Happy Pi Day!

peach and plum galettes

Happy Pi Day everyone! 

To start things off I have 2 lovely stone fruit galettes to share with you.

One is plum, the other peach. Both are quick and tasty!

I used this galette dough recipe from Fresh from the Oven, and I highly recommend it. The dough is thick, pliable, easy to work with, as well as buttery and flakey. It also makes enough for both galettes!

after baking plum Happy Pi Day!

I was so excited last week when I remembered that today was Pi Day. I missed it last year and didn’t want to make the same mistake this year.

What type of pie are you going to make for Pi Day?

[Read more...]

Caramel Apple Pie

Caramel Apple Pies

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and last minute my family decides to have dinner at home.

Go figure, right? Well, I just finished throwing together a quick Turkey Day menu.

A few things that are new to the menu this year: an amazing looking butternut squash salad & sausage stuffing from Brown Eyed Baker. Michelle has a vast collection of Thanksgiving related recipes, it’s a great place to go for recipe inspiration!

I also decided on apple dumplings, inspired by one of my classes.

Although these apple pies didn’t make the cut, they are a delicious fall time dessert. The classic apple and caramel combination makes for an extra special treat. Pair with a little vanilla ice cream and you have a masterpiece.

I originally made these pies, along with a bunch of other pies, for a friend of the family.

Of all the pies I made that weekend, the apple pies turned out the best.  Granted it took me a few tries….but I finally got it.

Picnik collage2 Caramel Apple Pie

I found that pre-baking a mixture of apples, a little sugar and cinnamon for about 20 minutes made them release enough of their juices so that the crust didn’t puff too much.

By the way, thank you to my awesome Twitter followers for helping me solve this problem! I can always count on Twitter for a quick and helpful response.

Next time I made this recipe I plan on adding more caramel. Yes, more caramel.

I kind of made this one up as I went and didn’t think it through very well. I only added a layer of caramel to the top of the apples, when really it needs to be layered in 2 to 3 different parts of the pie. [Read more...]

Triple Berry Pie

whole pie

The best thing about pies is that they are forgiving and flexible.

Pies can be better then your friends when it comes to flexibility. Just throw in a little of this and that, top it with a crust or crumble, and you are good to go.

My boyfriend expressed to me during an episode of Pushing Daises that his favorite pie is triple berry pie. I am no fool, and picked up on that not so subtle tip to make one asap. I asked him what three berries he preffered in his pie and he said anything, just as long as there would be pie.

strawberries 199x300 Triple Berry Pie strips of dough 199x300 Triple Berry Pie whole pie 199x300 Triple Berry Pie

The next day at the store I was looking through the produce trying to decide what he thought might make a good triple berry pie. Strawberries were a given, and as soon as I saw blackberries I knew I had to get those as well.

The third berry was a little bit more tricky… Nothing was on sale, and they were all looking a little iffy. I really wanted to use raspberries, but they were just not up to my standards that day so I settled on blueberries. And lets face it, you can’t go wrong with blueberries. They are delicious, and healthy!

While it is obvious all these berries are delicious on their own, as well as together, I decided to add a little lemon zest and juice to berry mixture to brighten it up and give it a little bit of tartness.

lemon and strawberries Triple Berry Pie

Needless to say, this pie was a total hit with the bf. It was tangy, fruity, bright, and slightly sweet with a bit of buttery-salty goodness from the crust. The bf said he liked the pie better at room temperature, while I liked it slightly warmed up. Either way, it was delicious.

Triple Berry Pie

For the crust I used this recipe, and double it. 1 for the top, and 1 for the bottom.

Ingredients

  • 1 carton of strawberries, quartered
  • 1 pint of blueberries
  • 1 pint of blackberries
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar + 2 tbsp for sprinkling
  • 1 egg

**Frozen berries would work just as well in place of the fresh berries. Just thaw, and use in place of the fresh berries. Over all you want 3-4 cups of fruit, so measure accordingly.

To Make the Pie

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF
  2. Wash and dry all the berries. Then quarter the strawberries. Combine all the berries in 1 large bowl.
  3. Zest and juice the lemon into the berry combination.
  4. Sprinkle in the 1/3 cup sugar and flour, mix, and allow the berries to sit at room temperature while you make the crust.
  5. Carefully lay your bottom crust in your pie plate, pour in the fruit, and top with a lattice crust (or crumble…which ever you prefer). Then using your egg make an egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tbsp sugar.
  6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. Allow to completely cool before serving.

 

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