolate

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1.4-oz. Heath candy bar, finely chopped

Directions:

 

Make pudding: Melt butter in a pan over medium heat, stir in dark brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk until smooth, then whisk in egg yolks.

Whisk remaining milk into brown sugar mixture, then whisk in cornstarch mixture. Return pan to medium heat and bring to a boil, whisking often. Reduce heat to low; simmer, whisking constantly, until pudding thickens slightly, about 1 minute (it will thicken more as it chills). Remove from heat; stir in whiskey and vanilla. Transfer to bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap directly onto surface of pudding. Chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

Make pie: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line interior of crust with parchment; fill with dried beans or pie weights, pushing beans or weights up against sides of parchment. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights, prick crust all over with a fork and bake until crust is deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle chocolate in crust, let melt, then spread in a thin layer. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

Assemble pie: With an electric mixer at medium speed, beat cream with sugar and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks. Spoon pudding into crust, top with whipped cream, and garnish with chopped Heath bar. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Four Berry Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled
5 cups mixed fresh berries (1 1/4 cups each blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and 1/4-inch-thick slices of strawberries), rinsed and drained 
Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust pie 

Directions:

In a bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, and butter. Gently stir in berries.

Scrape berry mixture into unbaked bottom crust in pan. Cover with top crust and flute edges. Line a 12-inch pizza pan or a 10- by 15-inch baking pan with foil (to catch drips) and set pie on foil.

Bake on bottom rack of a 375° regular oven or 350° convection oven until filling bubbles in center (check through cutout or slits), 45 to 55 minutes in regular oven, about 1 1/2 hours in convection. If crust browns too quickly (check after 40 minutes), cover pie loosely with foil.

Let pie cool on a rack at least 3 hours. Cut into wedges and serve, or chill airtight up to 1 day.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Crust
4 Cups Flour
1 and 1/3 Cups Butter, cold and hard
2/3 Cup Ice Water
3 Teaspoons Sugar
1 and 1/4 Teaspoons Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Filling
4 Eggs, whisked
33 Ounces Bluberries
1 and 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Grated Lemon Rind
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into roughly 1 inch size pieces over the bowl, allowing the butter pieces to fall into the dry ingredients. Pour the cold water into the bowl and mix the dough together with your hands, kneading until everything is completely blended. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you roll it out.

Now begin making the filling. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs and mix until blended, then add the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until completely combined. Stir in the grated lemon rind and blueberries. Set it aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease and flour the inside of an 8-inch springform cake pan. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and separate it into two pieces, one that is 2/3rds of the total dough and one that is 1/3 of the total dough. The bigger ball of dough will be the bottom crust and the smaller ball of dough will be the top. Roll out the big ball of dough onto a well-floured surface, keeping it in a nice circular shape. Once it is about 1 cm thick, transfer it onto the cake pan and mold it into the sides of the pan, letting the extra crust hang off the sides.

Roll out the small ball of dough, keeping it in a circular shape. Once it is about 1 cm thick, take a star cookie cutter and cut six stars out of the pie, one in the exact center and five around the center star. Pour the filling into the pie and then place the starred crust on top. Use your thumbs to press the edges of the crust together and cut off any excess crust. After the edges of the crusts are secured, lift them up a bit so that they don't hang down over the edge of the pan too much, otherwise when the pie is done and you unhinge the cake pan, the crusts will break off when the sides of the pan expand.

Place the pie in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the pie is golden brown. If the crust begins to brown too quickly, remove the pie from the oven momentarily, put tin foil over the edges of the crust, and place the pie back in the oven until it is done cooking. Allow the pie to cool for at least an hour, or until it reaches room temperature. Then remove the sides of the springform cake pan and serve.

Pear Almond Tart

Ingredients:

For tart

5 whole Large Egg Whites

½ cups Granulated Sugar

⅔ cups Almond Flour (Or Finely Ground Almonds)

½ cups All-purpose Flour

1 cup Melted Butter, Cooled To Room Temperature

For filling

1 teaspoon Almond Extract Or Amaretto Liqueur

2 whole Large Ripe Pears, Poached (See Below)

 _____

POACHING INGREDIENTS:

1 stick Cinnamon

½ cups Sugar

_____

Topping Ingredients

⅓ cups Granulated Sugar

½ teaspoons Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan. In a large bowl, beat together the egg whites and sugar until very thick and light. Fold in both the flours first, just until combined, then add the melted butter and extract. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and arrange your fruit on top. Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Poached pears:

Cut the pears in half and scoop out the core/seeds. Peel the pears and place in a pot cut side down. Add one cinnamon stick and half a cup of sugar and then cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Once the pears are fork tender, remove from the liquid and allow to cool. To cut the pears for the cake, cut off the longer thin stem end and slice the pears in 1/4 inch slices. Arrange the pears slices in a circular manner on top of the cake as shown in the photo.

Southern Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell, frozen or chilled for an hour if freshly made.
1 3/4 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread pecans along the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over pecans. (No need for an electric mixer, you can mix by hand.) The pecans will rise to the surface of the pie.

Bake at 375°F for 40-45 minutes until the filling has set. About 20 minutes into the cooking you may want to use a pie crust protector, or tent the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent the pie crust edges from burning.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

 

Ingredients:

24 oreo cookies, crushed
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 ½ cups Cool Whip
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup confectioner sugar
½ cup crushed Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

Directions:

Lightly butter springform pan if it is not non-stick. If you do not have a springform pan line a cake pan with a piece of lightly buttered foil leaving a one inch over hang around the edges for easy pie removal or alternately use a traditional pie pan.

Oreo Crust:

Place Oreos in a food processor or blender and pulse until cookies are finely crumbed. Alternatively, place Oreos in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.  Mix in the melted butter and then firmly press crumbs into pan to create a crust. Bake crust at 350 degrees F for 7-10 minutes.

Reese Peanut Butter Pie Filling:

Place peanut butter and confectioner sugar in a pan over low heat and stir until combined and peanut butter is melted. Set aside for five minutes to cool. Gently fold in peanut butter mixture into Cool Whip until combined. Gently fold in crushed Reese’s pieces into peanut butter Cool Whip mixture.
 

Pour mixture into Oreo crust and freeze for 3 hours. Garnish with caramel and chocolate drizzle (for added decadence rim with chopped Reese’s pieces).

Apple-Pear Foldover Pie

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick butter, melted
1 unbaked 10-inch basic pie crust shell

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and lemon zest. Whisk in the eggs, 1at a time. Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the pie shell and bake until the top is lightly browned and the center sets, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Slice the pie into individual servings. Garnish with the whipped cream and mint.

Key Lime Mousse Pie

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling

6 tablespoons fresh key lime juice

1 (1/4 ounces) packet unflavored gelatin

2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

10 (1-ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest

1 1/2 ounces white chocolate, grated or shaved into curls, for garnish

Candied Lime Peels

4 limes, peels removed and sliced into strips

2 cups sugar, plus more for rolling

2 cups water

Directions:

Crust

Mix together the cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Filling

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the lime juice. Whisk in the gelatin and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 10 ounces of white chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool.

Using an electric mixer, blend together the cream cheese, sugar and lime zest in a medium bowl, until smooth. Slowly beat in the cooled white chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture.

Using clean, dry beaters, beat the remaining 2-cups heavy cream in a small bowl, until it forms soft peaks. Fold it into the white chocolate mixture and pour into the pie crust. Cover and freeze overnight.

Remove from freezer and run a sharp knife around inside of springform pan to help loosen the pie. Release springform ring from the bottom of the pan and transfer the pie to a serving plate. Grate or curl the white chocolate over the top and garnish with candied lime peel. Cut into wedges with a knife that has been dipped into hot water and serve.

Candied Lime Peels

Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the peels in and blanch them for a few minutes. Set aside.

Put the peels in another medium saucepan and cover with equal parts of sugar and water. Simmer, covered, over low heat for 1 hour. Remove the peels and drain until almost dry. Roll into sugar and set aside.

Mom's Apple Pie

Crust Ingredients:

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling Ingredients:

5-7 tart apples; peeled and sliced thin

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of salt

4 tablespoons of butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large cooking pot, combine all the filling ingredients and cook until very soft.

In the pie baking dish, mix flour, sugar, and salt.

In small bowl, whip oil and milk together and pour over the flour mixture.

Mix together with fork until the four is all damp and ingredients are combined completely. Reserve 1/3 of dough to crumble over the filling for crust top.

Press rest of dough to the bottom of the pie baking dish evenly and up the sides; crimp edges.

Add filling and top with the reserved flour; crumpled. Dot with butter

Bake for 30-40 minutes; until top is brown and filling is bubbling.