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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Gifts from the Heart and your Oven

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas is almost here and once again I seemed to have made it and ready to celebrate! As you know last year I made several cookies and decorated boxes and also made chocolate caramels and coconut macaroons. 

This year I wanted to stand out. I made Merry Berry Pie in a Jar. I saw this blog post for great homemade wedding guest gifts. Check it out here. The important thing to remember is that you can make these with store bought pie dough and canned pie filling. It's up to you what you make of it.  Here is my version:


Alex Wenton Photography

Foolproof Pie Dough
From America's Test Kitchen 
Makes 1 9-inch pie 
Will make 4-6 4 oz mason jar pies. Double the recipe if making 4-5 16 oz mason jar pies.
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
  • 1/4 cup vodka , cold
  • 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
  • 1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
  • 2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. (Note: the dough for me was very wet but still turned out great.) Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Alex Wenton Photography

Cherry Pie filling:
Recipe by Sandra Lee
Will make 4-6 4 oz mason jar pies. Double the recipe if making 4-5 16 oz mason jar pies.
Ingredients
  • 1 can cherry pie filling
  • 12 ounces frozen mixed berries, drained
  • 1 tablespoon Kirsch (or amaretto liquor)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar 
  • (I added dried cranberries, candied ginger pieces and cinnamon to taste)
Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine cherry pie filling, mixed berries and Kirsch or desired liquor. Set aside. 
    Further directions from GreenWedding.com: 

  • Press the unrolled dough bit by bit into the jars a bit at a time (not too thick!) until the jars are lined with the dough up to the rims. Reserve some dough for toppers. Next, fill jars nearly to the top with filling of choice.
Alex Wenton Photography
  • Roll out reserved dough to roughly 1/8 inch thick and cut out 6-8 of your shape of choice. Place the filled jars on a sturdy cookie sheet and place into oven.
  • Bake at 325 degrees for roughly 30-35 minutes (for the smaller jars) and 50-55 minutes (for larger jars) or until dough becomes a light golden color. 
  • At that time, arrange the dough shapes on the pies, brush the hearts with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until dough is golden brown all the way around the jars. If needed, place foil over the tops of the jars to keep the hearts from burning.
  • Remove and let jars cool on a rack. Decorate with ribbon, tags, or labels on lids as desired! Have fun with it!

Alex Wenton Photography

Happy Christmas and bake on!
~Sarah

Sunday, December 12, 2010

A French twist on your holiday dessert

We made it through Thanksgiving and I am already craving turkey dinner again! Here is a great dessert idea for your holiday dinner table and it will look great next to mouth watering prime rib.

I have to admit, I prefer tart crust over pie crust only because it seems hard to screw up. A tart crust puts a great twist on the American pumpkin pie dessert, simple yet elegant. This recipe for Pumpkin Pie Tart was everything perfect - far from a soggy mess.  



Tart Shell:
Recipe by Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone  
Makes 1 9-inch tart shell
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
  • A mixture of 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons water

Prepare Tart Shell:
Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl, then work in the butter with two knives, your fingers, or a mixer until it makes fine crumbs.  Don't let it become completely smooth, though.  Stir in enough vanilla-water to pull the dough together.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. - You can also do this step ahead and store in the freezer until you are ready to bake. Defrost fully in refrigerator.

To line the pan, roll the dough out into a 9-inch circle then set it in the pan.  Using the heel of your palm, press the dough up the side.  If some pieces are too long, break them off and add them, as needed, to areas that are too short.  The sides should be about 1/4 inch thick, rise 1/4 inch above the rim, and be slightly thinner at the base of the pan.  This way, when the dough slumps during the baking, this shallow space will be filled evenly instead of being overly thick and under baked.  Carefully set the tart shell in the freezer to harden.

Bake Tart Shell:
Tart shells are nearly always pre-baked before filling.  To pre-bake a tart shell, preheat the oven to 400.  Place the frozen shell on a sheet pan and bake until set and lightly browned, about 25 minutes - 15 min worked fine for me.  Check it several times for swells and prick any large bubbles with the tip of a knife. - If tart begins to brown too quickly put a piece of foil over shell and continue to bake checking regularly.

Pumpkin filling:
Recipe by Epicurious.com  
  • 1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin (from a 15-ounce can; not pie filling)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • Pinch of ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/3 cups heavy cream  

Fill and bake tart: 
Whisk together pumpkin, sugar, spices, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in eggs, then cream. Pour filling into cooled tart shell and bake until puffed about 1 1/2 inches from edge and center is just set, 40 to 45 minutes. (Cover edge of tart with foil if browning too quickly.) Cool in pan, about 2 hours. (Tart will continue to set as it cools.) 

Remember, have fun baking this holiday season. 
Bon Apettit!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/350585?mbid=ipapp