Pie Day

Pie for Pi Day…or any day of the week.

That’s what I love about these mini strawberry pies—they’re perfect for those times when it’s just you, melting into the couch, with Netflix and a fork. The pie, baked in a four-inch springform pan, can nestle oh so sweetly in the palm of your hand. And because of their delicate size, they are perfect for tea parties. There really is no inappropriate time for pie.

Originally, I had come up with the idea for this pie for Valentine’s Day. I love Valentine’s Day because, after the marathon of holidays that is Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, I get a little bit down. But Valentine’s gives me something sweet and cheery to look forward to. I think of spring and growing flowers. I remember exchanging valentines and candy as a kid in elementary school and the second grade tea party in which I recited Shel Silverstein’s “Hug O’ War” to a room full of kids, parents, and paper hearts. 

The beautiful hue of the cooked strawberries and the heart-like shape of the fruit are so festive. In fact, I think the pie itself would make an awesome valentine. So, why did I wait this long to get the recipe posted? Because, when I really make an effort, I am a magnificent procrastinator.

I am extremely proud of how tasty this pie is. The recipe took a little bit of imagination in that when I originally did my strawberry pie research, I found recipes for the kinds of pie that were more like tarts, with fresh, uncooked berries coated in jam and sometimes with a mysterious gel; I found recipes that consisted of strawberry flavored Jell-O and Cool Whip; I found recipes for mini hand pies; and if it was baked like a traditional two-crusted pie, the strawberries were mixed with rhubarb or other berries.

So I got creative and sketched out the kind of strawberry pie that I was craving and came up with this: a flaky, buttery crust; a crunchy, brown sugar and oatmeal topping; and nothing but sweet strawberries.

Mini Strawberry Crumble Pies (Yield: about 3 4” pies)

Crust:

1-1/3 c. flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. butter, cold and cubed

2 tbsp. vegetable shortening

1/4 c. ice water

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and then toss in the butter cubes and shortening. Chop at the butter and shortening with a knife, simultaneously stirring it into the dry ingredients, until the mixture is crumbly and roughly pea-sized. Gradually pour in the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, and stir it in using a fork. Stir the mixture until a dough forms, then dump it onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap up the dough and pat it into a disc. Refrigerate it for an hour and a half.

Strawberry Filling:

3-1/2 c. hulled and sliced strawberries

1/4 c. sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries

2 tbsp. cornstarch

Combine all three ingredients in a bowl and allow it to macerate while making the crumble.

Crumble Topping:

1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. oatmeal

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. butter, cold and cubed

Whisk all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Toss in the butter and smash everything together with a fork until the mixture becomes a shaggy, crumbly rubble.

To assemble and bake the pies…

1. Preheat the oven to 425º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to about 1/8” thickness. Cut it into three circles that will fit into the mini pans. Gently lay the dough into the tins, using your fingers to fit and push the dough flush with the edges. Use a knife to trim off any extra dough hanging over the rims of the pans and use the excess to patch cracks or thin spots on the bottom or edges of your crusts.
3. Fill the pies about three-quarters full with the strawberry filling, lightly packing the fruit into the crusts and evenly dividing any remaining juice left in the bowl.
4. Liberally top the pies with the crumble topping, gently patting it down with your hand.
5. Place the mini pies on the baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes.
6. Turn the oven temperature down to 375º F and bake the pies for another 25 minutes, or until the crumble topping is a dark golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling.
7. Let the pies cool for about an hour and then carefully unmold.

A New Year = Something Semi-Healthy

            Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday season. As is wont to happen, my Christmas and New Year included much over indulging (SO. MANY. COOKIES.), and I limped away from the celebrations filled with self-loathing and bursting with resolutions (that I will most likely break).

            That is how these Blueberry Bran Muffins came about—they are, without a doubt, the healthiest things I ever have or ever will bake.

These are muffins in the idealistic sense of the word, as the majority of muffins are really socially acceptable breakfast cupcakes sans icing. But honestly, I’ve never needed a cover up to eat cake for breakfast.

Although filled with wheat bran, oatmeal, yogurt, and fresh blueberries, these muffins feel indulgent enough that I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing or depriving myself of anything while eating them. They are tender despite their slightly rustic coarseness and stained ink blue at the centers. The blueberries also lend the muffins a satisfying pop of natural sweetness while the demerara sugar adds a pleasant crunch and demure sparkle.

It is entirely plausible, however, that my waxing poetic on the delights of bran muffins is due to the frame of mind I was in while baking them. (I am a big believer in the concept of cooking your feelings into food.) The day was bright, the view outside my kitchen window was lush and green, and I had The Light in the Piazza playing in the background.

Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly enjoying whisking and measuring and pouring while listening to a young, attractive George Hamilton say things like, “You’re mamma, she does not like me,” in an exaggerated Italian accent and a middle-aged, attractive Rossano Brazzi steal kisses from Olivia de Havilland in an ancient Florentine alleyway.

It could also be the fact that after experimenting with about four different bran muffin recipes and always finding them somehow lacking, I have finally found success by adapting this Smitten Kitchen recipe. Or it could be the fact that I’ve just received a full tuition scholarship to law school. Or it could just be life. Life is good.

Here’s to a happy and indulgent 2015.

Blueberry Bran Muffins (Yield: 12)

1 c. wheat bran

1/2 c. old-fashioned oatmeal

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. plain, whole milk yogurt

1/3 c. + 4 tbsp. milk

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 c. fresh blueberries

2 tbsp. demerara sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425º F and line a muffin pan with 12 paper or foil baking cups.
2. Place the bran, oatmeal, and sugar in a food processor and process until the oatmeal and bran have both become fine and roughly similar in size.
3. Pour the bran mixture into a large bowl and whisk it together with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Mix the yogurt, milk, oil, egg, and extracts together in a measuring cup until smooth. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and fold them gently together with a rubber spatula. It doesn’t take long for the batter to come together.
5. Spoon out a heaping tablespoon of the batter into each muffin well, making sure to cover the bottom of the tin—you should use about half of the batter. Next, distribute the blueberries between each of the muffins and sprinkle a little bit of the demerara sugar over the fruit, dividing 1 tablespoon amongst them.
6. Spread the remaining batter over the berries, making sure it blankets the berries and reaches the edges of the muffin liner. Scatter the last tablespoon of sugar over the tops of each muffin.
7. Bake the bran muffins for 14 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean, since you don’t want to over bake them. Let cool.

Enjoy the bran muffins with butter or jam. Or both…I guess these could have been healthier.

Thanksgiving Dessert

            As promised, here is my Thanksgiving-dessert post. Here are some of the things I am thankful for this year, other than the “family, friends, a roof over my head, good food” spiel—not to disparage those things, but I am thankful for them everyday and I’d like to get a little creative.

• The fact that this was my first Thanksgiving where I wasn’t planning and cooking around a school break;
• My bachelor’s degree;
• All the sweet comments left for me on my Mad Tea Party post—I reread them when I need a pick me up, and they never fail to warm my heart;
• This year’s religious education class of fourth graders—their spontaneous hugs and their excitement to be in my class every week also never fails to warm my heart;
• Today’s rainy day, which is perfect for movie watching, baking, Christmas decorating, and blog posting (it also happens to be my dad’s birthday);
• Gran Hotel on Netflix, which is like Downton Abbey on steroids in Spanish; and lastly,
• Irish cream whipped cream, which leads me to… 

My mini pumpkin cheesecakes with Irish cream whipped cream. A Bailey’s Pumpkin Cheesecake my mom used to make every Thanksgiving when I was little inspired this dessert. It was amazingly delicious, but it was one of those really dense, heavy cheesecakes that you could only have a few bites of before you were put into a food coma. I remember the batter was so thick that it used to slow down the beaters of our old hand mixer to a disturbingly sluggish chugging. That being said, I’m able to make these mini cheesecakes by hand.

My absolutely favorite part, though, is the Irish cream whipped cream. I could eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon. I also love that since these cheesecakes are small, you can eat two…if you want.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with Irish Cream Whipped Cream (Yield: 14)

Crust:

2/3 c. graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. melted butter

1. Line 14 wells of a muffin tin with foil liners and preheat the oven to 325º F.
2. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
3. Press 1 tbsp. of the mixture into each well, lightly pressing it with the back of a spoon to make it flat.
4. Bake the crust for 5 minutes and then take the pan out to cool while you make the crust. 

Filling:

8 oz. package of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. pumpkin puree

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1. Raise the temperature of the oven to 350º F.
2. Cream together the sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl until thoroughly combined, then add the eggs, mixing after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Fold in the pumpkin puree until there are no longer streaks of orange and the batter is homogenous. Stir in the spices.
4. Fill the crusts about three fourths of the way to the top and bake the cheesecakes for 25 to 30 minutes. 
5. Let the cheesecakes cool to room temperature and then refrigerate them until chilled.

Irish Cream Whipped Cream:

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1/3 c. sugar

2 tbsp. Irish cream

1. Place the heavy whipping cream and the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until the sugar and cream are combined and then raise the speed slightly and allow the cream to thicken slightly.
2. Raise the speed to high. When the cream holds a soft peak, pour in the Irish cream and continue beating the whipped cream until it holds a firm peak.
3. Spoon the whipped cream onto the tops of the chilled cheesecakes before serving.