Chocolate Pie

So with the Oscars last weekend I saw a post for Minny's Chocolate Pie from The Help. (The original recipe appeared in the August 2011 Food & Wine issue.) I thought it looked like it could be really good, so I got around to making it today. I mostly followed the directions, but baked it like I usually do for a custard pie. I'm just not a fan of blind baking. I expected this to be a chocolatey custard pie. Wow was I surprised and delighted by the way this fudgy chocolate pie tasted, with a thin crisp layer on the top of the pie and gooey, yet fully set chocolate filling. And it did not really seem custardy either, I think to the appreciation of my guys. We served it with whipped cream and the remaining pieces' minutes are numbered.

I used my standard pie crust, although I have been tweaking that one too. Sorry Great-Grandma Genevieve. This was always a never-fail pie crust, but over the last several years it hasn't rolled as easily as I remembered (darn Crisco changing the formula). So a while ago I tried doing the crust with lard instead of shortening. It rolled like a dream the way I remembered it working when my mom made the crust when I was little. Over the last few years I have had to add extra flour because it was too sticky and it just didn't roll well. It was much more apt to tear. With lard all my troubles went away. The texture was flaky like we wanted. The only drawback was it tasted a bit oily. Today I only had about 1/3 lard for the recipe and used shortening for the rest. The crust worked better than with just shortening and the taste was much more to our liking. I think half and half would work well for taste and ease of use.

Minny’s Chocolate Pie
Ingredients:
9-inch pie crust, unbaked
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons sweet butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream, for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°.
In a bowl, whisk sugar with cocoa powder, butter, eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth.
Pour filling into pie shell and bake for about 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350° and bake another 30 minutes or until filling is set around edges but a little jiggly in the center. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway through baking, if desired.
Transfer pie to rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges.
Serve with whipped cream.

Minny's Chocolate Pie can be refrigerated overnight.

Custard Pie

This recipe comes from my mom's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens cook book (probably from the mid '70s). My newer copy of the book says to par-bake the pie crust before adding the filling. That is really an unnecessary step, so I follow this one now.

Custard Pie

4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups milk, scalded
1 unbaked pie shell
nutmeg

Blend eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Gradually stir in scalded milk. Pour into pie shell. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake at 350 for 3540 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack then chill.

Adventures in Pumpkin II

So this year we found ourselves with three smallish pumpkins that had not been carved. Seemed wasteful to not do something with them. And our oldest had gotten one of the pumpkins from a pumpkin farm on a class field trip. He really wanted a pie from that pumpkin. So we cracked open the pumpkins (with a rubber mallet and knife for one of them) emptied out the seeds (saving them for toasted pumpkin seeds) and steamed them in the skin. Once the pumpkin was soft, I scooped the pumpkin from the skin and pureed it in the food processor (do not overfill or it won't all get pureed). Then I lined a large strainer with paper towels and put the pumpkin puree in it to drain for an hour or more. I then used two cups of the puree with the recipe from the Libby's pumpkin can to make pie. The consistency was nice and had a mild, fruity flavor that you just don't get with canned pumpkin. I put the remaining pumpkin in the freezer in two cup portions for later use. The pies made from the frozen pumpkin were just as good.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Rinse pumpkin seeds and remove any attached pulp. Simmer in salted water (about 1 tbsp. salt per 2 cups water) for 15-20 minutes. Drain. Put on a cookie sheet in an single layer. Toast at 425 for 15-25 minutes, stirring once or twice. (I did this while a pie was cooking, so 15 min. at 425 then turned down to 350 for another 10 to 15 minutes.)

Chocolate Chip Pie

If you're from Louisville, Kentucky you'll know what this pie is really called. But due to copyright laws we'll go with Chocolate Chip Pie. But if you go to the Kentucky Derby you can find the restaurant that started this one.

Update: We tried adding bourbon to the pie for flavor and it went over well. I'd suggest using 1 tbsp. bourbon instead of the vanilla. (3/14/12)

Chocolate Chip Pie

1 stick melted butter, cooled
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cups walnuts, chopped

Mix all together and pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Serve warm or at room temp.

Old Fashion Cream Pie

This recipe is from my husband's family. My mother-in-law recreated this recipe from a restaurant she used to work in. You need to use a heavy pie plate. A Pyrex plate may work, but I would avoid any metal pie plates. We use Louisville Stoneware pie plates for best results. This pie can make a mess of your oven though. Mine always bubble over, but my sister-in-law doesn't have that problem. Not sure why. If it does bubble over, run a knife around between the pie plate and pie crust to keep it from sticking to the pan when it cools. For easier cleanup, put a rimmed baking sheet on the shelf beneath the pie to catch any overrun.


Old Fashion Cream Pie

unbaked, single pie crust in heavy pie pan

4 tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
pinch of butter (I use 1 tsp. cut into small pieces)
pinch of salt

Mix above ingredients in the pie pan.

Fill with 1 pint Half & Half (I have used whipping cream with good results.)

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 300 and bake for another 2 hours.

Grandma's Pie Crust

This is an old family recipe credited to my Great-Grandmother, Genevieve Girard. My mom has been using this recipe forever. And I have never found another recipe that works without a lot of fuss. It tends to roll best if it sets for a while before rolling it out. This makes enough for 3 single crust pies. Any extra crust feezes nicely for later use. Just thaw in the refrigerator.

Grandma's Pie Crust

4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shortening (I use butter flavored)
1 egg
1/2 cup cold water
1 tbsp. vinegar

Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add egg, water, and vinegar. Mix well. Makes 3 pie crusts.

Adventures in Pumpkin

So today JB is home and wants Pumpkin Pie for dinner. I just bought a big can of pumpkin thinking that I would just make two whenever I made one. But since we're making one early, I had to figure out what to do with the rest. We're off to see family tomorrow so I decided to make the Libby's Pumpkin Roll from the inside of the label. Then I'm left with about 3/4 cup pumpkin, but I remembered seeing a recipe in a magazine for Pumpkin Muffins recently. So sure enough in Simple & Delicious there is a recipe for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins that uses 3/4 cup pumpkin. It just doesn't get much better than that. So lots of baking today and JB has lots of dishes to do. That's what he gets for sending me out into the kitchen.

LIBBY'S® Famous Pumpkin Pie
Estimated Times:
Preparation - 15 min | Cooking - 55 min | Cooling Time - 2 hrs cooling | Yields - 8 servings

This is the traditional holiday pumpkin pie. This classic recipe has been on LIBBY'S® Pumpkin labels since 1950. This pie is easy to prepare and even easier to enjoy. Just mix, pour, bake for a delicious homemade tradition.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

NOTES:
1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves; however, the taste will be slightly different. Do not freeze, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.

LIBBY'S® Pumpkin Roll
Estimated Times:
Preparation - 45 min | Cooking - 13 min | Cooling Time - 1 hrs refrigerating | Yields - 10

Dazzle family and friends with Libby's® Pumpkin Roll; moist and creamy, with a tantalizing aroma and beautiful presentation.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions:
FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:
Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
“Here’s a recipe that your readers will love!” writes Jennifer Jackson of Charlottesville, Virginia. “It’s simple, yet filling and delicious.”
INGREDIENTS 2 cups all-purpose flour 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda Dash ground allspice 1 egg 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 cup canned pumpkin 2/3 cup milk 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips	SERVINGS 12 CATEGORY Breads METHOD Baked PREP 15 min. COOK 20 min. TOTAL 35 min.
DIRECTIONS In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Combine the egg, brown sugar, pumpkin, milk, butter and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.