Key Lime Pie

I apologize for my lack of entries recently.  I haven't stopped baking...don't worry.  I just haven't had time to blog about it.  Lately,  I have been experimenting with different types of pies.  I made Pecan pie at Christmas which I will talk about on another occasion.  I made an apple pie in November that wasn't really worthy of the blog (Yeah that bad) and then yesterday I made a Peanut butter torte which I plan to blog about in the near future.  Now to discuss Key Lime pie.  This recipe comes to you straight from Southern Living.  Of note, I don't eat Key Lime pie very often... so my knowledge of this pie is limited but now growing.  :)      

Apple Crumb Pie

This past weekend we had a Halloween party at a friend's house. The plan was to bob for apples. This never happened. So I was sent home with a bag full of Granny Smith apples. I promised to bake something for the Coop with the apples. My mom bought me this new pie pan in September and I have been dying to use it. Apple + Pie Pan = Martha Stewart's Apple Crumb Pie. Life doesn't get much better than apple crumb pie too... let me tell you!



Apple Crumb Pie (pg. 237 of Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)

Ingredients
Almond Crumb Crust (recipe follows)
3 1/2 pounds assorted apples (such as Macoun, Cortland, Jonagold, Empire or Rome), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch-thick slices
~about 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 35oF. Evenly and firmly press a little more than half of the crumbs (about 2 1/2 cups) into the bottom, up the sides, and onto the rim of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly into the edges. Freeze pie shell until firm, about 15 minutes.
2) In a large bowl, toss together apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour mixture into the chilled pie shell, mounding apples slightly in the center. Dot with butter. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs in clumps over the apples to cover completely.
3) Bake, rotating halfway through, until the crust turns golden and the juices begin to bubble, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack completely. The pie can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

Almond Crumb Crust
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons blanched almonds, finely ground
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces

Directions
1) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining. Using your fingers, squeeze the mixture together to create pea-size to 3/4-inch pieces. If not using right away, cover and chill until ready to proceed.

This pie was AWESOME. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. It was super easy to make. The crust did not require a wooden rolling pin. Instead, you could just press down the crust with your fingers. In turn, this saved a lot of time. The inside of the pie at first was a little watery, but this was because I was so excited to eat the pie that I did not let it cool. After letting the pie cool, the sugars coalesced and the pie's contents solidified. (No more water here!) The pie was super delish and you should make it too. If not for my seal of approval, but simply because it was the easiest apple pie ever and Martha does not mess around when it comes to baking.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

This past week was my last week with a roommate. I had a really good time. It reminded me a little of college having someone to hang out with when I got home from school. Albeit, I no longer live in the spacious house that I lived in when I went to A&M. (My roommate for the month slept on the couch.) We planned to make the following Chocolate Pecan Pie together. However, things got busy and we did not have the opportunity. So this past weekend, I decided to tackle this recipe alone.
This Recipe is from: Tori's Mom
Ingredients
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust shell
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup large pecan pieces

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F. Beat eggs in a large bowl; stir in sugar, corn syrup, combined melted butter, chocolate, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly, but do not overbeat. Sprinkle pecans in prepared shell; slowly pour filling mixture over pecans. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 325 and continue to bake until filling is puffed and set, about 45-50 minutes.

As I stared at the oven at the end of this recipe, I had a difficult time ascertaining when the pie was done. The pie puffed up at 40 minutes when I glanced at it, but I wasn't sure whether it was set. I took the pie out and placed my finger in the center and decided that it wasn't yet done and placed it back in the oven for another 8 minutes. At the end of the recipe, I still wasn't quite sure whether it was set but decided that it had to be done. I really liked this recipe. It was incredibly easy to make. It made me wonder why I don't make pies more often. Cookies are harder. I give this recipe 4.5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely make it again.