Lemon Chess Pie

This is a very old, southern dessert about which is there is a lot of speculation where the name and the pie came from.   Like pecan pie, another traditional southern dessert, it is tooth achingly sweet, but at least this one has a very tart and lemony counterpoint to all the sweetness.  Even so, it is an extremely sweet and rich pie that no one should ever eat more than a tiny sliver of.   It is good, but also quite deadly!  If you try to eat more than just a sliver, I warned you!    As always, enjoy!

Lemon Chess Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch pie pan with pie crust. Set aside.

Beat together the following until smooth and well blended:

2 cups sugar

½ cup strained fresh lemon juice

grated rind of two lemons

2 tbsp corn meal

2 tbsp flour

½ cup butter milk or yogurt
4 eggs

¼ cup melted butter

pinch of salt

Pour this mixture into the pie shell and bake about 45-60 minutes. The top of the pie will be lightly browned and the filling will jiggle a little bit when shook. Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve pie room temperature or chilled. Store leftovers in the fridge. Some like to top with whipped cream, but as rich as this is, it doesn't really need it.

German Apple Cake

While this is called a cake, it actually closer to an apple pie or crisp.   Middle and Eastern Europe doesn't really have a "pie" tradition as such.   This is pretty much as close as they get to what we would call an apple pie.  This one has all the requisites of a good apple pie though:  lots of tender sweet apples, with just a hint of cinnamon and lemon.   The top is a buttery streusel and the bottom of the "cake" is a tender shortbread.    It does take a while to bake, but is well worth the wait.   Before cutting, do allow it to cool completely, giving the apple juices time to set up and not be runny.   Top it with some heavy cream, whipped or not, or some ice cream and you will not be disappointed.    While it is supposed to be eaten the same day as baked, I actually like it better the next day or later.  The bottom crust soaks up the apple juices and then actually has more of a cake like texture.    Fresh or a day or two later from the fridge, you are still going to love it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    

3 1/2cups all-purpose flour divided (500g)

1 1/2 cups butter divided (340g)

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (70g)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

4 cups chopped apples

1 1/2 cup applesauce sweet or unsweetened

½ cups brown sugar

1 tsp lemon zest freshly grated (optional)

juice of one lemon (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

     Peel, core and chop the apples, you want about 4 cups of chopped apples.  Add to a large bowl and then add the applesauce, brown sugar if using and the cinnamon.  Lightly grease a 9x13-inch cake pan and set aside.   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, ¾ cup sugar, vanilla extract, 2 cups all-purpose flour. Press into the bottom of the cake pan and set aside.   Spread the apple mixture evenly over the bottom crust.     Now make the streusel topping:  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the remaining soft 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter with 1 1/2 cups of flour and 1 cup sugar The mixture will be crumbly.  Use your fingers to crumble the crumbs on top. Press some crumbs together to form bigger crumbs, you don't want the crumbs to be too fine. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the crumbs are lightly golden.  Let the cake cool off completely. It will be a little bit soft while hot.

    Other options:   replace the apples with firm but ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped.   Add raisins or dried cranberries to the apples, say 1/2-1 cup.   Use cooked dried peaches in place of the apples and applesauce, use firm ripe plums, pitted and sliced.  If using plums, I would suggest in a teaspoon of cornstarch or flour when tossing with the sugar and cinnamon and omitting the apple sauce.   Pitted cherries would probably be good too, but again you would need flour or cornstarch.

    To make this a gluten free treat, just substitute your favorite gluten free all purpose baking flour or even just gluten free oat or sorghum flour.   It will be tasty no matter what you use!   

Grandma Casey's Dried Peach Pie Filling

My Grandma Casey was an old timey Ozark farm wife.   She had little formal education, but she knew about making do with next to nothing.   She also knew her way around the kitchen.   Like most poor farm women of her era, she knew all about preserving foods.    She still dried apples apples in my time, but most of her foods were either canned in jars or frozen.   I loved her fruit butters and canned peaches.   We still enjoyed a lot of old time stuff, but she also had no trouble adapting to new ways of preserving them.    She no longer dried peaches, that I remember, but we all loved the old time fried dried peach pies.    Instead of cooking dried peaches, she would prepare this from fresh peaches and either can or freeze it for fried pies.   Good stuff, too.  She added no spices to it, so if you want to add cinnamon or a pinch of cloves, go right ahead. 

1 gallon sliced over ripe peaches with peel
1 cup cider vinegar
4 cups sugar

Mix together and allow to sit overnight.    Then simmer until cooked down very thick.   Either use at once or freeze or can.     Good stuff!

If you want spices, I would say 2 tsp high quality cinnamon,  if you like cloves, add about 1/4 tsp or less.   Cloves can easily overpower foods if you aren't careful. 

Mary Lee's One Crust Peach Pie

Not really a pie, but still quite delicious.   Serve it topped with some ice cream or whipped cream for a killer dessert!

1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
just a tiny pinch of cloves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all together until nice and crumbly.   Line a 9 inch pie pan with crust and crimp edges.   Sprinkle half of the crumbs over the bottom of the pie crust, then top with peeled peach halves, well drained canned peaches work well here too, then sprinkle the remainder of the crumbs over the top of the peach halves.   Bake until the crust is well browned, the peaches are tender and the top crumbs are browned as well.   Allow to cool completely before cutting.   Rich, but quite tasty.

Barbara's Fast Fruit Pie

If you have oatmeal, butter, brown sugar and a can of pie filling, you can whip up a dessert in no time!  This was given to me by a woman I worked with many years ago, her name was Barbara.   It is quite tasty too.   I sometimes add a sprinkle of cinnamon to both the crust mixture and the filling.   And if you use gluten free oatmeal, flour and pie filling, you have a good gluten free dessert!

1 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 can fruit pie filling of your choice (or about 2 cups of homemade pie filling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar and butter until it is well blended.   Press 2/3 of the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch pie pan.   Spoon the pie filling into the crust and then sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top.    Bake for about 25 minutes or until the crumb topping it well browned and the pie filling it bubbly.    Cool before cutting and serving.  

Eva Kinnick's Rhubarb Pie

I love rhubarb pie and also strawberry rhubarb pie as well.   Years ago, my good friend, Sue Kinnick, gave me this recipe of her mom's rhubarb pie recipe and I fell in love with it.  You can also make it with half strawberries and half rhubarb as well.    And, although long gone, I still think of you Sue any time I make it.  May your memory be eternal!

4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/3 cup honey
4-5 drops red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.   Line a 9 inch pie pan with your bottom crust.   In a large bowl,  place all of the pie ingredients together and mix well.  Put into the bottom crust and then dot heavily with butter, cover with top crust, seal and trim the edges, then cut 3 or 4 steam holes in top of crust.   Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 30-45 minutes.   The crust will be nicely browned and you will have juice bubbling through the steam holes.   Cool completely before cutting and serving.   Enjoy!

Easy and Special Fruit Cobbler

4 - cups canned sliced peaches in juice, drained or other fruits/berries

1/2 - cup butter, softened

3/4 - cup sugar

1 - teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 - cup milk

1 - cup all purpose flour

1/8 - teaspoon salt

1 - teaspoon baking powder

1/3 - cup sugar

 1/2 - teaspoon cinnamon

1 - tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 - cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 8x8 inch baking pan with non stick spray. Drain the sliced peaches and arrange them in the bottom of the baking pan.In a large bowl or kitchen aid mixer, cream the butter with 3/4 cup sugar. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Add the milk, flour, salt and baking powder to the sugar butter mixture. Mix until creamy. Spread the batter over the peaches and smooth. In a separate bowl, mix 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon with the cornstarch. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter. Pour the boiling water over the sugar mixture making sure to cover all of the sugar with the water. This is where the magic happens and what makes the crispy topping. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Note: Fresh peaches can be substituted for canned peaches. About 4 peaches is equal to 3 cups.

Blackberry version follow the recipe above and use 4 cups fresh blackberries or other berries in place of peaches, omit the cinnamon and continue with the recipe as directed. 

 The cornstarch and boiling water topping gives the top of the cobbler a smooth, shiny and crispy topping.   

Applesauce Pie

I have been on an applesauce kick lately.   It started when I went through a bout of diverticulitis and didn't much like eating anything too substantial.   So I ate applesauce and more applesauce.   The more I ate of it, the better it tasted.   So when I got to feeling better I made applesauce cakes.   The folks at work loved them.   But this weekend I wanted to try something different and thought about making an applesauce pie.   I did several searches and came up with tons of recipes....some sounded good, others not so good.   I combined some of the features I liked best from several different places and came up with one of my own that was very simple and very tasty.   Here is what I ended up with:

1 1/2 cups applesauce
3 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup melted butter, for a richer flavor you could slightly brown the butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon (or apple pie spice)
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Beat together all of the ingredients until smooth and pour into the pie shell.   Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the pie is set and knife inserted into the center comes out clean.   Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.   Store pie in fridge.   Enjoy!

You could vary the spices according to what you happen to like best.   For something like this, however, my personal preference is keeping it the simpler the better.

Butterscotch Pie

And old fashioned favorite, especially in the south and also known as a brown sugar pie.   It is a cooked custard pie, very rich, very sweet and utterly delicious.   I rarely make custard pies, as they can be a bit tricky unless you pay very close attention to what you are doing.   But, I find that if you are the least bit careful, the usually turn out to be pretty good.   And even the flops are still tasty!    It is a pretty straight forward pie... cornstarch or flour or both, egg yolks, butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar and vanilla.   Because it is a fairly rich pie, I tend to prefer it plain, with no toppings, but if you like, you can top it with either a meringue or a dollop of whipped cream when you serve it.    But any way you serve it, you are guaranteed to enjoy it!

1 8-inch baked and cooled pie shell
1 stick butter, melted (lightly browned for a richer flavor, if you like)
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla

If using browned butter, melt the butter in a quart saucepan and allow to simmer on medium heat until it begins to brown.   Add the brown sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar is melted and bubbly.   Add the evaporated milk and continue to cook until smooth and the sugar is completely dissolved.   Mix together the cornstarch, flour, salt and milk.   Whisk until smooth then whisk into the cooked sugar, butter, evaporated milk mixture.   Simmer, stirring constantly until it thickens, 30-60 seconds.   Remove from heat.   Whisk about half cup of the hot pudding mixture into the egg yolks, then mix the egg yolk mixture into the remaining pudding.   Cook over low heat, whisking constantly for another 30-60 seconds, until very thick.   Remove from heat and cool and allow to cool about 10 minutes before spooning into a baked 8 inch pie crust.    Cover with plastic wrap, pressing onto the top of the pie to prevent a skin forming.   Chill a couple of hours before cutting.

If you want to put meringue on top here is how to do it.

1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and stir constantly until it thickens and turns translucent. Remove from heat.

Mix the sugar and cream of tartar together. Then in a large bowl beat the egg whites and vanilla until it becomes frothy. Then continue beating and add the sugar/cream of tartar mixture 1 tbsp. at a time until it is all incorporated. When the mixture begins to form soft peaks add the cornstarch mixture 1 tbsp. at a time and beat until you have stiff peaks.

Have you pie filling as hot as possible and place in the baked pie shell. Quickly apply the meringue to the hot filling, starting around the edges and making sure it touches the rim of the pie crust all the way around, then mound the remaining meringue over the top of the pie and make pretty swirls with the spatula or spoon. Bake the pie in the preheated oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a rack before cutting.

Berry Pie

I love pies, especially fruit pies.   And the simpler, plainer they are, the better I like them.   When I make fruit pies I normally just use fruit, sugar and some kind of thickener.    If it is an apple or peach pie, I will use some kind of spice, normally just some cinnamon and maybe a touch of cloves with peaches.   Berry pies are an especial favorite, blackberry in particular, although blueberry is pretty good too.   With blueberry pies I sometimes add a little lemon juice, just to add a touch of acidity.   For thickening a berry pie, I like to use Minute Tapioca.   I just prefer the texture it gives for a berry pie.

1 double crust for a 9 inch pie
4 cups blackberries (or raspberries or blueberries or a mixture)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. lemon juice (if using blueberries)

Mix the berries, sugar and tapioca (plus lemon juice if using) in a large bowl and allow to sit for about 15 minutes.    Then line your pie plate with the bottom crust, spoon in the fruit and the butter cut into small bits.   Cover with the top crust and seal the edges.   Cut a couple of slits in the top of the pie for steam vents.    Bake at 400 degrees about 45-50 minutes, until well browned and the juice is bubbly.   Remove from the oven and allow to cool and rest a couple of hours before cutting.   Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Cake

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of anything pumpkin.   I just don't care much for the taste and usually substitute cooked and mashed sweet potatoes instead.   About the only thing made with pumpkin that I really do enjoy, happens to be this cake.   I know, I know, it uses a boxed cake mix, but even so, it is pretty darned tasty.    I usually make this at Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie, and yes, I also usually make it using cooked, mashed sweet potatoes, but that is our little secret!   Enjoy!

1 large can cooked pumpkin (or about 4 cups cooked, peeled and mashed sweet potatoes)
1- 13oz can of evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs

Beat all together until smooth.   Butter a 9x13 inch cake pan and pour the pumpkin mixture in it.   Sprinkle one box of yellow cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture and gently pat down with your hand.   Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter and drizzle over the top of the cake mix.   Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.   Cool completely before cutting and serving.   Enjoy!

Variations:    After placing the cake mix on top of the pumpkin mixture, sprinkle one cup of chopped pecans over the cake mix, then drizzle with the melted butter.

Never Fail Pie Crust

I tried for years to make a light and flaky pie crust, that wasn't tough.   I tried several different recipes and never found one that seemed to work.    Finally, a friend at work gave me this one and it was the best pie crust I had ever eaten!   It is never tough and always flaky.   This recipe makes enough for two double crust pies.

4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups shortening (lard is the most tasty)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 egg
1/2 cup cold water

Cut the shortening/lard into the flour, making fine crumbs.   Beat the remaining ingredients together with a fork and then pour over the flour/shortening mixture.   Quickly stir together, form into a ball and chill about 20 minutes before dividing into four pieces and rolling out.     This dough also freezes well.   Enjoy