Category — Baking

We’re rounding out the Thanksgiving dessert preparations today with pecan pie.  Chocolate pecan pie, to be exact.  This easy recipe isn’t for the faint of heart – it is RICH RICH RICH.  Serve it with a little sweetened whipped cream and watch your guests hold their bellies with delight. 

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put your oven rack in the lowest position.  Put the chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl (preferably glass) and microwave in 15-20 second intervals to melt (be careful not to scorch those chips!!).  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together (don’t whisk) eggs, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Stirring constantly, gradually add melted chocolate.  Pour filling into prepared crust; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet.  Arrange pecans in one even layer over the filling.

Bake just until set (filling will jiggle slightly when pie plate is tapped), 50-60 minutes, rotating halfway through cooking time.  Let cook completely on a wire rack, at least 4 hours (or up to overnight) before serving. 

Leftovers!?

OK, if you’re making all this pie, depending on how many guests you’re feeding, you’re gonna have leftovers.  Which is never a bad thing, when it comes to pie – I mean, what better Friday-after-Thanksgiving-breakfast is there than a slice of pie and a cup of coffee or tea??  What’s the best way to store those goodies?  Fruit pies (double or single-crust) are best stored at room temperature.  Putting them in the fridge will only make the crust gummy.  Wrap them well in foil and they should keep for 2 days.  Custard and cream-filled pies (like pumpkin and pecan) should be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge.  They’ll last for a day or two. 

Stay tuned – learn all about Chia in Monday’s post!  Have a great weekend.

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A mid-day post, how novel?!  I wanted to get this up, stat, because I just got an email from a flummoxed reader who asked me to explain the term “blind baking” – the pumpkin pie recipe calls for you to blind bake the crust. 

“Blind baking” is just a fancy term for baking the crust before you put the filling inside.  You should use dried beans or pie weights (the pie weights I’ve seen are either ceramic balls or else little metal balls all linked together on a chain) to keep the bottom of the crust from puffing up too much as it bakes.  It’s likely something you’ve already done, if you ever bake pie or quiche.  For the uninitiated, after you get your crust situated in the pie plate, put a bunch of dried beans/pie weights in to cover the bottom part of the crust, bake for the time indicated, remove the beans/weights, and fill the pie. 

Many recipes/cookbooks call for you to line the crust with aluminum foil before putting the pie weights in – this can help keep the crust from getting too brown.  I don’t do this, and I haven’t had an issue with too much browning – in fact, I find the foil to be cumbersome and that it usually wrecks the crust a little bit going in.  So if you wanna be a purist, you can do this, but I take the short-cut way and don’t.

Please, if you ever have questions about terms or recipes, just email me or post them in the comments, OK?

Carry on!

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OK, back to pie today!  The two other pies I make at Thanksgiving are pumpkin and pecan.  Today we’ll deal with pumpkin.  The pumpkin pie recipe is adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (a GREAT all-‘round cookbook if you’re looking for one – nice pictures, well laid-out, tasty, easy recipes).  So, like all ATK recipes, it’s got some funky steps – but let me tell you, I was not a big fan of pumpkin pie ‘til I had this one.  And my mother-in-law went crazy over it – I can’t remember if she says it’s the “best” she’s ever had, but this pie generates that level of enthusiasm.  So it’s worth the effort.   

For this pie, you’ll need one single pie crust – check out my post from the other day for the double crust recipe . . . just use one ball o’ dough and you’ll be all set!

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

 Blind-bake the pie crust at 375 degrees, for about 20-30 minutes (crust will look dry and slightly golden).  Remove the crust from the oven.  If it’s not already there, set your oven rack to the lower-middle position and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Note: the crust must be hot when the filling is added, so time this accordingly! 

While the crust bakes, process the pumpkin, brown sugar, spices and salt in a food processor until combined, about 1 minute.  Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in the cream and milk, return to a simmer briefly, and then remove from the heat.

Put the eggs in the food processor (don’t bother cleaning the bowl beforehand) and process them until beaten and uniform in color.  Keep the machine running and slowly add about half the hot pumpkin mixture through the feed tube.  Stop the machine, add the remaining pumpkin, and continue to process the mixture until uniform, about 30 seconds longer.

Dip you finger in to taste – it is SO tasty!  OK, enough.

Pour the warm filling into the hot, blind-baked crust.  If you have extra filling, ladle it into the pie after it’s baked for about 5 minutes (your filling will settle a little bit in that time).  Bake until the filling is puffy and lightly cracked around the edges, and the center of the pie wiggles like Jell-O, about 25 minutes.  Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool until warm or room temp. before serving.

You can make this pie ahead of time!  Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to 2 days . . . .

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Can you believe it’s November already?  That Halloween is behind us and that we’re staring down the barrel of THE HOLIDAYS?  The older I get, the more quickly time passes . . . not a great combo, if you think about it.  But that’s for another post. 

The next major food-oriented holiday is Thanksgiving – are you hosting?  I *love* hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and have been doing it for our family for the past few years, but this year I asked for a pass since I’ve had all these foot issues . . . so my dear sister-in-law agreed to take on the job. 

Over the next several days, I’ll share some of my favorite Turkey-day recipes with you – the ones I make, year after year.  Even if you’re not hosting, chances are you’ve offered to “bring something” to contribute to the meal – come here for ideas, and let me know if you need a specific recipe.   [Read more →]

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I know I said that my favorite Halloween treats are pre-fab bits of artificial everything, but I have some favorite fall desserts that are more wholesome.  And since I’ve been sharing lots of savory meal ideas, I thought I’d mix it up and share with you a super-easy fall dessert – loved by kids and grownups alike. 

If you want to give this more nutritional value, you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all or half of the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe.  The WW pastry flour has a higher starch and lower gluten content than regular WW flour, so it offers less structure for your product, but will give you a more tender result.  Because it’s pastry flour, it’s finer and its somewhat nuttier taste is much less noticeable than regular whole wheat flour (read: less grit).  I have made these with all WW pastry flour, and people have raved about them . . . shhhhh, they didn’t realize they were enjoying some added protein and fiber!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt and set aside.  With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy; beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.  Beat in the pumpkin puree.  Reduce speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely in the pan, cut into squares, and serve!

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

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Have you seen all those articles that say that if you get your kid(s) in the kitchen, they’ll be more invested in trying the foods they make?  That they’ll suddenly become more adventurous and maybe even like to eat <gasp!> a wide variety of foods? 

Well, in my case, it’s hogwash.  My daughter has been cooking with me since she was 2-years-old, and since then, she probably eats fewer foods.  This is a child that used to eat EVERYTHING with gusto.  Then at 2, the list of foods she’d eat got progressively smaller and smaller.  I used to scoff at picky kids and figure that it was nurture, but we are living proof that it’s not always the case.  She was, for a period, on that dreaded American “beige diet” – it’s mortifying, I know.  It’s interesting that all this time, she has clamored to be cooking with me, yet she has no interest in tasting the final product.  I keep at it though.  I’m stubborn.

But I digress. 

There are some things she loves to make and eat.  They’re all in the dessert category, surprisingly enough.  Yesterday we made a great and easy s’mores bar cookie recipe.  The Brownie troop leaders (of which I’m one – no snickering) and their kids got together to plan some meetings, and I offered to bring dessert.  What’s more Girl Scouty than s’mores?  This is a nice recipe for a 6-year-old because there are no electronics involved in the preparation, save for the oven.  It’s just a smash, stir, dump, press, spread, sprinkle operation. 

Enjoy!

Smore’s Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put several whole graham crackers (approximately 7) in a large zip-top bag and squeeze the air out.  Pulverize the crackers with a rolling pin/meat mallet until they form a fine crumb.  In a large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Press into a 13×9-inch pan that’s been coated with cooking spray.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over crust.

Set oven to broil. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the melted chocolate. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 20 to 30 seconds or until the marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.) Cool 10 minutes or longer.

Serve warm or room temp, and store any remaining bars tightly covered – those marshmallows will get hard & chewy if you don’t.

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Cupcake boutiques continue to be the rage, and frankly, I don’t get it.  Maybe it’s because I’m cynical and not cutesy?  Maybe it’s because most of their product is terrible?

It’s easy to screw up a cupcake.  Most often, the problem is that they’re dry.  You have to be extra careful when you’re baking a little weeny cake.  There is no baked good more unappealing than a dry cupcake.   And I’ve even had cupcakes made by really terrific, accomplished bakers, that are dry dry dry.  No good.  Not worth the calories.

Then there is the cute and hip factor.  Cute and hip alone don’t get you very far in life, and not in cupcakes either.  I want substance:  a moist cake with a firm but tender crumb and good flavor in the cake.  I also want enough icing so I can get some in almost every bite, but I do not want it mounded up on top so precariously that I have to eat it off before I chomp the cake or worse, that it just falls off when I unwrap my cake.

Last, but certainly not least, there is the pricetag problem.  You can pay $3.99 for a single cupcake at some places.  $3.99!?  I find it offensive.  And this is coming from a woman whose biggest budget line-item is for food.  I am lucky enough to be able to spend good money on good food, and I will pay extra for a premium product.  But I haven’t found a premium cupcake in a boutique yet.

Lest you think I’m insane, see what ire cupcakes can inspire on boards like Chowhound.

What the heck has set me off on this rant?  The other night my husband and I broke down and tried Sweet, in Harvard Square.   We split their “organic karat” cupcake, which they bill as “Moist carrot cake with shredded organic carrots and crushed pineapple topped with classic cream cheese frosting and an edible gold leaf petal.”  I can’t remember how much we paid for this puppy, but it was in the $3 range . . . because although I brought a menu home to refresh my memory, there are no prices on the menu.  Grrrr.  Don’t even get me started on this junk.  It’s similar to when you’re at a restaurant and they describe the specials, but don’t let you in on the prices.  Makes me craaaazy.

So this cupcake was actually moist, and it certainly was cute.  But with all that carrot and pineapple, you’d have to work hard to have it be dry.  And here’s the thing, the cake was pretty much flavorless.  It was merely a vehicle for the cream cheese frosting, which was fine, but not outstanding – and it was mounded up in such a cute way that it did not pass my icing distribution requirement.  It fell off.  A total buzz-kill.

Here’s what I like about cupcakes – they’re a sweet treat in a portion-controlled package.   I’ll spend money on cupcakes from old-school venues like Lyndell’s, but better yet, I think it’s fun and relatively easy to make cupcakes.  This recipe for black-bottom cupcakes is one of the best I’ve had anywhere, frankly.  It’s moist, it’s chocolatey and flavorful and fun, and it’s cheap to boot.

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For those of you who’ve followed me on Facebook until now, you might remember that my 6-year-old daughter is in love with Giada De Laurentiis.  She will watch “Everyday Italian” with rapt attention, and comment on everything from the food Giada is making (“oooh, I could eat the t.v.!”) to her outfit (“I like Giada’s clothes mom, and her jewelry, and her eye makeup is sparkly today!”).  It’s really very funny.

When I’m not watching with her, L. will often pause the t.v. and run from the room yelling “mom! mom!  you have to come here and SEE this, it’s amazing!”  In which case I have to run in to witness the tasty-looking vittles for myself.

Anyway.  We were watching the “Bake Sale” episode at the end of last week, and amongst the many sweets Giada showcased were these Marscapone Mini Cupcakes- replete with a pink strawberry glaze.  What six-year-old could resist those?

We whipped them up yesterday and they are terrific.  So easy to make (cake mix is easy), light, cute and yes, very pink.  Perfect for a fairy tea party or a princess-palooza of some kind, or just to eat with friends on what was a gorgeous summer Saturday.

Enjoy!

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