Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Crust
We did it. I can’t believe it’s true, but we planted two pecan trees in our yard. We spotted them at Lowe’s in late September and selected a Sumner Pecan and a Stuart Pecan. We are slightly north of the growing zone for the Sumner, but our area has mild winters so it should do well. Pecan trees need another variety nearby to produce, and we planted these within 30 feet of each other. They got a little dry at one point and we were worried we might lose them, but it looks like they have taken to their new home. They don’t look like much right now, just a couple sticks about five feet (152 cm) tall since they lost their leaves, but they are full of promise, I can feel it. We have hopeful visions of harvesting pounds and pounds of pecans in about eight years. Yes it will be a long wait, but if the trees produce then my dream to grow our own pecans will be fulfilled. Read more
Whole Wheat Pie Dough
Though we’ve had a few detours along the way, we remain committed to our resolution to use more whole grains in our baking, and pie dough was next on the list to change. I’ve tried a number of whole wheat pie dough recipes, and this is one of my favorites. The good folks at King Arthur Flour published Whole Grain Baking in 2006 and for their efforts they received a James Beard Foundation award nomination. I bought the book this year as we embarked on our quest to finally change to whole grain baking and it has been an invaluable reference.
As they tested pies and doughs, the authors decided that different pies call for different pie crusts, and they experimented with traditional whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, barley flour, and oats. Some of the doughs have a mixture of whole grains and a few have a small amount of white flour. This whole wheat pie dough has no white flour and no other grains; the whole wheat flour stands on its own. Read more
French Apple Pie
Michael has delicious memories of his mother’s pies, and this is a favorite of hers, not just because it tastes good, but because it’s easy. There is only one crust to roll out, and she used to make them in assembly line fashion during apple season, then tightly wrap and freeze them to pull out as a quick dessert.
It’s also an easy pie to make with kids, and I had some assistance from my little chefs. My five-year-old helped roll out the crust, decorate the edge of the crust, pour in the apples, and sprinkle on the crumb topping. He was quite proud of himself! The baked pie looked great until Monkey Boy found it on the counter and started pulling bits of the crust off. After that we decided to call it a “rustic pie,” and no one seemed to mind when it came time to enjoy a slice.
We like to make this with Granny Smith apples, but any firm tart apple will do.
Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy is celebrating her first blogoversary this month and having a virtual bash to celebrate. Where I come from we always take dessert to a party and pies are high on the request list, so I’m sharing my pie with Susan. Congrats on your first year of blogging!
[Updated November 23, 2009.]
FRENCH APPLE PIE
Adapted from Anne Meyers.
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie.
Equipment
9-inch pie pan
large mixing bowl
food processor
aluminum foil
Ingredients
CRUMB TOPPING
1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (60 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (~57 g) wheat germ
FILLING
7 cups (~790-800 g) peeled, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples (about 1/4-inch thick)
3/4 cup (131 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch or unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Preparation
1. Prepare the pie crust and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. After the pie crust has chilled, preheat the oven to 400° F/200° C.
3. In the bowl of the food processor, add all the ingredients for the crumb topping and pulse about 10 times, until the mixture is crumbly.
4. Roll out the dough and place in the 9-inch pie pan. Crimp the edges with a fork. (If the dough chilled for a long time and is too hard, allow it to rest on the counter until it softens and rolls easily.)
5. In the large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until thoroughly mixed, then toss with the apple slices. Mound the apples high in the middle and dollop with pieces of unsalted butter. Cover the crust edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
6. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples and press down slightly.
7. Bake the pie for about 50 minutes, but check progress at the 45 minute mark. When the crust and crumbs are golden, remove from oven and allow to cool about 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Freezing the Pies
You can freeze the pies before baking them. Press a layer of plastic wrap over the surface of the pie and then wrap the whole thing well in several layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake frozen pie for 60 to 75 minutes.
Variations
Use a whole wheat pie crust.
Substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the unbleached all-purpose flour in the crumb topping.
More Baked Desserts with Fruit
More Apple Recipes From Around the Blogs
Viaggi & Sapori – Apfelstrudel, strudel Viennese
Canela & Comino – Caramel Apple Cake
80 Breakfasts – Spiced Apple Chutney
The Daring Bakers Make Lemon Meringue Pie and Tarts
This is a tale of what NOT to do when tackling any baking project, let alone a Daring Bakers challenge.
First, make sure that you aren’t sick. If you are sick, make sure that none of the children are sick, or at least make sure that husband is not sick so that he can attend to the sick children. And if you have been so sick that you have subsisted on crackers and ginger ale for two days, don’t let the love of your life make his favorite spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on the day you plan to bake (even if you have no plans to eat any of it) because the smell alone will send you right back to bed. Or the bathroom. Or both.
Second, don’t wait until the last minute. I had all sorts of good reasons for putting off this challenge until Saturday, and every single one of them was legitimate. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) I couldn’t do it the first weekend because the holidays were just over and my sweet tooth needed a break. Even though I have a serious contender for the world’s largest sweet tooth, I needed a break from sweets. The next weekend was my birthday celebration with a red velvet cake, and the following weekend I was immersed in baking king cakes for my latest FoodieView post. So I had to go down to the wire on this one. But that leaves no room for error or acts of God.
Third, if the crust doesn’t work the first time, don’t say “Oh, it will be fine,” and go ahead with the rest of the project. Read more
Cranberry Apple Raisin Crisp
October 6, 2007 by Andrea
Filed under Dessert, Recently Updated
Nothing says fall like a fresh apple crisp made from apples you picked yourself, so last weekend we drove to Tarara Winery and hit the orchards. Fujis and Staybrites were ripe for picking, but the Granny Smiths were all gone, as were the Honey Crisps and Empires (my personal favorite). The boys had a great time and kept trying to eat all the apples they found on the ground, even though we encouraged them to save the ground apples for the birds. Later my three-year-old wanted to help make the crisp, so he played my assistant and measured and poured ingredients as well as helped mix up the crumb topping.
We didn’t find any Golden Delicious, so I used some of the Fujis in this dessert. The primary flavors are cranberry, orange, and cloves, with the apples being a sweet foil for the tartness of the cranberries and oranges. The cloves provide a warm depth of flavor, and the crisp pairs perfectly with vanilla bean ice cream. In fact, the ice cream is almost a necessity to balance the tartness of the cranberries and orange. Read more
Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart
If you have read other posts on my blog, you probably know that I have something of an obsession with caramel and chocolate. Caramel is my all-time favorite decadent treat, followed closely by chocolate in all its forms, and the two are a match made in heaven.
When I saw that Veron and Patricia had chosen Eric Kayser’s Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart for this months Daring Bakers challenge, my pulse quickened and I immediately began to plan how many times I could make the tart in just one month. As it turned out, I only had one occasion for it, but we enjoyed it so much that I will make this a regular item for parties or Bunco night! Read more
