PIES!

Warning: This is NOT my strong suit!  I'm still learning how to make a good pie.  I tend to make them a little dark.  But here's what I've picked up so far:

For my sister-in-law's annual 4th of July cookout, I volunteered pies.  Perfect opportunity to practice, right?  :)  I decided to make 3 pies.  Two would be flag-patterned with blueberry in the corner and cherry and strawberry-rhubarb for the rest.  The third would be apple.   I wanted to avoid the canned pie filling when possible, I LOVE a good cherry pie and don't really care for the taste of the canned stuff.  So I started hunting for filling recipes.  Here's what I decided to go with:

I found my cherry pie filling recipe on My Baking Addiction.  Great baking blog, check it out if you have a chance!

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling: 
(mybakingaddiction.com)

5-6 cups of fresh pitted cherries
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. almond extract

"In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries, water, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.  Stir in almond extract.  Cool slightly before using as a topping."

I set right to work on the cherry:

Note: Properly pitting cherries is harder than conquering the western world and leaves your hands rust-colored for about 3 weeks (or until your nails grow out and you managed to exfoliate your palms).  I broke about 15 toothpicks, stabbed myself a few times, crushed dozen of the slippery little devils and practiced a great deal of restraint to keep from swearing multiple times.  I finally got the hang of it, using a straightened paper clip.  Good luck.

Next I tackled the blueberry, with a recipe I found on allrecipes.com

Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling

3 pints of fresh blueberries
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. cold butter cut into pieces
1 pint of fresh blueberries

"Cook and stir 3 pints blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan with water over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and add butter and remaining 1 pint blueberries; stir gently so blueberries stay whole. Allow to cool."

I followed that with a strawberry-rhubarb filling recipe from I-don't-know-where, that spent years tucked into my recipe box, ready and waiting for this day.  :)  

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Filling:

2 1/2 cups chopped fresh red rhubarb
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. Minute Tapioca
1 Tbsp. All-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together all ingredients.  Pour into prepared pie crust.

I finished with my mom's apple pie recipe.

Mom's Apple Pie Filling:

8 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 6 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of Nutmeg

Combine all ingredients.  Pour into prepared pie crust. 

For my crust I used a double batch of my mother-in-law's recipe, from her mother...  ;)

Grandma Colman's Pie Crust:
(makes 5 crusts)

5 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. icing sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups shortening
3/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp. vinegar (I use red wine vinegar)

Sift together dry ingredients, cut in shortening.  Mix water, egg and vinegar.  Pour over dry, combine until a soft dough forms.  

Then the fun began.  

Using a star shaped cookie cutter and a paring knife, and constructed myself 2 flag pies and one star-covered one.  :)  

The pies were yummy, but my kids wanted to make some just for us.  Only, they each wanted different flavors, and that was a LOT of work and makes a LOT of pie...  So using the leftover ingredients, I invented (or at least I think I did) Teacup Pies!

They turned out GREAT!!!  It was an idea worth sharing.  :)

Lemon "Brownies"

I hesitate to call these "brownies" with their dazzling yellow hue, but that is what the recipe dubbed them, and so I give you "Lemony Lemon Brownies" as seen in various Pinterest and facebook posts.  :)  I tried these out of curiosity, and  they're certainly no show-stopper.  However, they are a tasty little treat that are quickly whipped-up, and could be paired with other desserts (various ice creams come to mind) for an escape from the ordinary.

Lemon Brownies (with lemon glaze)

Brownies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup flour (all-purpose or cake)
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon zest
3/4 cups granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Glaze:
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
8 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup icing sugar (powdered/confectioners sugar)

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8"x8" pan.  Zest and juice 2 lemons.  Beat together the flour, sugar, salt and butter.  In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, zest, and lemon juice.  Add this to the flour mixture. Beat until creamy, pour into greased pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown around the edges.  Cool completely before glazing.  (To make the glaze, simply whisk the three ingredients together until smooth.)

Berry Best Cheesecake

This is an adaptation/alteration of a blueberry cheesecake recipe that I found in a magazine (I believe it was Taste of Home?).  I decided to make it for Easter this year, and it turned out fabulous.  I used a crust-less version of it as the base layer for a cake that I did last month.  That also turned out well.  This cheesecake does not require a hot water bath or gradual cooling, making it one of the simpler recipes.  It has a thick texture (though seedy if you don't strain your berries a bit) and a very rich flavor; a perfect use for ripe spring and summer berries.

Berry Best Cheesecake

12 graham cracker boards
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 packages (total of 24 oz) Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
6 oz plain low-fat greek yogurt (recipe calls for 2%)
3 Tbsp. lemon juice (I used the juice of 1 lemon, it worked well)
2 tsp. lemon zest (one lemon should be plenty for this)
3 eggs
1 cup mixed berries
1/4 cup sugar

(I used frozen berries for this and had a good result, but I'm sure that fresh would be even better).

Pre-heat your oven to 350F.  Crush the crackers as finely as possible, mix them with the melted butter and 2 Tbsp of sugar, and press them firmly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch round spring-form pan.  In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and yogurt.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the lemon juice and the zest.  Add the eggs and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl at least once.  Rinse the berries and toss them with the flour before folding them into the filling.  Pour the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edge.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the cheesecake, then allow it to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about an hour.  This cake should be refrigerated for at least 3 hours before serving, in order to set.  Just before serving you may want to add additional berries and/or glaze to the top of your cheesecake.

Mandazi

I learned about Mandazi (a.k.a. Maandazi, or Mahamri when made with coconut milk) about 6 years ago, from a cookbook for a popular Bed and Breakfast in Cape May, NJ.  That recipe used bananas, and when I tried it I didn't get a very good result (I'm 100% sure that was my fault, rather than the fault of a bad recipe).   Today my oldest daughter had to choose a country to report on for school.  Thanks to the presence of African wildlife, she picked Kenya.  One of the things that we needed to research was the nation's cuisine, among which, was Mandazi, and my daughter thought they looked fantastic.  I searched online for a quick recipe, and once again I found myself whipping up a batch of these fritter-style doughnuts-like fried breads popular in much of Africa. This time the result was pretty fantastic, and I decided that the recipes are both worth sharing.
(I believe this is pronounced "maenDAzee", but if anyone knows more about this please feel free to educate me.  The cookbook calls it Mandizi, but that's the only time I've found it by that name.)

Mandazi:
2 cups of flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (some recipes call for yeast)
1 tsp butter (yes, that is teaspoon, not tablespoon)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. allspice (Other recipes called for cinnamon, cardamom, or nutmeg.  I used cinnamon)

Mix together the flour, spice(s) and baking powder.  Cut in the butter.  Add the sugar and mix in.  In a separate bowl beat the egg, add the water and milk to it, and add them to the dry ingredients.  Knead into a soft but workable dough.  Cut into desired shapes and fry in hot oil until lightly golden.

"Mandizi"
Angel  of the Sea Bed and Breakfast Cookbook

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas

Beat egg and milk together.  Add the flour and sugar.  Blend in the mashed bananas.  Drop by rounded tablespoons into hot oil.  Turn with slotted spoon when brown.  Drain on paper towel and dust with powdered sugar.  Make sure the oil is not too hot, as the centers won't cook until the outside is too brown.

Fun with Rice Krispie Treats

For a really fast Easter basket filler, I put a spin on rice krispies with a flower shaped cookie cutter and some sprinkles and butter-cream frosting.

Smoothie secrets

My girls LOVE smoothies.  And I have discovered that I can use them to sneak in some veggies too!  For my girls, I get the Dannon All-Natural Vanilla Yogurt, and add fresh fruit and a handful of baby spinach or lettuce leaves.  Bananas will do a decent job masking the green flavor.  When I make one for myself I add protein powder and make it my solitary mid-day meal.  I've used everything from strawberries to peaches and even an apple-cinnamon one.  Stick in a straw and watch them disappear!

Cinnamon Rolls

I found this recipe online and have made it twice, and they are positively mouthwatering.  This is a no-yeast recipe (Apparently there is a heated debate as to whether yeast should be required to make a good cinnamon roll? I found all sorts of commentary on this.) and is relatively easy to make, despite the long list of ingredients.  I'm sure they are terribly unhealthy, but TRUST ME, they're worth the occasional indulgence.  

Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (divided) 

Filling:

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 Tablespoon milk

Start off by preheating your oven to 425 and greasing a 9" round cake pan or pie plate, or a square baking dish.  Combine the filling ingredients until crumbly and moist-through, and set them aside.  

To make the dough, in two separate bowls whisk together the dry ingredients and the milk with 2Tbsp of the melted butter.  

Mix them together just until it's wet through, and then dump them onto a well floured surface and knead them about a minute. 

 Using your hands and a rolling pin, form a rectangle about 12" long and 9" wide.  Brush another 2Tbsp melted butter on top and then pour the filling onto the dough, spreading it evenly up to about 1/2" from the edges, and press it in with a spoon or the back of your measuring cup. 

Roll the dough into a log.  It is soft, and this will be a bit messy.  Even if they don't look great they sure taste crazy-good and the frosting will cover the lumps.  Cut the log into 8-9 (8 for round pans, 9 for square) sections, and lay them in the pan.  Brush on the remaining 2Tbsp of melted butter and bake them for about 20-25 minutes.  The recipe calls for dumping them onto a greased cooling rack and cooling them for 10 minutes before frosting them.  I frosted them right in the pan after allowing them 10 minutes to cool.  It kept the gold, I mean frosting, from wasting and they kept well covered with cling-wrap in the fridge.  My husband claims that they're even better when they're chilled.  It's a close call.  Either way, they're delicious, and I plan to keep this recipe ready for holidays and special occasions (when I don't mind gaining 4 pounds at breakfast).  

Notes: This amount of frosting actually covered BOTH of the batches that I made!  After liberally frosting the first batch (I admit, I like frosting and I drowned the rolls in it) I froze the other 1/2 and used it when I made the second batch 2 months later! It was still fantastic and covered them completely.  These pictures were of my second batch.  

I also found that you can put this all together at night and store them, covered, in the fridge until morning and then bake them and frost them.  I did this for Christmas morning and they baked while we opened gifts.