Creamy Lemon Pie

My mother happens to be the BEST pie-maker I know. I have never met anyone else that equals her skill, barring perhaps my grandmother, and my aunt. I don't know what she does, or how she does it, but each pie is somehow this little doorway to a magical taste explosion. I have her recipes, I know the HOW, but somehow I cannot replicate her supremacy in the art of pie making. So, rather than make her recipes second rate I try to find new recipes that I can make my own, and excel at. I originally found this recipe in one of those little magazines you get for two bucks at the checkstand at the grocery store. A few tweaks, and tests later, this is my final version of this recipe. It's super tart and creamy, my neighbor said I should make the crusts all on their own, because it's like crack. :D I hope you like this exceedingly creamy, mouthwateringly delectable pie.

Crust:
12 Graham Crackers, finely crushed
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
2 (14 oz) cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 egg yolks
3/4 c fresh lemon juice
1-2 tsp lemon zest


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix together crushed grahams, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Firly press into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Press firmly up the sides of the pie plate as well. Bake for about ten minutes until it's beginning to brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Do not get your filling ready until your pie crust is cooled. You can't put the custard into a hot crust or it will cook the eggs and you'll get scrambled eggs on the bottom of your pie.

Whisk egg yolks until lightened in color. Whisk in Sweetened Condensed Milk. Once these are combined well, add in your lemon juice a little bit at a time. Whisk thoroughly. Add your lemon zest. Gently pour into your cooled pie crust. Tap gently on the countertop to remove any bubbles, then skim off anything that surfaces. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the edges are set, but the center jiggles slightly. Let cool completely, and then put in the fridge to chill for at least 8 hours. Serve cold. You can serve with a dollop of whipped cream, and/or some fresh fruit.



Crust, baked and cooled.


Everything whisked together.


Finished product. Don't you just want to eat it!?!

Fresh Peach Cookies

Summer time and the living is easy. Have I mentioned how much I love cookies? These are delicious cake cookies bursting with peach flavor. They're easy, and impressive. Take them to your latest barbeque, or family party.

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp salt
3-4 medium peaches peeled, pitted, and chopped

In a medium sized bowl sift all dry ingredients together. Set aside. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Gently add dry ingredients slowly to wet ingredients and mix well. Fold in peaches. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. I used parchment paper instead of greasing the cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until cookies are browned on top. Cool on wire rack. Store in air tight container, layered with wax paper or parchment paper to prevent sticking.


Cream together butter and sugars.

Add egg and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients.

Add in your delicious peaches.

Scoop onto your cookie sheet.


YUM!

Nigella's Chocolate Mousse

I love Nigella. I could watch her cook all day long. When people say she's the goddess of food porn, it's for a reason. She's amazing. Although I do not share her love of blue cheese, I do share her love and passion for good food. I cook for myself, even when I'm all alone. I adore that she unashamedly does the same. She will never apologize for indulging, and will make you feel silly for even thinking she should have in the first place. This recipe is one of my favorite indulgences. It never fails, never goes wrong, and is extremely versatile. Please, indulge for a bit.

Nigella's Instant Chocolate Mousse


3 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
9 ounces best quality semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.

Put the saucepan on the stove, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile whip the cream with the vanilla until thick and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.

Pour or scrape into 4 or 6 glasses or small dishes and chill until you want to eat. The sooner the better!


To change it up, try different extracts, and different chocolates. This is amazing using white chocolate and orange extract. Dark chocolate and raspberry. Even a TINY TINY bit of mint extract just hits the spot.




Everything getting all melty.

Delish

Whipped Cream

Combine cooled chocolate mixture with whipped cream.

Fold it gently

Peach Crisp

I love peaches. I love everything about them. They are juicy, tart, and sweet. Peaches fall apart so deliciously when cooked.

A summer is not complete without peaches. And towards the end of the summer I love this crisp.

Ingredients:
7-9 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c all purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Place the peaches in the bottom of the baking dish, and pour over the vanilla. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers until the mixture resembles crumbs.
Sprinkle the flour mixture in an even layer over the top of the peaches, and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until the peaches are bubbling and the topping is browned.

Brookies - Chocolate Avocado Cookies

I have to start off by saying please do not be afraid of these cookies. You cannot taste the avocado, it morphs into this amazing creaminess that lends these cookies their awesome texture. 

This is an adaptation of a recipe that I tried at a cookie exchange a few years back, I cannot remember whose cookies these were... so I apologize for that. The cookies I had were chocolate banana cookies and I was reminded of them by a book that I read recently by Joanne Fluke. I used her recipe as a base, and added a bit of my own flair. There will be a recipe that are actually chocolate banana cookies, this is a bit different though.

These were named by a gentleman that I work with at my "real" job. His name is Bill. Bills description of this cookie is that it's like a cross between a brownie and a cookie. Hence Brookie.

These cookies are dense, moist, and very rich. I am not ashamed to say that I ate several of these in one sitting, but if you aren't me... you may only be able to handle a few.

Ingredients
1/2 c salted butter (or unsalted with a pinch of salt)
3 oz dark chocolate (or unsweetened)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c mashed avocado, about 2 medium (mash VERY SMOOTH)
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder - next go around I'm going to try using Dark Chocolate cocoa powder
1 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c dark chocolate chips
1 c chopped pistachios


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a microwave safe bowl combine butter and 3 oz chocolate. Melt in microwave on high for 2 -3 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine sugars and stir together until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Whip eggs and sugar together until lightened and a bit fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, and  baking powder. Stir until well combined. Add your avocado and mix well.

Check your chocolate and butter mixture. It should be cooled down enough to add at this point, but if it is still very hot, wait a few minutes before continuing.

Add the chocolate and butter mix to your big bowl. Stir well. Add your flour and cocoa powder in increments until well combined. This is a stiff batter, be ready for that.

Add in your chips/chunks of chocolate. Use a cookie scoop or 1 Tbsp measure to measure out these babies. I suppose you could make them bigger, but you'd need to adjust your baking time. On top of each cookie I sprinkled some chopped pistachios for a little bit of crunch, and salt. You could forgo these and sprinkle with sea salt, or nothing. These cookies do not spread, so press them down gently, or you'll have little ball cookies.

Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 13 to 15 minutes until they no longer feel moist on the outside. Try not to over cook them, they are not as good when they aren't moist inside. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes so they firm up enough to be moved to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before eating, the avocado mellows after cooled. If you do not have a sensitive pallet then go ahead and eat them warm.... they're still amazing.




Sugars

All mixed up.

Add your eggs

One at a time.

Avocado in.

Chocolate

Dry ingredients.

Chocolate Chips

All lined up.

Cool.

Enjoy!

Apple and Pear Pie

1/4 cup unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
2 pears, firm, peeled, cored and sliced (you can halve the apples and pears, this is just what I had on hand)
Pie crust

Preheat oven to 475. Combine dry ingredients and pour over fruit. Mix together well but be gentle! Your pears will break apart if you are too rough. Put your bottom crust into a 9" pie plate. Fill with your fruit. I like to layer the fruit by hand, but it really does not matter. You can just chuck it in the plate and be done. I cover mine with a lattice top, but you can just put a regular crust on top. Make sure you brush the top crust with egg wash to get that lovely browning, I sprinkle sugar on mine as well.
Bake at 475 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 for 35-45 minutes.
Make sure that you either put this on a cookie sheet bigger than your pie plate, or that you line underneath with tin foil, this can bubble over. Serve with vanilla ice cream for a real treat!