Mini Strawberry Streusel Pies

A good dose of ginger in the streusel topping and a bit of heavy cream in the strawberry filling makes these extra special.

Cooking and cooling the strawberry filling before making the pies also makes them easy to assemble.

One recipe makes about 20 of these babies so there are plenty for you and plenty for you to share. Your friends will be very happy.

Here's the recipe:

Mini Strawberry Streusel Pies
(makes 18 to 20)

Strawberry Filling:
2 lbs. frozen or fresh strawberries, sliced
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup heavy cream

Make this ahead of time and cool it completely before assembling the pies. In a saucepan, heat the strawberries, sugar, vanilla and sea salt until the mixture comes to a boil and the berries start to break apart. Keep an eye on it and keep stirring. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in the heavy cream and add it to the mixture, stirring constantly until the mixture comes back to a boil and thickens. Remove the filling from the heat and let it cool completely.

Crust:
3 cups flour
1 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup cold water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.

Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Divide dough in half and roll out each half into a rectangle on a floured surface. Use a cutter to cut 4-inch rounds and place each one in a muffin tin, pressing the dough into the bottom and evenly up the sides so that 2/3 of the tin is lined. Don't bring the dough all the way up the sides of the tin or you will end up with a muffin-shaped pie.  Gather up the excess dough and repeat until all the dough is used. Chill the crusts in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before adding the strawberry filling and streusel topping. Any extra strawberry filling is great on toast or ice cream!
  
Streusel Topping
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, using your fingers to break apart the butter. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

To Assemble And Bake:
Fill the mini pie crusts with the strawberry filling and top each with a sprinkle of the streusel topping.

The pies before adding the streusel topping.

Bake them in a 375-degree oven for about 12 minutes or until the crust and topping are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let the pies cool for just a bit before lifting them out of the muffin tins and transferring them to a cooling rack. If you let them cool too long in the tins, they will be hard to remove.

The pies after baking. Remove them from the tins before they cool too much or they will stick and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Mini Key Lime Pies

These mini Key Lime pies are part of an assortment of 150 pies I recently made for a wedding reception and no special pans are needed. I baked them in muffin tins!

During my first test run of making these, I struggled with getting the graham cracker crusts to hold together well. They kept crumbling apart as I was pressing them into the paper lined tins and it was eating up way too much of my time. My solution was to add an egg white to the mixture and it worked like a charm. It made the mixture so much easier to press into the tins and it made the baked crusts more stable.

The filling calls for Key Lime juice but if you don't have that you can use lime juice mixed with a bit of lemon juice. Key limes are more tart than regular limes and the substitution works just fine. 

Here's the recipe:

Mini Key Lime Pies
(makes 18 to 22)

Crust:
1/2 lb. graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
pinch fine sea salt
1 egg white

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. I crushed the graham crackers using a food processor but you could also put them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Place the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and sea salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add the melted butter and egg white and mix very well until the mixture holds together when pressed between your fingers.

Line a muffin pan with papers. Place a few tablespoons of the graham cracker mixture into each paper and press it firmly and evenly on the bottom and up the sides.

The crusts before baking.

Bake the crusts for 5 minutes and then set them aside to cool.

Filling:
2 tablespoons lime zest
1/2 cup Key Lime juice (if you don't have Key Lime juice, substitute a scant 1/2 cup ordinary lime juice mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice)
2 egg yolks
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

In a large bowl with a whisk, mix together all of the filling ingredients. Whisk for a few minutes to make sure they are well-combined. Fill the prebaked graham cracker crusts 3/4 full. I used a 1-inch cookie scoop for this task and it worked well with minimal drips.

Adding the filling.

Bake the pies in the 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Let the pies cool at room temperature and then place them in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.

All done. The crusts held together so well that the pies were easy to remove from the papers.

Before serving, garnish the tops with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and a sprinkle of lime zest.

Dan's Raisin Pie

Lately there's been a lot of "pie talk" at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. We just held a homemade pie sale to benefit the Wednesday Community Meal and in planning for that, we "talked pie" with a lot of people, asking "what's your favorite kind?"

Cherry, Apple, Chocolate Cream and Strawberry-Rhubarb definitely led the pack, but in asking, I discovered there's quite a few old-fashioned pies I'd never made before like Chess Pie, Shoo-Fly Pie and Raisin Pie.

The latter is a pie that my friend Dan told me he loves but hasn't tasted in 60-years! ... That is until yesterday, when I presented him with one at the Wednesday Community Meal where he volunteers.

You see, Dan, who is in his 70's, told me that his grandmother made the most delicious Raisin Pie and he sure would love to taste one again. It was a fond 60-year-old taste memory that he hadn't forgotten and I knew I had to make him one.

So I researched Raisin Pies online and devised a recipe. I have to admit that I was skeptical about how Raisin Pie would taste but it's very good. You boil the raisins in water so that they soften and break down and the texture becomes more jam-like. And, the filling wasn't too sweet. It is rich though and a small slice is enough to satisfy.

The best part though is that Dan loved his pie. For him, that Raisin Pie was a taste-time-machine.

And, as an added surprise, I found out that Dean, who serves coffee alongside Dan on Wednesdays, also loves Raisin Pie and he got to have a slice. They are both dear to me and it was a joy to see them so happy.

Raisin Pie fans Dean and Dan serving coffee at the Wednesday Community Meal.

Here's the recipe:

Raisin Pie
(makes one 9-inch pie)

2 1/4 cups raisins
2 cups water
1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine the raisins and the water and heat until boiling. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring and keeping and eye on them. Reduce the heat to low.

Blend together the dark-brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt and add to the hot raisins. Increase the heat to medium and cook and stir until the syrup is clear.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and butter.

Adding the butter and apple cider vinegar to the cooked raisin filling.

Cool slightly and pour into a pastry lined 9-inch pan. Cover with the top crust and seal the edges and cut slits in the top crust. Or, top with a lattice crust.

Cutting strips for a lattice top-crust.

A Raisin Pie ready for the oven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the crust is done and golden brown. Let the pie cool before slicing and serving.

A just-baked Raisin Pie.

A slice of Raisin Pie.

Chess Pie

My friend Gardner reminisced to me recently about much he loves Chess Pie but said he hasn't had it since college. That was a few decades ago so that must have been a darn good pie.

Gardner attended college in the South and would get to enjoy Chess Pie when he would go home from school with a friend on weekends.

 "His mom made the best Chess Pie," said Gardner who added that there was a bit of cornmeal in it, buttermilk, eggs and lemon, "but just a touch of lemon juice, not enough to make it a lemon pie." I told Gardner I was going to attempt to recreate the pie for him.

I've never eaten or made Chess Pie so I researched it on the internet and discovered that there are a lot of variations. Some had cornmeal and some didn't. Some used buttermilk and some used plain milk. Some used lemon juice and some used vinegar. Some used all white sugar and some used a combination of white and brown.

I was confused by all the recipes and decided I should just go for it and create one with cornmeal, buttermilk and a bit of lemon since that's what Gardner remembered.

There are also a variety of stories as to how Chess Pie got its name. The pie originated in England (my friend Teri told me she's bought mini Chess Pies at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and some say the word "Chess" is an "Americanization" of the English word "Cheese," because it is essentially a "Curd" pie.

My favorite story though is this one: Because the ingredients are so basic, Southern makers of it would say it's "Jes Pie," to those inquiring what it was and over time it became "Chess Pie".

So I got to work and made my first Chess Pie and I do have to say it is one of the easiest pies to put together and delicious. I liked it and so did my family. The texture was nice because of the contrast of the crisp browned-sugared top against the custard center.

The next day I delivered a big slice to Gardner and he tasted it and kindly gave me thumbs-up. When I pressed him for more details as to whether it was what he remembered he said it was "very close".

Oh how I wish I could get my hands on that original recipe. In the meantime, here's mine:


Chess Pie

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornmeal
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 9-inch unbaked deep-dish pie crust.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the sugar and cornmeal. Add the eggs and buttermilk and mix well. Finally add the lemon juice, vanilla and sea salt. Whisk until well-blended.

Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust.

A Chess Pie ready to bake.

Bake for 3 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 8 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes or until the center of the pie is set and the top is golden brown.

Turn off the oven and leave the pie to cool in the oven for 30 minutes.

The baked pie cooling in the oven.

Remove and let the pie cool completely before serving. Enjoy a slice with a cup of hot coffee.

Coconut Cream Pie

A slice of Coconut Cream Pie.

The enticing package of powdered milk.

When I recently bought a box of Kroger brand non-fat powdered milk for a batch of Logan Bread, I couldn't help but notice the great looking slice of coconut cream pie on the front accompanied by the words "recipe on back!"

I've always had good luck with recipes on packages and just couldn't resist giving this coconut cream pie a try. My husband was also very encouraging and said he would be more than happy to be my official taste tester.

Well, the results are in and this Coconut Cream Pie is a definite winner. It is light, not too sweet and I'm pretty sure my husband's new favorite dessert.

I did make one slight change to the original recipe, I added 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract to the filling but I like that the recipe doesn't contain any heavy cream, just 1/2 cup of the non-fat powdered milk and two tablespoons of butter.

The winning recipe.

I'm thinking that it would be an easy recipe to alter to make other flavors of cream pie like banana or chocolate.  This recipe is a definite keeper.

Coconut Cream Pie

9-inch baked pie shell (I used my favorite pie crust recipe and froze half of the dough for a single crust pie at a later date.)

Filling:
1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
3/4  cup flaked coconut

In a saucepan combine the dry milk, sugar, flour and salt.

Add the water and mix well.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Add a bit of the thick milk mixture to the egg yolks and mix well.

Adding a bit of the hot milk mixture to temper the egg yolks.

Pour the egg yolk mixture into the sauce pan and cook the filling for another 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, coconut extract and flaked coconut. Let this cool to room temperature.

Remove the filling from the heat and immediately stir in the butter, vanilla, coconut extract and flaked coconut and let this cool to room temperature.

Once the filling is cool, pour it into the pie shell and make the meringue. Also pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
6 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teasoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup flaked coconut

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, gradually beat in the sugar. Finally add the salt and vanilla and mix well.

Spread the meringue evenly over the pie, being sure to seal in the edges.

Sprinkle on the 1/4 cup of coconut.

Bake the pie for 12 to 15 minutes or until the meringue and coconut are golden brown.

Let the pie cool before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Dutch Berry Pie

A slice of Dutch Berry Pie.

Apple might be the best known Dutch or crumb topped pie but berry is darn good too.

Pre-cooking the berry mixture helps control the bubbling juices during baking and makes for an easy pie to slice and serve.

For beginning bakers, this is the pie to make. Because it has no top crust, it's one of the easiest pies to assemble.

Here's the recipe:

Dutch Berry Pie
(makes one 10-inch pie)


Berry Filling:
1 16 ounce bag frozen mixed berries
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup heavy cream

In a medium-sized saucepan combine the berries, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently and breaking apart the berries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and cream. Add this to the simmering berry mixture and continue cooking, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.

Crust: 
1 1/2 cups flour
2 /3 cups vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.
Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Roll out on a floured surface for the bottom crust.

Place the dough in a 10-inch pie pan and crimp the edges.


Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, using your fingers to break apart the butter. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

To assemble and bake:

Preheat the oven to 400  degrees.

Fill the crust with the berry filling and sprinkle on the topping.

Place the pie on a sheetpan to catch any spills in the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 and continue baking for 40 to 50 minutes or until the topping and crust are golden brown.

*Note: Cooking the pie at a higher temperature for the first five minutes helps set the crust and keep its shape in place. If you put a pie into a lower temperature oven, the crust will cook too slowly at first and droop.

Dutch Apple Pie

A slice of Dutch Apple Pie in the process of being devoured.

I recently enjoyed a fun day of baking with my friend Cindy. She wanted to make some mini apple pies that she could share with friends.

One of the yet to be baked mini apple pies made by my friend Cindy.

With two people working, the task of peeling and chopping apples went by so fast that in the end we actually had four cups of surplus apples so we decided to also make a full-sized Dutch Apple Pie.

Because there is no top crust, the part I think is usually most stressful for novice pie makers, Dutch Apple is quick and easy to make. And, the topping,  made with rolled oats, flour, sugar and butter, adds a nice crunch and texture to the soft sweet filling. It really is comfort food at its best and the perfect antidote to blustery Fall weather. Who cares if it's rainy and cold outside when there's Dutch Apple Pie waiting inside?

Here's how to make it:

Dutch Apple Pie
(makes one 9-inch pie)

Crust: 
1 1/2 cups flour
2 /3 cups vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add Crisco and using your fingers, break it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some large pieces remaining.
Add the water, just a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is moist enough to pull together into a ball. Roll out on a floured surface for the bottom crust.

Place the dough in a pie pan and crimp the edges. Chill while preparing the filling and topping.

Filling:
4 cups peeled and chopped apples (I like a combination of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch sea salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside while preparing the topping.

Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, using your fingers to break apart the butter. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

To assemble and bake:

Preheat the oven to 400  degrees.

Fill the crust with the apples and sprinkle on the topping.

Place the pie on a sheetpan to catch any spills in the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 and continue baking for 40 to 50 minutes or until the topping and crust are golden brown and the juices are bubbling.

*Note: Cooking the pie at a higher temperature for the first five minutes helps set the crust and keep its shape in place. If you put a pie into a lower temperature oven, the crust will cook too slowly at first and droop.

Dutch apple pie before baking. The heart on top was made with a tiny piece of the dough and adds a nice touch.