Tag: #artofpie
Got Dough? (Tasties)

Got Dough? (Tasties)

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In life there are two sides to everything.  The yin and yang of the universe.  There are those that twist their Oreos apart, lick the frosting off the cookie and then eat each cookie (seems kind of silly to me) versus those that absolutely never take Oreos apart but eat the cookie and frosting together.  Or how about vanilla or chocolate?  Coke or Pepsi?

Crust or filling? ……….CRUST OF COURSE, DUH.

So, what does one do with the scraps of dough left from the pie that’s baking in the oven?  It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Not quite enough for another pie but enough to make you feel guilty if you toss all that buttery, flaky goodness out.

Tasties to the rescue.  One of the many delightful recipes from The Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott.  This is my new bible on pie.  Detailed instructions on everything you ever wanted to know about pie crusts and fillings written in a warm easy style.  The majority of recipes are fruit based and pretty classic, apple, blueberry, strawberry rhubarb.  A small section on hand pies, mini pies and savory pies. Photos are gorgeous.  As a bonus, stories by the author add a very personal feel to the book.  Plus…she has a blog  The Art of the Pie, definitely worth checking out.

Back to the Tasties. The dough is formed into a rectangle and sprinkled with generous amounts of cinnamon & sugar.  It is then rolled into a log and sliced into 1 inch thick segments.  Sprinkled with more sugar and baked.  So simple, why didn’t I think of that?  I’m already dreaming of the next time I have leftover dough, maybe I’ll add nuts or use  jam instead.

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar, add nuts if you like.

 

Parchment underneath pastry makes rolling into a log much easier.

 

Bake on parchment for easier clean-up

 

 

 

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Tasties from The Art of the Pie

Ingredients

  • Leftover Pie dough
  • Cinnamon
  • Sugar
  • egg white + 1T water
  • jam
  • finely chopped nuts

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  • Gather up extra dough trimmings and smoosh together gently
  • Roll dough on parchment paper into a rectangle approximately 1/8" thick
  • Generously sprinkle dough with sugar leaving a 1/2 inch border along one long side
  • Liberally top sugar with cinnamon (see photo) use a lot of cinnamon don't be shy!
  • Sprinkle finely chopped nuts on this if desired
  • Brush border without cinnamon sugar with a bit of water.
  • Using the parchment paper as a support to roll dough into a log starting with edge opposite of the brushed water border. Like a jelly-roll.
  • Turn log over so that seam side is down to help seal it.
  • Brush roll with egg wash or milk or cream
  • If roll seems soft, chill for 15-30 minutes before cutting.
  • Slice roll into 1 inch pieces and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and sprinkle with additional granulated sugar.
  • Options: I would like to try using jam instead. Make sure you use parchment for ease of clean up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Mom’s Apple Pie

Mom’s Apple Pie

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I admit this is a misnomer.  It’s really not mom’s apple pie, at least not my mom.  My mom was not a baker.  In fact, I cannot remember a single baked good made by her…nada, zilch.  That’s not to say we didn’t have desserts or baked goods, they just happen to come from a bakery or restaurant or somewhere else, just not our kitchen.  There were plenty of bakeries in the city and in Chinatown.  My parent’s after-work excursions for dinner ingredients often included a sweet treat from one of the Chinatown bakeries.

We snacked on almond cookies from Eastern Bakery.  Swooned over the best damn sugar doughnuts in town (providing you ate them in the first 5 minutes after they were made) from Sun Wah Kue.  Hiked up the hill to the Fortune Cookie Factory.  For special occasions, we walked over to Victoria’s Bakery in North Beach, a stone’s throw away from Chinatown, and picked up a St. Honore.  Imagine a cake with layers of rum-laced pastry cream, covered with billows of whipped cream, and then wait for it…little cream puffs perched around the edge.  My mom’s absolute favorite cake.

Our favorite desserts came from a deli-restaurant we went to all the time, Ping Yuen Bakery Cafe.  Their Apple Pie was an American-Chinese mash-up.  Strictly sweet apples layered in a crust made with lard and painted with an egg wash that gave it a crackly pattern on top.  This was the apple pie of my childhood.

All About the Pie

Whoops, lost in nostalgia.  My first attempt at pie-making was an apple pie and it remains my favorite pie to make.  The crust is made with butter and a little bit of shortening, double F-bombs, flavor, and flaky (gotcha).  My current fav is Dorie Greenspan’s crust which you can find here.  For the filling, I have opted for mace instead of nutmeg, substituted brown sugar for some of the granulated sugar (caramel overtones), and added a squeeze of lemon (cuts the sweetness).  You could call this my lifelong project-perfect pie. When apple season rolls around I head to my favorite purveyor of apples Prevedelli Farm.  My favorites include Mutsu, Jonagolds, Pippens and Granny Smiths.  I  combine 2 or 3 different varieties of apples to hit sweet, tart, crisp, and soft all in one bite.  Experiment, that’s my mantra.

This is a good old-fashioned all-American apple pie, packed with apples, a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg surrounded by a flaky, buttery crust!  YUM.  Now go make one!

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Mom’s Apple Pie

My go-to Apple Pie recipe, been using this for years. Tried and true.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Apple Pie, Cinnamon Bun
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

My current favorite pie crust recipe is from Dorie Greenspan. It makes a generous amount of dough so you will have excess that you can use for hand pies or small pie.

  • Pastry for 9 inch Two-Crust Pie
  • 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 c dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Dash of salt
  • 6 cups thinly sliced pared tart apples about 6 medium
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon KA Boiled Cider (secret apple booster) optional

Instructions

  • Prepare pie crust. Place in fridge to chill while making filling.
  • Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Mix sugar, flour, mace, cinnamon and salt.
  • Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate; dot with butter.
  • Cover with top crust that has slits cut in it; seal and flute.
  • Make a 3 inch aluminum foil ring. Set aside to use if crust browns too much
  • Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 375 degrees, bake until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 40 to 50 minutes. Cover edge with ring if necessary.