SnowPie2K16 - 10

There's nothing like the classic pumpkin pie to make you feel at peace. It's really hard to mess up a good pumpkin pie recipe, and I've stolen my mother-in-laws, so it's just about perfect. Put a dollop of freshly whipped cream on top and you'll be in heaven!

CREAMY PUMPKIN PIE

2 - 9 inch pastry shells
1 large can pumpkin
2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
4 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and spices. mix well and turn into pie shells. Bake 15 minutes, reduce oven to 350° and continue to bake 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Cool before cutting. Garnish with whipped cream.

SnowPie2K16 - 9

I'll be honest, we're 9 weeks into this challenge and I'm still all in, but my husband is getting a little tired of pie...and it was his week to pick. He wanted molten lava cake, one of my specialties, and I needed pie. So we compromised.

MOLTEN LAVA PIE

Not my favorite, but everyone else ate it up. I'd rather have my flowing chocolate in a ramekin, with no crust.

But, it was chocolate-y and molten-y, so at least the recipe was a success!

I based this off of THIS RECIPE from Chef Carla Hall. 

MOLTEN LAVA PIE

1 pie crust - baked

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butter

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1 - Preheat oven to 350°, bake pie shell and allow to cool.

2 - In a glass bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. Don't over heat. Let mixture cool slightly.

3 - In a separate bowl, use a mixer to whisk eggs and sugar until thickened, mix in flour and salt, then blend into the chocolate mixture until just mixed.

4 - Pour into baked pie shell and bake for 20-25 minutes. Will be slightly dry on top and look a little jiggly in the center.

5 - Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes (we didn't have time to wait, so mine was a little runnier than if we'd waited).

6 - Garnish with chopped nuts. (optional)

SnowPie2k16 - 8

Sometimes I ad-lib recipes. Like 93.7% of the time I don't follow a recipe completely. 89.2% of the time this works out for me. And yes, totally pulling numbers out of the sky, (those numbers are likely inflated slightly).

However, I'd never made a meringue pie, or a lemon pie. I didn't deviate on the recipe at all. I did, however, have to rush as soon as it came out of the oven to take my daughter 2 hours away to a Dr appt and may not have cooled the pie as requested...it sweated. Other than that this pie was easier than I imagined, and as delicious as the one I bought from their restaurant. (Better, actually, because I didn't make the meringue sky high...another story for another day)

Lemon Meringue Pie - Blue Bonnet Cafe
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp flour
Dash of salt
1 1/2 cup water
3 eggs
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice
Pie crust
Meringue for pie - recipe follows

Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9-in pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2-in beyond edge of pie plate. Flute edge; prick pastry. Bake in 450 oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

For Filling: in a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in water. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Separate egg yolks from whites; set whites aside for meringue. Best eggs yolks slightly. Stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks. Return mixture to saucepan. Bring mixture to gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and lemon peel. Gradually stir in lemon juice, mixing well. Turn filling into baked pastry shell. Make meringue for pie using the reserved egg whites. Spread meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Bake in 350 oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Cook completely before serving. For Lemon Cream Pie to with whipped cream instead of meringue.

For 3-egg meringue:
3 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 tbsp sugar

In a medium mixer bowl beat the egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar at medium speed of mixer for about 1 minute or until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, about 1 tbsp at a time, beating at high speed about 4 minutes more or until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks and sugar is dissolved. Immediately spread meringue over pie, carefully sealing edge of pastry to prevent shrinkage (any Seinfeld fans out there, hello?) Bake as directed above.

SnowPie2K16 - 7

I think I've figured out my dilemma with soupy berry pies... Practice makes perfect better.

1 - fresh berries are better than frozen to guarantee consistency

2 - directions are to be followed with exactness or pies turn soupy

Maybe rule #2 only applies to people like me who don't pay attention.

Either way, this week Landry picked blueberry pie. I used fresh berries. I followed instructions. Pie was perfect.

Elaine's Blueberry Pie - Bluebonnet Cafe Cookbook

2 pie crusts
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter, cut into small chunks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Add the blueberries to the dry mixture, stirring gently. Spray pie pan with non-stick spray. Place the dough on the bottom of the pan. Pour the berry mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the berry mixture with lemon juice and butter chunks. Cover the mixture with the 2nd pie crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Make a slit in the middle for steam to escape. Bake for 35-45 minutes.

SnowPie2K16 - 6

I promise this pie was made last week. It was a little crazy up in here and I'm just getting around to posting the recipe. It was delicious, but I'm struggling with the soupiness of some of my pies. It's user error, not the recipe, so go ahead and try this one. Kids thought it was a keeper.

Quadruple Berry Pie
2 pie crusts
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blackberries
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) raspberries
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blueberries
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) cranberries
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp sugar

Heat oven to 450. Last one prepared pee crust in 9-in pie pan.

Stir together sugar, cornstarch, tapioca,  and salt; gently stir in berries. Let stand 15 minutes (I forgot this step, probably makes a big difference).

Spoon into crust lined pan. Top pie with lattice top. Brush with milk, sprinkle with 2 tsp sugar.

Bake in oven with cookie sheet on the rack below in case it bubbles over.  Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 375 and cover crust with foil. Bake 40-45 minutes longer. Let stand for 2 hours before serving.