Pie # 49: Chocolate Cream Cheese Pie

 This is another version of chocolate cream pie... except richer and creamier. If you're a chocolate-pie-lover, you need to make this pie. If you're more of a fruit pie person (like myself) make it anyway :)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Pie
from Ken Haedrich's Pie
(Printable version)

Crust:
Graham Cracker Crust

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 whipping cream
1/2 powdered sugar
Four 3-ounce packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract




Combine regular sugar and egg yolks over a double boiler. Cook, whisking non-stop, until the mixture is thick and creamy. Scrape into medium-size bowl and let cool.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Beat the cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and beat briefly again. Refrigerate.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until light and creamy. Add vanilla and custard and beat until mixture is combined. Add chocolate and blend on low speed until evenly mixed. Fold in about half of the whipping cream.

Pour filling into pie shell and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Yum!

Pie # 16: Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! If yours was anything like mine, it was spent with family and great food. Anyone who actually knows me, probably knows it's difficult for me to gain weight; trust me when I say I put on a substantial amount of fat from all the desserts (specifically pie!) I ate during the holiday. You'll believe me once I post the next two pies. (Two pies this week since I didn't blog over Thanksgiving!)

First, this isn't "technically" a pie. It's a cheesecake. However, the word "pie" is in the title so I think it counts! This recipe is so easy and wonderful. You need to make it immediately - I promise it will impress you! I found it on Our Best Bites, so you know it's great. (Printable Version)

Crust:
Two cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter (melted)
*Spray 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Combine crumbs and melted butter in pan and press evenly. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.

Filling:
2 8 oz packages cream cheese (go all-out and buy the original - none of that fat-free stuff)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tea vanilla
5 eggs
1 bag toffee bits
1 15 oz can pumpkin (We all know I'm never making homemade again)
3/4 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tea ground cinnamon
1/4 tea pumpkin pie seasoning
1/8 tea salt

In large bowl, beat together cream cheese, 1/2 sugar and vanilla until smooth. Keep beating and add 2 eggs. stir in toffee bits and pour over baked crust. Use a spatula to spread evenly.

Mix together pumpkin, whipping cream, remaining eggs (3), 2/3 cup sugar, spices, and salt.

Very, very carefully, pour this over your yummy cream cheese concoction.

Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours or until edges are firm but center is still jiggly when you shake the pan. Turn oven off and open door so that the cheesecake/pie cools slowly. Remove from oven after 30 minutes.

Let stand on the counter until completely cool and chill in the refrigerator for 6 hours (preferably overnight).

Top with whipped cream and leftover toffee bits. Take a bite into the best cheesecake/pie you'll ever eat.

Pie # 9: Peach Cream Pie

I've been a terrible blogger. If you know me on Facebook, however, you should be aware that I have still been baking pies! Finding time to both bake and blog has been difficult. Now that I have the afternoon off and my house is relatively clean, I don't feel guilty about blogging while I enjoy a beer. (No judging.)

Before I delve into this pie, know that it came out of the oven mediocre. I thought this pie recipe would be great because I love, love, love sour-cream rhubarb pie. This Peach Cream has the same basic idea: sour cream with fruit and sugar. The difference, though, is that peaches are already pretty sweet on their own. Since I am a tart pie-lover, this peach edition was too sweet for me.

Recipe from Taste of Home: Baking Classics. (Printable version)
Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter

Filling:
4 cups sliced peaches (I prefer more fruit in my pie so I used about 5-6 cups)
1 cup sugar (divided)
2 Tablespoons flour (I used corn starch)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter

Combine ingredients for crust in bowl. Use pastry blender to cut in cold butter until pea-size chunks form. Press into pie plate. (Waaaaaaaaaay easier than adding water and rolling it out!)

Peel peaches by dunking them in boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately submerging them in ice water. (Skin should peel off easily.) Mix peach slices with 1/4 cup sugar. In a separate bowl, combine corn starch (or flour), egg, vanilla, salt, and remaining sugar. Mix well before adding to peach slices.

 

Pour peaches into crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350; bake for 20 minutes.

While baking pie, make topping. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie and bake at 400 (again) for 15 minutes.

Welcome and Fresh Stawberry Pie

Remind me why I'm doing this? Oh, right. I can't (for the life of me) figure out the best, most awesome, most incredible, pie-crust recipe. In fact, I typically fail especially when I attempt to make pie. Looking through recipe books, websites, cooking blogs and my own mother's kitchen, I am haunted by images of "perfect" pies that I am incapable of achieving. It's about time someone made a real blog about what it's like to make pie. It's messy. Time-consuming. Sometimes disappointing.

The end result, however? Totally worth it.

For the next year, I am going to make a new pie recipe every week. My theory is this: after I make 52 different pies, I'll probably be pretty good at it.

To make things easiest, I started out with a fresh strawberry pie that doesn't require a lot of baking. (Plus, it's hot out and my air conditioner doesn't work so I didn't feel like turning on the oven.)

Graham Cracker Crust: from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
11 regular graham crackers
2 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Pie Filling: from my mother
(Beat first 3 ingredients together in separate bowl)
1 8oz block of cream cheese
1/4 powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup water

Prepare crust:

Place graham crackers into plastic bag that zips/closes securely. Use a rolling pin or pounding tool to crunch the crackers into crumbs.


Pour crumbs into bowl. Combine with melted butter and sugar.


Press into ungreased pie-plate. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.


Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Try not to lick the bowl as you pour this into the pie crust. Using a spatula, evenly spread the cream cheese mixture.


In a small bowl, crush enough strawberries to make 1 cup. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, crushed berries and water.


Stir constantly; bring to boil. Keep stirring until the mixture is thick. Remove from stove and let cool.


Find the rest of your berries and either slice them or keep whole. (Definitely remove all the stems.) Place the berries into the pie shell on top of the cream cheese. Keep in refrigerator until ready to eat. I am lucky enough to have parents that own and operate their own berry market... These gorgeous strawberries were literally picked in the morning and eaten by 7:00pm.


When serving, pour the cooked berry mixture over individual pie slices. According to my mother (which is where I received this recipe) if you pour the sauce onto the pie before you eat it, the crust gets soggy. Nobody likes a soggy crust.


Now bring your "perfect pie" to your friend's house for a barbecue. Everyone will love you.

So far... not such a disaster.

We'll see what happens next week.