Apple Crostata - adapted from Ina Garten

1 1/2 pounds baking apples (3 large)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.
For the filling, peel, core, and slice the apples. Cover the tart dough with the apple slices leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.
Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Grandma's Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Recipe courtesy Valarie Enters, Sanford, Florida

Ingredients

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, fresh

• 2 1/2 cups de-stemmed, washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)

• 1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/4 cups for high altitude)

• 2 tablespoons minute tapioca

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 tablespoons butter, cubed small

• 1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water

• Large granule sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Filling Preparation:

Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, zest and juice of lemon, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl and pour

out into chilled crust. Dot the top of the filling with the butter. Brush edges of pie crust with egg white wash. Roll out the other piece of dough

and place over filling. Crimp to seal edges. Brush with egg white wash and garnish with large granule sugar. Collar with foil and bake at 425

degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling starts

bubbling. 

(Higher altitude will take 450 degrees F and 400 degrees F respectively.) 

Also, you can use a pie bird for extra decor. Let cool before serving.

Freezer Peach Pie Filling

2 1/2 cups sliced peaches
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon MINUTE Tapioca
1 dash Dash of nutmeg


1. Place sliced peaches in a bowl with sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, and nutmeg. Toss until evenly coated and sugar is mostly dissolved.
2. Transfer peaches to a 9 inch foil-lined pie plate. Cover with another piece of foil and freeze immediately to prevent peaches from discoloring. Once frozen solid, remove peaches from pie plate, with foil, and transfer to a zipper locked plastic bag for later use. When ready to use, line a pie plate with prepared crust and place frozen peaches on top.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
4. Bake in the preheated oven on the bottom rack for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until completely warmed through.

This was SO GOOD! Andy and I ate almost the entire pie. I only froze two "pies" because I wasn't sure how the recipe would turn out. Now I wish I would have done more. It was the fastest pie I ever made. This is a keeper!
I made it with a top and bottom crust. I brushed the top crust with a little milk and then sprinkled it with turbinado sugar (the big crystally sugar).

Lemon Surprise Pie

1 c. sugar
3 T cornstarch
1/4 c butter
1 T grated lemon rind
1/4 c. lemon juice
3 unbeaten egg yolks
1 c. milk
1 c. sour cream

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add butter, lemon rind, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thick; cool. Fold in sour cream. Spoon into 9" baked pie shell (or graham cracker crust). Chill at least 2 hours. Top with 1 packege of prepared Dream Whip or Cool Whip.

*I tried this recipe to use up the egg yolks from the waffles. We inhaled the pie before I could take a picture. =D

Non-Dairy, Low Fat Pumpkin Pie

1 16-oz package Silken Lite Firm Tofu
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup honey or agave nectar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T Pumpkin pie spice
OR
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 unbaked 9" pastry crust

Drain tofu and blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; blend well. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake in preheated 350F oven for about 1 hour. Filling will be soft, but will firm as it cools. Chill and serve.

(I was so excited to try this recipe and even more excited with the results! It really is very similar to pumpkin pie, just much lighter. I am so excited to make this for my dad, since he is allergic to eggs and hasn't had pumpkin pie for over 30 years!)

Don't be intimidated by the title of this recipe. It really is super delicious!

Oil Pie Crust

This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (that red plaid one your mother had). Make sure you look for it in your mother's copy, because it was there in my mom's from about 1972, but doesn't appear in my 2002 copy. This pie crust is soo easy, there's no refrigeration or cutting in. And best of all, its trans-fat free! This makes a double crust for an 8-9" pie tin.

2 C flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 C salad oil
5 T ice water
ice cubes

Put a bowl of ice water on the counter to chill (or if you're out of ice, just put a bowl of water in the freezer for a few minutes while you get the remaining ingredients ready)

In a bowl, stir together the flour and salt with a fork.
In a separate container, measure the oil and add the ice water.
Add wet ingredients to dry all at once
stir lightly with the fork (The flour should be mostly mixed into many balls. Excess flour is expected)

Form 2 balls.

Roll each ball out to size. I like to do this between 2 sheets of waxed paper, then its easy to peel off the counter and onto the pie tin. If you sprinkle a few drops of water onto the counter first, the wax paper will stay in place while you roll it out. There's no need to add flour to the waxed paper.

remove top piece of wax paper, loosely fold dough in half (still on bottom paper) to pick up, then unfold onto pie tin.

Fill with whatever yummy ingredients you like.

Crimp edges to seal. My mom always makes a nice fluted edge, pinching the layers together as she goes around. I prefer a more rustic pie with thick uneven seams.

Streusel Pumpkin Pie

Pie crust:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter, chilled
1/2 c. water, chilled

Mix dry ingredients. Blend butter in with pastry blender until fine meal. Add water tablespoon at a time until right consistency- not too sticky, not too dry. Roll between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Remove one and lay crust into pie plate. Press against edges and remove plastic. Poke with fork all over. Flute the edges.

Pie filling:
1 15 oz.can pumpkin
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. cloves

Mix in a bowl then pour into pie crust. (This recipe is for a deep dish pie plate. If you do not have one, you can either pour the excess into individual ramekins or make another smaller pie) Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Cover edges of crust with foil.

Streusel:
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 Tbls. Plain flour
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 Tbls. Melted butter

Reduce oven to 350. Sprinkle streusel on top of pie leaving 2 inch opening in center. Replace foil on edges of pie. Bake 40-50 minutes, removing foil for the last 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven when knife comes out clean. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve with fresh whipped cream.