Elle's Kitchen: Apple Blueberry Crumble Pie

 

It is Wednesday, so It's time for

another pie!  This is a quick and

easy recipe.

 

Preheat oven to 425º F.

 

 

Ingredients for the Crumb Topping:

 

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

4 tabl. butter

 

 

Place topping ingredients in a bowl

and mix together.  I find this is easily

done with clean hands.

 

 

Ingredients for the Pie:

 

1  9'' pie shell

 

1 pint blueberries

3 granny smith apples, peeled & sliced

2/3 cup sugar

2 tabl. flour

2 tabl. corn starch

1 tabl. lemon juice

1/2 teas. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

 

 

Mix all of the pie ingredients in a large

bowl.  Place in pie shell. 

 

 

Cover with crumble ingredients.

 

Bake at 425º F. for 15 minutes, reduce heat

to 350º F. and continue baking until the filling

is bubbling, about 40 additional minutes.

I added a pie crust shield when I reduce the

temperature to protect the crust from burning.

 

 

I'm thinking I'll add some vanilla ice

cream a la mode.  Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: Lemon Meringue Pie

 

We are at week 3 of the Summer of Pie².

This week we will be enjoying a lovely

Lemon Meringue.

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

4 eggs, separated

2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

1/4 teas. cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar, preferably bakers sugar if you have it

 

 

Preheat oven to 375º F.

In a medium bowl combine crumbs,

melted butter and walnuts and mix well.

 

 

Press into bottom and sides of a 10''

deep dish pie plate and bake for

8 to 12 minutes or until set.  Remove

from oven and cool completely.

(Keep oven on.)

 

 

In a medium bowl combine egg yolks,

sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice

and zest; mix well.  Pour into cooled crust

and place in refrigerator.

 

 

Note: Before this step I wipe a large

bowl, spatula and mixer blades with

vinegar and then wash in hot, soapy

water.  You do not want any grease

on your utensils.

 

In large bowl combine egg whites

and cream of tartar, beat until soft

peaks form.  Gradually add sugar,

beating until stiff peaks form.

 

 

Spoon meringue onto top of lemon

filling, spread over pie being sure to

seal the meringue to the edge of the

crust.  Swirl and peak meringue with

a spoon.

 

 

Bake the pie for 10 to 15 minutes or

until meringue is golden brown. Place

pie in refrigerator and chill for 4 to 6

hours before serving.

 

Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: Strawberry Pie

 

We are just at the end of Strawberry

season in our neck of the woods and

I had to be sure to include a Strawberry

Pie in this year's Summer of Pie!

 

 

Ingredients:

baked pie crust, cooled

strawberries, stemmed

8oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 tabl. raspberry liqueur

apricot preserves

 

 

Mix cream cheese, confectioner's sugar,

and raspberry liqueur until well mixed.

 

 

Spread cream cheese mixture in

bottom of pie shell.

 

Top with strawberries as shown.  Melt

a bit of the apricot preserves in the microwave

and brush on top of the berries to make them

glisten.

 

 

Chill and serve.

 

Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: French Tart

 

Yes, I know it is the Summer of Pie,

but this tart is so pretty and so tasty

I had to include it.  You will need:

 

tart shell, see below

pastry cream, see below

strawberries, sliced

kiwi, sliced

blackberries

2 tabl. apricot jelly

 

 

Crust Ingredients:

 

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup ground walnuts or pecans (pulse

nuts in food processor with a little powdered

sugar)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teas. salt

9 tabl. very cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg yolk

 

 

Place flour, nuts, sugar and salt in

processor and pulse until combined.

Scatter butter over mix and pulse until

butter is coarsely cut in.

 

 

Break up the yolk and add a little at

a time, pulsing with each addition.

Then process at 10 second intervals

until the dough clumps and curds.

 

 

Turn the dough out onto a flat surface

and knead just to make sure everything

is incorporated.

 

 

Butter a 9'' fluted tart pan with a removable

bottom.  Press dough along the sides and bottom

of pan, reserve a small piece in case you need to

patch the crust after baking.  Freeze the crust for

at least 30 minutes. 

 

Preheat oven to 350º F.

 

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil

and place buttered side down on the crust, press

into crust to fit.  Place on a baking pan and bake

for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil, if the crust has

puffed, press it down with the back of a spoon.

Now bake for another 8 minutes without the foil.

Cool to room temperature.

 

 

Pastry Cream Ingredients:

 

2 1/2 cups milk

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 teas. vanilla

2 tabl. butter, cut into bits

 

 

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil.

 

 

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk the

egg yolks with the sugar and cornstarch.

 

While whisking, add 1/4 cup of the hot milk

to temper the eggs.  Slowly pour in the rest

of the milk while whisking.  Over medium heat,

whisk until mixture comes to a boil.  Keep whisking

for 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat.

 

 

Whisk in the vanilla.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then

whisk in the bits of butter until incorporated and

the pastry cream is smooth. 

 

 

Scrape the cream into a bowl and place a

piece of plastic wrap on top of the custard

as shown.  Refrigerate until cold.

 

 

Pour pastry cream into the shell. 

 

 

Arrange fruit as shown.  Melt the jam

and brush over fruit. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Sorry I was so late with this post.  We have

houseguests and we have been having so

much fun!

Elle's Kitchen: Cherry Pie

 

I have a confession...  I only made this

pie to test the decorative top crust.  I don't

like cooked fruit, I love to eat fresh fruit.

Except, in buckles, crumbles, cobblers, grunts

or, as I have learned from my friends in The

Social Table, sonkers (that was a new one to me).

Oh yeah, combine cooked fruits with some butter,

oats and brown sugar and I love it!

 

 

Back when I was known in my hometown as

The Girl Who Liked Old Stuff, I would scour

garage sales, rummage sales, church jumble

sales, often competing with my friend Melissa

to discover great finds.  This was one of those

finds, in a nondescript little tin were these

adorable cutters.  I used a few of these to make

the pattern in the top crust.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 pie crusts

1 beaten egg white

2 cans cherry pie filling

(I used one of dark cherries and

one of no sugar cherries)

Sugar

 

 

Preheat oven to 425º F.

 

Press one of the pie crusts in a 9'' glass

pie plate.  Brush bottom and sides with

egg white.

 

 

Combine the 2 cherry fillings if using

different types.

 

 

Fill the bottom crust with the 2 cans

of filling.

 

 

Cut the top crust with small decorative cutters

in the center of the crust.  Center cut crust over

pie plate and carefully place over cherries.  Fold

bottom crust over top and flute the edges with

your fingers.  I used my finger to add egg white

around the openings in the crust, you can't use

the brush or the cherry syrup will get on the crust.

You can use the brush to coat the edges with egg

white, sprinkle lightly with sugar.

 

 

Package the small pieces that you cut out and

place in the freezer, you can use them for another

pie.

 

 

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until crust

is golden brown.  I added a crust shield

after 20 minutes so the crust would not

burn.

 

 

As you can see the crust does not look as

great as it does in a magazine...  Some of

the filling bubbled up through the holes in

the top crust.  Let's hope it tastes good!

 

Enjoy!