Cherry Pie

Last week, we celebrated 4 years of marriage!  Time flies when you're having fun. :)

When thinking about an anniversary gift for my sweetie, I always start with the Hallmark list of annual anniversary gift ideas.  It at least gets the ball rolling for this indecisive, over-thinking mind of mine.  For Year #4, traditionally the gift is fruit or flowers.  A more modern gift would be an appliance.  I'll pass on the appliance since we moved into our house about 2 years ago, I think we are all set there.  Sticking with the theme, I decided to make something I knew he would love as part of his gift.

A cherry pie!

Wow, did I have a heck of time trying to find fresh tart cherries in May in Florida!  I couldn't even find frozen ones.  So, I resorted to canned tart cherries in water.  I'm sure fresh or frozen would have been a little better but we couldn't tell a difference.

Here is the inspiration for the pie decoration. :)

Here is how to make it:

Cherry Pie

Ingredients:

2 refrigerated pie crusts (I like Pillsbury.)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

4 cups sour or tart cherries

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons butter 

Milk & sugar for brushing top of pie

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9" pie pan with non-stick spray and line with one crust.  In a bowl, mix sugars, cinnamon and starch.  Gently stir in cherries.  Add vanilla and stir.  Pour mixture in pie pan lined with crust.  Dot top of cherry mixture with pats of butter.  Cover with top crust.  Cut off excess pie dough around the edges.  This can be used to make a decoration for the top of the pie.  Flute around the edge of the pie sealing the dough using the first finger from one hand between the first and middle finger from the other.  Gently brush a small amount of milk or beaten egg over the top of the pie.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Cut a few slits in the top for ventilation.  Bake for 1 hour checking near the end to make sure crust doesn't burn.

Best served with vanilla ice cream in my opinion!

Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary, babe :)

Blueberry Pie

If you LOVE blueberries, you've come to the right place!  I seriously eat them almost every single day!  Yep, it's true!  If you knew all of the awesome blueberry benefits, you might too! :)

I've made a few pies and put them on the blog, but surprisingly, this is the first debut for a Blueberry Pie and I can't wait to share it with you!  It's amazing!

Here are the sweet and juicy details...

Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces

1 set of Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Set out pie crusts at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with one pie crust.  In a medium-sized bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon.  Stir in the blueberries until well mixed.  Put the coated blueberries into the pan with the pie crust being careful to evenly distribute the sugar mixture.

Dot the top of the blueberries with the butter pieces and cover with the top crust.

Using a butter knife, cut off the excess dough around the edges.  You can make decorations for the middle of the pie with the excess dough if you choose.  Using your pointer finger from one hand between the first two fingers from your other hand, flute the crust sealing the edges.  Cut slits in the crust to vent.  Put the pie pan on a pie oven guard/drip protector in case of spillage.

Using a pastry brush, lightly wash the top crust with milk.  Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 50-60 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let the pie sit for at least 4 hours before cutting.

This pie is delicious by itself and even better warmed up with vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy!

Pie, pie! Oh me, oh my!

When I think of a Memorial Day celebration, I think of a delicious All-American pie like this Strawberry Pie

or a good old-fashioned Butterscotch Pie!

This Peanut Butter Pie would even fit the ticket!

Considering it is Memorial Day, I thought today would be a good day to share some sweet pie facts with you!

Did you know there are 7 states that have recognized the wonderfulness of pie

and claimed a certain variety for their very own?  Yep, it's true!

Delaware ~ Peach Pie

Representing the significance of the state's peach farming industry, peach pie officially belongs to Delaware.  Delaware was the leading producer of peaches in the country during the 19th century and they continued to be a major producer through the 1950s.

I thought peaches only came from Georgia?!

Florida ~ Key Lime Pie

Naturalized in the Florida Keys, key limes are the perfect squeeze for Florida's state pie.  It is also thought that sponge fishermen in Key West first created this pie in the late 1800s.

My mom's fav!  Love the Keys!

Indiana ~ Sugar Cream Pie

A mixture of cream, sugar, and flour baked inside a pie shell and also known as Hoosier Pie!

Sounds amazingly sweet!  Cheers for my home state!  I may just have to make this soon!

Maine ~ Blueberry Pie

Only a certain type of blueberries will do for this pie - wild Maine blueberries, which are harvested from late July to early September!

My fav!

Massachusetts ~ Boston Cream Pie

This pie is actually a cake!  Supposedly early bakers of this dessert baked the cake in pie pans instead of cake tins, hence the name pie not cake.

All this pie and cake talk is making me hungry!

Oklahoma ~ Pecan Pie

Oklahoma is one of the top producers of pecans in the US so it's only fitting that they chose this pie as theirs.  My grandma has an amazing recipe for pecan pie!  Can't wait to try making it myself!

Vermont ~ Apple Pie

The Vermont bill states that when serving a slice of apple pie, a "good faith effort" should be made to include a glass of cold milk, a slice of cheddar cheese weighing a minimum 1/2 an ounce, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or all three.

Wow!

Happy Memorial Day!

Info from Central Florida Lifestyle magazine

Peanut Butter Pie

The words peanut butter and pie combined should be illegal!  While making it, I knew it was going to be over the top rich and sweet-tooth satisfying.  After one bite, my suspicions were confirmed.  It was ahhhmazing!

I've had Miranda Lambert's recipe from Good Housekeeping Magazine in my drawer for a while now just waiting for the perfect occasion.  (If Blake and Miranda love it, we will too, right?!)  My husband and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary this week and he loves peanut butter and pie.  So, I finally had the perfect occasion!

The night before we got to enjoy a quiet late dinner out while the older kids stayed home with the sleeping baby.  Thank you!  So on the night of, we stayed in and grilled out, one of our favorite things to do!  My awesome hubby picked up the food from Fresh Market.  I love when he goes to the store because he always come back with surprises.  We had turkey burgers (which were actually Greek chicken burgers because the guy behind the counter grabbed the wrong ones, ha!), mozzarella tomato stacks, and sweet potato tortilla chips along with some vino and this pie for dessert.  A great anniversary dinner at home in my mind. :)

The best thing about baking a pie is sneaking a piece the next afternoon with a cup of coffee while the baby naps!  hehe ;)

Here's the recipe!

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

1 9 inch refrigerated ready-to-use pie crust

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups whole milk

4 large egg yolks

3/4 cup chunky peanut butter

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

whipped cream and chopped peanuts for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place pie crust in 9 inch pie plate and bake according to directions for one pie crust shell.

In a 3 or 4 qt saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  In large bowl, whisk milk and egg yolks until blended; gradually whisk into sugar mixture.  Heat on medium for 6-7 minutes or until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly.  Boil 1 minutes, stirring.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, butter, and vanilla until well blended.

Immediately pour peanut butter mixture into baked pie shell, press plastic wrap onto surface of filling and refrigerate pie for at least 4 hours or until well chilled and set.

Serve topped with whipped cream and garnish with chopped peanuts.

I love you babe.  Cheers to a great 3 years and many more to come!

PS ~ If you love pie, check out my Grandma's Strawberry Pie and Butterscotch Pie!

Grandma's Butterscotch Pie

We had a CELEBRATION dinner last night!

We started with the idea of going out for a nice dinner but with the baby's schedule, my step-kids over for the night, and my parents in town, we quickly changed our minds.  Instead, we grilled steaks, marinated shrimp, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and roasted broccoli!

Of course, I had to make something yummy for dessert, but what?  Well, the celebration was for my husband.  He closed a big deal which he had been working hard on for quite some time.  So, what would he love most?  Ah, butterscotch!  I had a pie crust leftover from the strawberry pie I made a few nights ago, and my grandma's pie recipes were still on my mind.  So, badda bing badda boom...a Butterscotch Pie it is!

Grandma's Butterscotch Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

1 baked 9 inch pie shell

Filling:

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 heaping tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 1/3 tablespoons butter

3 cups whole milk (Make sure you use whole!)

4 egg yolks, beaten (Save the whites for the meringue.)

Meringue:

4 egg whites

1/4 heaping teaspoon cream of tartar

7 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Filling:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a medium sized pot, cook the sugar, cornstarch, salt, butter, and milk until thick.  Be sure to stir it often so the mixture doesn't burn on the bottom.  Temper the eggs by pouring a small amount of the mixture into the beaten yolks and stir.  Then add back to the rest of the mixture.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.  Pour the filling into a warm crust.

Meringue:

Beat egg whites in a mixer until frothy then add cream of tartar, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.  Continue beating until soft peaks form.  Spread on hot filling making sure meringue is out to the edge of the crust.  Bake for 10 minutes.

~ tasty flaky crust ~ rich creamy butterscotch filling ~ light fluffy meringue topping ~

Let cool for at least 2-3 hours before cutting or putting in the refrigerator.  This is a rich one!  But, oh so good!

Secret Recipe Strawberry Pie

The other night my husband mentioned that a Strawberry Pie sounded good.

I said, "Be careful what you wish for!"

My "80-something" year old grandma is a famous pie maker!  Well, famous at least with friends, family, and those that frequent the restaurant where she has worked for over 20 years making her amazing pies.

For Easter dinner dessert, I decided to tackle one of her legendary recipes...Strawberry Pie!

Secret Recipe Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (yes, I cheated here...)

1 1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups water

3 oz strawberry jello

1 1/2 quarts strawberries, sliced and dried

whipped cream

Directions:

Bake a single pie crust as instructed on the package.

In a medium pot over medium heat, mix sugar, corn starch, and water.  Stir until thick and clear.  Remove from heat and stir in jello powder.  Let the mixture cool.  Add the strawberries and gently stir.  Pour into the baked pie crust.  Cover and refrigerate until firm.  Serve with whipped cream.

~ fill of bright red strawberries and a flaky golden brown crust ~

I have to confess...as you saw above, I cheated on the pie crust this time.  This one is a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust.  If you need a quick pie crust, this is the one to use.  It's bakes up flaky and has just the right taste to match any filling.  One of these days, I might get brave enough to make one of my grandma's whole pies from scratch.  And if you're lucky, I might even share the crust recipe with you!  But for now, this one will have to do.

Love strawberry desserts?  Check out My Strawberry Roll.

Linking up at Foodie Friends Friday Daily Dish