If you want an easy and delicious pie recipe, this one’s for you! It is so easy to put together and has a big payoff in flavor and texture. It tastes like summer, sunshine and joy. Also, I think it probably has three to four of your daily servings of fruit—and this pie is so good—you could eat it all in one sitting. Now that I call a win-win.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 cups fresh blueberries
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 tablespoon butter, diced
Turbinado sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries. Mix well. Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2-3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on the top (A tip from my pie expert mama is to spritz the top of the crust with water to make the sugar stick more easily. Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 40-50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. (If the crust edges start to get too brown after 30 minutes, cover with foil.)
It’s the end of summer dreams that make me feel fine, but I’m going to squeeze ever last ounce out of it—and what is more summer than campfires and s’mores? Don’t tell me other things cause that ruins my train of thought and my segue into talking about this pie, and TRUST when I say you want me to get to it as quickly as possible. A graham cracker crust with a pinch of salt, a creamy chocolate middle and roasted marshmallows topped with coconut and chocolate chips, juuuuust for fun.
Ingredients
For the crust
1 1/2cups graham cracker crumbs (10-15 graham crackers)
8tablespoons melted butter
Pinch of salt
For the filling
7ounces milk or dark chocolate, or a mixture of both, broken into chunks
1cup heavy cream
1egg
Pinch of salt
For the topping
1 bag marshmallows (I used big ones and chopped them in varying sizes, just for fun)
1/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the crust. Crumble graham crackers into the work bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Or just put them in a bag and take our your aggressions with any instrument you find necessary until they are finely crushed. Add salt and pour melted butter over the crumbs and mix until the butter is fully incorporated and the texture is that of wet sand. Butter or oil a 9-inch pie pan and firmly press the graham cracker crumbs against the sides, then against the bottom of the pan. Chill for at least 30 minutes to avoid crumbling when serving (I chilled for a few hours, just to be safe).
While the crust chills, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the chocolate filling. Put the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until scalded — do not boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 1 minute. Whisk the cream and chocolate together until glossy and smooth. Add a pinch of salt, then crack the egg into the chocolate mixture and whisk to fully incorporate. Pour into chilled crust and bake for 25 minutes, or until the filling is set but still slightly wobbly in the center. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Once pie is cooled, top with marshmallows and brûlée until about half done. Then add coconut and torch again until desired level of toastiness. Immediately add chocolate chips so that they melt a little bit on the hot marshmallows. ***For this process, a torch is best (a propane torch from the hardware store or a butane crème brûlée torch). If using a torch, clear the area of any flammable items, ignite the torch, and slowly wave the flame over the surface of the marshmallow until you get the roasting just right. If you do not have a torch, use the broiler of your oven. Preheat the broiler, cover the edges of the pie crust with foil or pie shields, place the pie on a baking sheet and broil — watching carefully to prevent burning — for 2 to 3 minutes, rotating as necessary.
To slice the pie, it helps to dip your knife in hot water, then dry it with a towel. The heat facilitates easy slicing through the marshmallow layer.
sour apple blackberry hand pies by twocarolines.com
The dark, mysterious, beautifully flavored and often misunderstood blackberry is the star of this show. Nice firm and tart Granny Smith apples support the berries so things aren’t one note smooshy or soupy, but that gorgeous dark magenta berry bubbling out the top of these hand pies tastes like all that is right in the world. I used this butter crust recipe, and you know I’m loyal to my shortening, but for a handpie where you’re going to need to handle the dough more and it takes more of a center stage, this dough worked out well, but it is tougher to make and can be harder to work with so feel free to use a shortening dough if that’s what you prefer. You can use other berries too, but this combo made for a sweet and sour flavor explosion of total and complete hand-pie joy!
Pâte Brisée (don’t be freaked out by the name, it’s basically just a butter crust) 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
extra flour for dusting
1 egg lightly beaten for tops of pies
demera or raw sugar for sprinkling
Apple Berry Filling:
2 granny smith apples peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
2 1/2 cups blackberries 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 cup granulated sugar (I thought this was the perfect amount of sweetness, but you can use a little more if you want your pies less sweet) 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
First make the Pâte Brisée or crust. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
With machine running, add ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
unbaked hand pies by twocarolines.com
Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight. (The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.)
To make the filling in a medium bowl, add apples, blackberries, lemon, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and cardamom; stir to combine, set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats (a French nonstick baking mat) or parchment paper.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll one half of dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8-inch-thick. Using a 5-inch cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds. Transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. I used a small bowl and just traced around it with a knife because I don’t have a large cookie cutter – I think mine was just short of 5 inches.
Place about 3 or so tablespoons of the apple/berry mixture onto one round – use a slotted spoon and leave any juices in the bowl so you don’t get soupy pies. Lightly brush egg around the edge of each round. Take another dough round and put it on top. Gently press edges together to seal. I then took a fork to the edge for decoration, do what you think looks cool. Brush the tops of each pie with egg. Using a paring knife, slash the top of each pie. Sprinkle generously with raw or demera sugar.
Repeat this process with second half of dough and remaining filling on second baking sheet.I was able to make 8 total, but you can use less filling and roll them over into half moons to make more.
Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pies to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Or let cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate is the ultimate merger of flavors. It’s like the combination sunshine and a hammock, finding new hella cute shoes and then realizing that they are extremely comfortable. It’s basically better than sliced bread—or whatever the kids are saying these days. So when my friend told me about this recipe, I knew what must be done. For me, for the world, for you. This must be made and shared and devoured. This pie is easy to make, and it’s chocolatey and creamy and rich—what more can you ask for? Now go forth and discover this goodness yourselves…
14 oz of chocolate wafers (or Oreos, or Oreo thins)
1 cup (16 tablespoons) butter, divided
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, divided
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Finely crush the chocolate wafers. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.
Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of softened butter, 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, and 1 cup powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low speed until smooth and creamy. Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the crust into a smooth layer. Place back in freezer.
Place chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter in a large glass or heat-proof bowl. In a saucepan, bring heavy whipping cream to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and peanut butter and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate layer over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hours until ready to serve. Let sit for about 15 minutes on the counter before serving.
twocarolines.com 