Crustless Cranberry Walnut Pie

I bought three days of cranberries the other day, (hey, they were on sale for 99 cents apiece, what was I supposed to do?) so I knew I needed to get a hold of some great cranberry-involving recipes as soon as possible. This recipe was really, really good. The cranberries were just tart enough to counteract the sweetness of the cake/pie. It's called a pie, but it's basically a thin cake to me. My brother happened to be home this weekend, so this dessert was gone within 12 hours! 

I had some cranberries left over, so I froze them in the bag to use in future recipes. Does anyone know what a raw cranberry tastes like? I thought about trying to eat one, but I couldn't get up the nerve! Homework and classwork has pretty much been taking over my life for the past week- two tests, two oral presentations, a portfolio due, and a paper- BUT I got it all done, and I have all As in my classes going into finals, which start this Wednesday. I can't wait for winter break! I'll have so much more time for baking and planning products for my Etsy store. I already know I'm going to sell vintage kitchen items, recipe cards, and dinner menus, but beyond that, I have no clue.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

These were my first experience at making whoopie pies, and I was so pleased by the results! The first time I made them with a seven minute frosting (as pictured), and the second time I used a marshmallow creme filling. Both are delicious: the seven minute frosting is much airier and lighter, and the marshmallow creme is for those of you that love a filling with more substance. The seven minute frosting only keeps for a few hours before separating, so be sure to make it right before you plan to serve the whoopie pies. The marshmallow creme filling doesn't seem apt to separate, and could probably be made ahead of time. The whoopie pies last at least four days in a sealed container at room temperature.

Recently, I started collecting vintage cooking items for my soon-to-open Etsy store. This is my first experience with selling items, and I am SO EXCITED about it! I will be sure to update everyone when the items are up and put a link at the top of this website. Thank you so much for all of your support! 

If you have a large cookie scoop, then by all means use that. I haven't bought one yet, so I just used a large spoon to shape the dough. 

If you are using the marshmallow creme recipe for filling, then disregard the seven minute frosting photographs below.

Whoopie Pies
from Martha Stewart

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Seven Minute Frosting (recipe and ingredients below)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Line two baking pans with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats) or parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Slowly add dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
• Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, place cookies onto lined baking pans, 12 per pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.
• Spread 2 tablespoons frosting onto each of 24 cookies. Sandwich together with remaining 24 cookies.

Seven Minute Frosting

• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

• Heat 3/4 cup sugar, the water, and
  corn syrup in a medium saucepan
  over medium heat, stirring until sugar
  dissolves. Increase heat, and bring to
  a boil. Wash down sides of pan with
  a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Cook until it registers 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Meanwhile, whisk whites with a
  mixer on medium speed until soft
  peaks form, about 2 1/2 minutes. Add
  remaining tablespoon sugar; reduce
  speed to medium-low. Pour sugar syrup
  into whites in a slow, steady stream.
  Increase speed to medium high; beat
  until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.
  Beat in vanilla; use immediately.

Marshmallow Crème Filling

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

• In a medium bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and remaining ingredients until light and fluffy.

Kahlua Refrigerator Pie

I received this recipe from a church member after lamenting on Facebook about how much Kahlua I had in my cabinet. She broke through the hordes of typical college students' comments to pass on a delicious, easy dessert! Monday is Labor Day, and this refrigerator pie is the perfect item to bring to the celebration!

This is the quickest dessert I've made on A Dessert a Week yet, but don't let that fool you about the taste. Once the flavors have time to mix, this dessert is as complex as any. Excluding chill time, this recipe took about 5 minutes to prepare.

If you prefer the taste of Kahlua to be more prevalent, then add 1-2 tablespoons extra.

Ta-da! Instant, delicious pie!


Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate pie crust
• 6 Heath Bars (or a bag of Heath Bar chips)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (reserve 2 tablespoons extra for the topping)
• 6 oz cream cheese
• 8 oz Cool Whip
• 1/4 cup Kahlua or to taste!

Directions:

• Crush candy with knife blade in food processor (or with a mallet, car tires, whatever). Add cream cheese to this and process. Add chocolate chips and Kahlua and process. Pour this over Cool Whip and mix.
• Place all in crust and put reserved chocolate chips on on top. Chill overnight or all day if possible to allow flavors to mix through. Freezes very well. You can pour extra Kahlua over the pie or drizzle some on the plate if you wish.

Nectarine Lattice Pie

This was, hands down, the BEST crust I've ever made on a pie. I have had bad experiences in the past with not being able to roll dough out, sticky dough, etc, but this dough was so perfect and easy to use. It is now my go-to recipe for pie crusts! You can fill this pie with any sort of fruit; you just will want to keep an eye on it to make sure the filling gets done, and maybe turn the temperature down to 375 the entire time. I chose nectarines because they were in season (and are throughout the beginning of fall). Oh, and don't be intimidated by the lattice work; this was my first time doing it, and I did it in under five minutes.

It probably would've been easier to use a pastry blender to incorporate the butter, but I couldn't find mine, so if you don't own one, fingers or a fork work just fine.

The recipe called for 5 tablespoons of water, but I had to add 6 1/2 before the dough would stick together. Just start with 5, and increase by teaspoons until the dough is right.

I used my rolling pin to transfer the dough from my mat to the dish. I'd seen it on some cooking show forever ago, and it worked amazing! Tons better than the times I tried to use my hands for sure.

Simply Recipes has a wonderful tutorial for doing the lattice top pie. If you want to do a regular pie crust, just roll the other half of the dough out to 12 inches, place on top of filling, seal, and cut slits in top.

Nectarine Pie

• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 7 c. sliced fresh nectarines (about 9 fruits)

Double Crust Pie Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• Milk for crust
• 1 tbsp. sugar

Directions

• For the crust: whisk sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub in with fingertips (or a pastry blender) until small pea-sized lumps form. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water. Mix lightly with a fork until the dough holds together when small pieces are pressed between fingertips. Add ice water by the teaspoon if too dry. Gather dough into a ball, and divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap separately in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes. This can be made two days ahead, just make sure to let it soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
• In a large bowl combine the 1/3 cup of sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, flour, and lemon juice. Mix well then toss with the sliced and peeled nectarines.
•  Mound fruit into pastry lined 9 inch pie plate. Do lattice crust using these instructions. Brush edge of pie with milk; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. Bake at 375 20-25 minutes more or until the crust is golden.

Beach Lime Pie with Meringue

Well, I couldn't find key limes, so I had to get a bit creative with the name. I'm vacationing at Topsail (Top-sul) Island this week, and I thought that you couldn't get much beachier than a key lime pie. I didn't bring any prep tools or ingredients to the beach with me, which I discovered about an hour ago to be a MISTAKE. The beach house didn't have a juicer, so I hand squeezed all of the limes (not too difficult, just messy), I didn't have a measuring cup, so I had to guesstimate on the lime juice by filling half of a small juice glass with lime juice, (I mean, it said half a cup, right?) and I literally used "table spoons" to measure out the sugar for the meringue. At least I found a hand mixer in the back corner of the one of the cabinets! I didn't know how many limes would make 1/2 cup of lime juice, so I bought 6 limes, which was 3 limes over the limit; luckily, that gave me plenty of limes for decoration on top of the pie! Also, I made my life a whole lot easier and bought a pre-made graham crust (which I recommend if you are at the beach and want your life to be without stress). It would be pretty to mix a tablespoon of lime zest into the filling, but I couldn't find a zester. It still tastes awesome without it though! 

Sophia was extremely interested in the limes, and even tried to lick them until she realized they weren't peanut butter/chicken/other delicious treats she isn't supposed to eat. Then she wandered away.

Hand squeezing the limes weren't as bad as I expected. I mean, lime juice did go everywhere, but at least it didn't end up in my eyes. I've also heard rumors of an elusive product called key lime juice that would probably be good (but not as good as fresh squeezed limes) in the pie.Coincidentally, I toured a beach house on the south end of the island, and THEY had a zester, juicer, can opener, AND measuring spoons. We reserved that beach house for next year :)

My handy boyfriend managed to find some sort of tool that punches holes in cans, and I used that in place of a can opener, and it worked!

I would've liked if the pie filling came up higher in the pan; I might use an 8 inch crust next time, but that's just personal preference.

After baking, the pie should be firm in the center, and wiggly around the edges. 

I completely forgot to photograph the meringue process, but it really isn't difficult, and it only took me five minutes, tops.

My filling wasn't as set/chilled as I would've liked, but I'd already cut the piece by then. It was delicious though, and as I type this my family is preparing Philly Cheesesteaks, and the pie will be dessert tonight! Also, this pie took only 15 minutes to make in prep time.


Beach Lime Pie with Meringue
adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 5 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice/juice of 3 or 4 regular limes
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 4 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well. Pour into unbaked graham cracker shell.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool.
• To make the meringue, in a large glass or metal bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.