Blackberry Pie

Pick the blackberries as they ripen (black).  

Grandmaman put foil in the oven.

 The recipe we tried took 4 cups of blackberries.

 Sadie and Logan took turns mixing the sugar and cornstarch mixture in.  We used 1/2 cup of sugar but this amount could be increased for a sweeter pie.

 Once the pie crust was in the pie plate and the berry mixture poured in Sadie arranged the top crust with care.

 After crimping the edges Sadie used a knife to cut steam holes in the pie.

 Next Sadie brushed on a bit of milk and sprinkled a generous amount of 

sugar on for a special finish.

The pie was baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes then we turned the oven to 350 degrees for about 30 more minutes to finish baking.  We remembered to put foil on the rack below the pie to catch the juicy drippings.

We served the pie with vanilla ice cream.  Yummy.  We all decided that blackberry pie is super delicious but somewhat tart and might be nice mixed with other berries such as blueberries for a more subtle flavor.

4 cups fresh blackberries

1/2 cup white sugar (or a bit more)

1/2 cup flour (or 3 tbsp tapioca or 3 tbsp cornstarch)

2 tbsp. milk

1/4 cup of white sugar (or a bit less)

double piecrust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine berries with sugar and flour.

Place berries into an unbaked pie shell.

Cover with the top pie crust.

Crimp edges and cut vents in to let steam escape.

Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes 

then finish baking for about 20 to 30 minutes 

until the filling is bubbly and the crust is brown.

Cool on wire rack and serve with ice cream.

Cocoa Nib Oatmeal Cookies

This is a great oatmeal cookie recipe with a twist--cocoa nibs.  Cocoa nibs are cocoa beans that have been roasted, separated from their husks and broken into small pieces.  They can be eaten as a snack or added to baked goods or other dishes for added crunch, chocolaty flavor and are highly recommended for their nutritional benefits.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

(I used a combination of large flake oatmeal and steel cut oats.

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup cocoa nibs

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  

Beat in eggs one at a time.  Beat in vanilla.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. 

 Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat on low speed.

 Partially mix in oats, walnuts, cocoa nibs and chocolate chips with mixer 

and finish mixing in by hand.

Scoop dough out by the tablespoonful onto baking sheets.  Bake on middle rack of oven for 10 to 13 minutes until toasted brown on top.  After removing from the oven allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Finish cooling on a wire rack.  

Cookies will last a room temperature for 4 days.  Unbaked cookie dough can be left in the fridge for a week or can be frozen for about a month.

Grasshopper Pie or See You Later Alligator Pie

Crust

1 1/4 cup chocolate wafer crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

Mix and press into a pie plate, cake pan or spring form pan.  

Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.  

These amounts (filling and crust) are for a regular pie plate.

Filling

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup sugar

dash salt

1/2 cup cold water

 3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup creme de menthe

1/4 cup creme de cacao

1 cup whipping cream

Mix the gelatin, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, water and egg yolks.  Stir well til gelatin is dissolved and thickens slightly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in liqueurs.  Chill.  Beat egg whites stiff. Add remaining sugar and beat until very stiff, fold in gelatin and whipped cream.  Turn into shell.  Chill 2 hrs in freezer or overnight in fridge.

Fruit Pizza

4 cups crushed cereal (Rice Chex, Chocolate Chex, 

Corn Chex, HoneyNut Chex or Cinnamon Chex for gluten free)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup soft butter

1 beaten egg

1 tsp. vanilla

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

sliced fruit (strawberries, kiwi, blueberries)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  

In a large bowl, mix sugars, peanut butter, butter, egg and vanilla.  Stir in crushed cereal.  Spread in an ungreased 12 inch pizza pan or a flan pan.  

Bake for about 10 minutes.  Cool the crust.

Cream the cream cheese with the powdered sugar.

Once the crust is cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture 

evenly over the top of the crust.

Add the sliced fruit to the pizza.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Lemon Scones

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until in coarse crumbs.  Whisk buttermilk with egg; add to flour mixture, stirring with fork to make a soft dough.  Avoid overmixing.

With lightly floured hands, press dough into a ball.  Turn out onto floured surface; knead gently 10 times. Avoid overkneading. Pat out into 3/4 inch (2cm) thick round.  Using 1 3/4 inch (4.5 cm) floured round or fluted cookie cutter cut out rounds. I used a larger cookie cutter, about 3 inches.  Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Topping: Brush scones with lightly beaten egg; sprinkle with sugar.  Bake in 400 degree F oven just until bottoms are golden, about 12 minutes.  Let cool on pan on rack.

Serve with strawberries and whipping cream.  Strawberries can be sweetened with sugar and flavored with lemon zest (about 1 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. lemon zest to 2 cups sliced strawberries).

Tasty served with afternoon tea.

To change it up, try mini chocolate scones.  Reduce the flour to 2 cups and add 1/2 cup cocoa powder.  Increase the sugar to 1/4 cup.  Omit the lemon zest.

Chocolate Earl Grey Caramels

Unsalted butter for the pan

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (99% dark preferable), finely chopped

1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves, finely ground

2 tablespoons cacao nibs, crushed (optional)

Line a 9 x 9 pan with 9 x 17 piece of parchment paper.  The paper will droop over the sides.  Butter well.

Stir together the cream, sugar, corn syrup and salt together in a heavy bottom pan. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until it reaches 250 F.  Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes.

Add chocolate and tea.  Stir together and pour into the pan and spread with an offset spatula.  Gently press on cacao nibs and let the caramel sit for a few hours.

Cut apart into 1 inch squares.  Serve or store in an airtight container.

A few tips

The first time I tried the recipe I used my double boiler as I thought it would prevent burning.  It took what seemed like forever to get the mixture to a boil, I never did reach quite 250 degrees and the caramels turned out quite soft.  The second time I tried the recipe I put the pan directly on the heat.  It quickly came to a boil and only took about 10 minutes to achieve 250 degrees.  The caramels were solid, yet still soft......perfect.

I found the cacao nibs at Nutters and apparently they are very good for you although too bitter to eat right out of the bag.

I used whipping cream for the heavy cream and white corn syrup for light corn syrup.

Great for a "tea party".

Bavarian Cheese Cake

Crust 

1/2 cup butter

 1/3 cup sugar

 1 cup flour 

1/4 tsp vanilla

Pat in pie plate or flan pan (bottom and up sides).

Filling

 1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

8 oz cream cheese

Whip until smooth and pour onto crust.

Chop 3 or 4 medium apples (peeled and cored)

 for top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.