Pie Crust (day 2): Lattice Top

I've experimented with Lattice Pie Crusts in the past, but I've only recently had success. It is surprisingly easier than it looks and once you get the hang of it - it somes together so quickly! Yesterday, I talked about making pie crust (you can read that HERE) and today, I'm expanding a little bit!

Once you've lined the bottom of your pie plate with a layer of crust, and filled the pie - roll out the remaining crust. The shape is less important at this point, you could roll the dough into more of a rectangular shape.

Pie Crust: Video Tutorial!

Today and tomorrow, I'm talking all about pie crust. I've shared a few pie recipes in the past and I've always included the recipe that I use for pie crust. I often get asked to share tips and/or more detailed instruction about how I do pie crust - so that's what I'm doing today!

When I shared my apple pie recipe, I shared a little about pie crust. I'll copy paste those pictures and instructions here instead of sending you clinking around! Here is the pie crust recipe that I use (it's from America's Test Kitchen - I love it!).

Summer Berry Tart

I made this tart over the weekend for a dinner with family thinking it would be a great summer dessert. Well, not only was it a great summer dessert, it was delicious! The crust was just like a shortbread cookie, the filling is light with a little bit of orange flavor and the berries on top just put it over the edge! I found the recipe on Simply Recipes, you can find it HERE.

Start by making the crust in the food processor - Pulse 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of salt together.

A Key Lime Pie Walked into a Bar :)

I think my title of this post explains it all - I took my favorite key lime pie recipe and turned it into bars! When I carried these out to the table on mother's day, I said 'A key lime walked into a bar and now we have dessert.' I thought I was just being goofy and punny, but everyone at the table got a good kick out of my not so funny joke! And so, a post was born!

You can find my original key lime recipe HERE - everything stays the same, except the ingredients go into a 8x12'' dish instead of a pie plate.

Start by mixing 1 1/4 cups of graham crackers crumbs, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of melted butter in a small mixing bowl. Once the crust is combined press it into the bottom of a 8x12 inch baking dish. Set the crust aside while you mix up the filling...

Apple Crumble Cheesecake

The Bean turned 13 on March 2nd - which makes me feel like 90! We celebrated her birthday with our family this past weekend and she had a special request for the cake... an apple crumble cheesecake! I think I've made cheesecake before, probably when I was 13! But I am not well versed in cheesecakes so I took to Pinterest and found the most delicious recipe from cakescottage.com! You can find the original recipe HERE.

One little thing before we get going - this cake was very fall! It smelled like fall while it was baking, and it tasted like fall! I love fall, but I might hold off on making this again until October/November-ish because it is the most perfect fall cake!!

Spinach & Bacon Quiche

Yesterday, I was watching Gilmore Girls (because that's my absolute favorite thing to do!) and Sookie made quiche. Well, that quiche was something powerful because I paused the episode and made quiche for dinner. I have never made quiche before but I was excited to find out that it was so easy to make and the result was delish! I found this recipe on The Kurtz Corner - you can find it HERE.

Start by making a pie crust - add 1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to a medium mixing bowl.
*You could use store bought pie crust if you prefer!

Mini Apple Tarts

I have had this idea stirring around in my head for a while. Ever since making Butter Pecan Tarts, I have wanted to find a way to make mini apple tarts. So, I used the same pastry for the crust as the Butter Pecan Tarts and then mix and matched recipe to fill up the tarts. here is what I did:

Start the crust by mixing 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a medium mixing bowl.

French Silk Pie

I made French Silk pie on Sunday and I had forgotten how delicious it is! I had also forgotten how easy it is! It's the perfect blend of a crunchy/nutty crust with a light mousse filling - yes ma'am!! The recipe is an old one from my family's recipe book but it's a good one!!

Start by making the crust. combine 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1/4 cup of brown sugar in a small mixing bowl.

Mix in 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

Pie for Breakfast?

This past Saturday, I had pie for breakfast and it was delightful! It was definitely a sugar overload but it was so much fun! I thought it was such a great idea for a fundraiser so I'm sharing it with all of you!

The event that I went to was a fundraiser for the local Rotary club where our family friends live in Vermont. They were raising money to support students who are going on an exchange and they asked everyone attending to bring a pie or two. When I was invited to this event I thought it would just be dessert pies. But, I was wrong! There were pizza pies, Quiches, Shepard's Pie and of course, lots and lots of dessert pies!

The entry fee was $5 for all you can eat pie and the turn out was serious! Apparently people love the idea of pie for breakfast! This themed event was such a fun alternative to the typical potluck! I loved getting to try all different kinds of pie!

See you tomorrow!

Apple Pie

My family went apple picking a couple of weekends ago and I have since been a pie making machine! I made 4 pies this weekend!! Here is how I do apple pie:

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

My parents celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary on Monday and I made this pie to celebrate! The original recipe calls for Cool Whip, but I don't love using Cool Whip so I replaced it with whipped cream. The end result was delicious but messy - if you choose to use cool whip, the pie will hold together much better than when using whipped cream.

Apparently this is the week of the graham cracker crust! I shared a Key Lime Pie recipe on Monday and I used the same graham cracker crust for this pie! 1 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/3 cup of melted butter. Once these ingredients are mixed together, press them into the bottom of a 9 inch pie dish.

In a medium sized mixing bowl whip together 4 cups of cool whip or whipped cream, 1 cup of cream cheese, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice using an electric mixer. When these ingredients are well combined, fold in 4-5 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries.

Pour the whipped cream/blueberry mixture into the pressed graham cracker crust and let the pie set in the fridge and serve chilled. This pie keeps well in the fridge - so if you have leftovers you can enjoy them for days to come!

I chose to use whipped cream instead of cool whip and it made the pie messy! It tasted so good BUT serving it was kind of a nightmare. As you can see in the picture above, by the time it was served it didn't even look like a pie anymore! So, if you want a pie that looks like a pie cool whip is the way to go!!

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE PIE
ingredients
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 cups whipping cream (or cool whip)
1 cup cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4-5 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh)

directions
1. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a small mixing bowl. Once mixture is combined, press into the bottom of a 9" pie dish.
2. Using an electric mixer, whip together whipped cream/cool whip, cream cheese, sugar, salt and lemon juice.
3. Fold in blueberries.
4. Pour the whipped cream/blueberry mixture into pressed graham cracker crust.
5. Place pie in fridge to set & serve chilled.

Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

I celebrated my birthday with my grandparents this past Saturday and I made dinner and dessert! I made my favorite Stromboli recipe and Key Lime Pie for dessert! I tried Key Lime Pie for the first time this year and I don't know what I had been waiting for - it is so good & so easy to make!! I got this recipe from The Homebased Mom, you can find her recipe here!

Start by combining 1 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/3 cup of melted butter in a small mixing bowl.

Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of a 9" pie dish to form the crust. Set the pie dish aside once the crust is well pressed in.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together two 14 ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup of sour cream and 3/4 cup of key lime juice. I use Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice...

Once the sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and key lime juice are well combined pour the mixture into pressed graham cracker crust.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit & bake the pie for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven and let the pie sit in the oven for 30 minutes.

Allow the pie to cool and set in the fridge until it is completely chilled, garnish with whipped cream, lime zest and graham cracker crumbs once pie is chilled.

KEY LIME PIE
ingredients
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice

**whipped cream, lime zest & additional graham cracker crumbs to garnish.

directions
1. In a small mixing bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter together. Once well combined, press the mixture into the bottom of a 9" pie dish. Set the pie dish aside.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and key lime juice. Pour the mixture into the pressed graham cracker crust.
3. Smooth out the filling with a spoon.
4. Bake the pie for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, after ten minutes turn the oven off and let the pie sit in the oven for 30 minutes.
5. Allow the pie to cool completely before garnishing with whipped cream, lime zest and graham cracker crumbs.

Enjoy this tangy joy of a pie!
Kenzie