Desserts for Dudes: Pecan Chewies

You remember my Uncle Mike, right?  Well, every time he visited when we were growing up, my mom would make Pecan Chewies.

So, when Uncle Mike came for a visit this week, I knew immediately what I would be baking.

Pecan Chewies are essentially like mini pecan pies, with a buttery, cream cheese crust, lots of pecans, and a brown sugar filling.  If you really can't get into traditional pecan pie because of the thick layer of goo (*raises hand*), these are for you.  They're goo-free.

The day before Uncle Mike arrived, I made the Pecan Chewies, and purely for quality control purposes, Mr. E, the kiddo and I tested one each.  They were even better than I remembered.
And then Mr. E said...

"I wonder what one of these would be like with a little ice cream?"

Mind. Blown.

We'd never had these with ice cream growing up.  We ran (ok, we drove) to the grocery store, grabbed a pint of Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean, and hurried back home.

With my small cookie scoop, we dished out a little dollop of creamy vanilla bean on a pecan chewie (and took 27 pictures of it).  Oh. Wow. 

Dudes know their desserts, I'm tellin' ya.

With or without the ice cream, I beg you to try these for the men in your life.  Only, be sure to call them Pecan Chewies...if you call them Mini Pecan Pie Tartlettes with a Dollop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, I'm pretty sure they become chick food.

Oh!  My girlfriend Teresa from Blooming on Bainbridge has a similar recipe on her blog that makes 75!!!  (This recipe makes 24.)  So, if you're feeding a crowd, be sure to pop over to her recipe!

Pecan Chewies

{adapted from mom}

crust:
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup sifted flour

filling:
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1 egg
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 TBSP salted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
dash kosher salt

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until combined.  Stir in the sifted flour until it forms a dough.  (This will take several minutes of stirring, but it will come together.)  Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.

Toast the pecans: Place the pecans on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from the sheet and set aside.

Beat together the egg, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth.  You may see a few tiny bits of butter; that's ok.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into 24 balls.

Place the balls in an ungreased mini muffin tin,

...and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the cups.

Divide half of the pecans among the 24 pastry-lined muffin cups.

Use a teaspoon to add in the egg/brown sugar mixture.
{If you get messy like I did, just wipe the pan with a damp paper towel before baking.}

Top with the remaining pecans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done.  Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 5 minutes.

 

Remove the pecan chewies from the pan, using a knife to go around the edges if needed, and cool completely on the wire rack.

Serve naked (not you, the chewies) or with a small dollop of ice cream.

Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet Potato Pie is decidedly unsexy.  I think it's the word "potato."

It may not be sexy, but sweet potato pie is GOOD.  Now, I love my pumpkin...in all kinds of baked goods...but I must say, where pie is concerned, I prefer sweet potato.

And I have a confession to make...I made the pie yesterday and today at lunch, it was calling me from the fridge.  I kicked off my boots, put on my comfy socks, curled up in the big chair in our bedroom, flicked on my DVR'd Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and ate PIE for lunch.  It was the best, most decadent lunch EVER. 

The pie is really pretty simple.  (And I'm begging you to give it a try.)  If you cook the sweet potatoes the day before, you can put this pie together in a jiffy.

Sweet Potato Pie with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
{slightly modified from Everyday Food, issue 7}

sweet potato puree:
3 large sweet potatoes
water to cover

crust:
10 graham crackers (the full sheets, rectangles)
3TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
pinch kosher salt
5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

filling:
3 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1 and 3/4 c. cooled sweet potato puree
1/2 c. half and half
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground allspice

whipped cream:
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. light brown sugar

Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks of approximately the same size...about 1.5".

{Do NOT place the peels in your garbage disposal...so say my notes from "The Thanksgiving without a working garbage disposal, 2003."}

Place in a dutch oven, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Boil for 15 minutes, or until tender with pierced with a paring knife.  Drain in a colander, then transfer to a food processor.  Process until smooth.

Set aside to cool. (This will make more than you'll need for the pie.)

Place an oven rack on the lowest shelf and preheat oven to 350. 

Use a food processor to combine the graham crackers, sugar, ginger and salt until finely ground.  Add the melted butter and pulse until moist crumbs form.

Dump the mixture into a glass 9" pie pan and press into the bottom and up sides of the pan.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until blended.  Whisk in the cooled sweet potato puree, half and half, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and allspice until completely smooth.  Pour into the prepared crust and use an offset spatula to smooth the top.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet and bake 40-50 minutes until set.  The pie filling should not jiggle much at all when shaken. 

Transefer to a wire rack to cool, about 2 hours.  Refrigerate once cooled. 

Before serving, make the whipped cream.  Chill the bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for a few minutes before whipping.  Beat the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form.  Dollop on the pie.

{Isn't dollop a good word?}

Promise me you'll make it?  Ok?  After one bite, you might decide sweet potato pie is sexy after all.

{Cheryl of TidyMom is having her 3rd annual Love the Pie party!  Come see all of the other delicious pies linked up!!!  It's like a pie potluck!}

Pie Crust Primer...Works for Me Wednesday

Why is it four ingredients (one of them being ICE WATER) can cause baking anxiety?   Flour, salt, fat and water…you know what I'm talking about: pie crust.

Don't get me wrong, I have used Pillsbury refrigerated crusts many a time...and it's really pretty yummy.  But, maybe Thanksgiving has you feeling brave.  Maybe you want to feel like a domestic goddess (pie crust from scratch will do that for ya).  Maybe, just maybe, your mother-in-law is coming for dinner and you want her to know that you can make pie crust, too.


Here were my fears about pie crust...

• Am I working the dough too much?
• What fat should I use?
• Will it get soggy?
• Will it be flaky and not taste good?
• Will it be tasty and not flake?
• Will I send my husband to the store for a box of the refrigerated stuff?

 

Fear no more!  Let me share my favorite, no-fail recipe along with a few tips for a perfectly flaky, delicious pie crust!


For a double-piecrust:
(modified from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion)

2 & 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c. cold shortening (Crisco)
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 to 1/2 c. ice water

Reserve a few tablespoons of flour, set aside. Whisk together remaining flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until it is crumbly.

Place the reserved flour on work surface and coat butter in it. Use a rolling pin or your hand to flatten the butter until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Break the flour-coated butter into 1 inch pieces and mix into the dough until it is evenly distributed.

Sprinkle water over the dough while tossing with a fork just until it is easily squeezed into a ball. Flatten into 2 disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

On a floured surface, roll each disk into a 12 x 9″ rectangle (approx). Fold into thirds, like a letter, then fold again in thirds to form a square. Wrap both pieces again and refrigerate 30 more minutes.

After 30 minutes, let rest at room temperature for 5 minutes, then roll out to the size needed for the bottom crust.  Use the second piece for a lattice or decorative top.

Now, here are a few pie crust secrets:

1. For a perfectly baked bottom crust, use a glass pie pan and bake the pie on the bottom rack of your oven.
2. To prevent a soggy bottom crust on a fruit pie, brush on a thin layer of lightly beaten egg white before adding the fruit.

Psst....Cheryl over at TidyMom is having a Pie PARTY on the 16th.  Go check out the pies and link up your own! 

Never fail pie crust....works for me! :)

{Portions of this post first appeared as a guest post on Muthering Heights.}

Chocolate Amaretto Pie (& Home Made cookbook giveaway)

Cookbooks: I read them like novels.  I even get teary.  I love reading how recipes came about and the family stories that go along with them.

I want to introduce you to a beautiful cookbook called Home Made by Yvette Von Boven.  Yvette runs a restaurant and catering business in Amsterdam, along with being a food stylist and recipe developer.

How glamorous is this....she splits her time between Amsterdam and Paris.
{I split my time between the suburbs of Houston and the other suburbs of Houston.}


Home Made is a substantial book, weighing 4 & 1/2 pounds...that's heavier than kiddo when he was born.  The book has everything...cocktails, main courses, desserts, pasta, soups...you name it.  Yvette walks you through making bread, making ice cream (without an ice cream maker), building a simple outdoor grill, making cheese, making chocolates, and more!


And, the book is beautiful.


I tried a recipe called "Chocolate Fondant Cake" which I renamed pie. To me, fondant means the roll out icing that goes over a cake.  Whatever you call it, the cake/pie is sinfully creamy and delicious!

It starts with a cookie crust.  Crust supposed to be made with Amaretti cookies.  I love these little Italian cookies.  In my grocery store, they're not found with the cookies, but over in the "Italian section."  I knew I had a bag in my pantry.


I opened the bag and ate one, you know, for quality control.  Good thing I did, because, oh, they were NOT good. Turns out, they expired over a year ago. I.Let.Cookies.Expire. (hangs head in shame)

Okaaaay....

Gingersnaps to the rescue!


Melt some chocolate,


whip up some cream, add amaretto...chill (you and the pie)...and you have yourself a glorious dessert.


{...aka Chocolate Fondant Cake, adapted from Home Made, serves 12}

1 & 1/4 sticks butter
8 oz amaretti cookies (or gingersnaps)
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 & 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 TBSP sugar
1/3 c. Amaretto (or Frangelico)
cocoa powder

Line an 8 or 9" cake pan with plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over the sides.

Melt the butter.  Process cookies in a food processor until evenly ground.  Stir the butter and crumbs together; press into the bottom of the pan.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Let cool slightly.

Beat the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form.  Gently stir in the melted chocolate.  Add the Amaretto and stir.

Fill the pan with the mixture and smooth with an offset spatula. Cover with the excess plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours. (I put mine in the freezer for 30 mins - one hour before serving to set it up a bit more.)


Before serving, lift the pie out of the pan , remove the plastic wrap and sift cocoa powder over the top.  Serve small wedges...it's rich!

Want a copy of Home Made for your very own?
Just leave a comment answering this question...

"What is something you've always wanted to make or bake at home, but have never tried?"

Giveaway closed...Jane is the lucky winner! Yay, Jane!

Random winner will be chosen on September 19th at 9pm CST.  Good luck! :)

{Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book at no charge...my opinions and weight I have gained from this recipe are my own.}

Cherry Pie for a Birthday

Mr. E celebrated a birthday a few weeks ago.  And, Mr. E is not a big fan of cake.

It actually took him a few days to decide what he wanted for his birthday "cake" this year.  His answer..."any fruit pie."

Well, I knew exactly what I was going to do.  I emailed my Aunt Janice who makes the best cherry pies and crossed my fingers that the recipe didn't call for tart cherries.

See, I like to feel sorry for myself here in Texas that we don't have access to tart cherries.  They must be really perishable because it seems like we can get any fruit in the world, from any country in the world EXCEPT tart or sour cherries.

And here's where my pity party ends because Aunt Janice's recipe calls for canned tart cherries!!!  And are those not the cutest cans you've ever seen?  I love having them in my pantry. ♥

One more note, this recipe is one that my aunt got from her grandmother, Lolita.  And making a recipe from someone named Lolita really makes me happy.

Cherry Pie
{from Janice & Lolita}

double pie crust (I use this one and SWEAR by it)
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
4 TBSP cornstarch
3/4 cup juice from cherries
3 cups canned pitted tart red cherries (WATER packed, from 2 cans)
1 TBSP butter


Combine 3/4 cup sugar with cornstarch.


Stir in the cherry juice.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and bubbles. Cook 1 more minute.

Add remaining sugar, cherries & butter.  Let stand while preparing pastry.  Now is a good time to preheat the oven to 400.  {Also, have about 17 spoons at the ready...if you are like me, you'll be "testing" the filling quite frequently as it cools.}


(My tip: lightly brush the bottom crust with beaten egg white to prevent a soggy crust.)

Fill the bottom pie crust with the filling.


Cut the top crust with a pastry cutter.

To make a lattice top...

Criss-cross two of the strips across the middle of the pie.

Lay the remaining strips across the pie, lifting up strips as needed.






Now, it's time to trim.

Use a paring knife to trim the edges.


Brush the top with egg whites if desired.

Bake at 400 degrees for 55 minutes on the bottom oven rack. (Place a cookie sheet on the oven floor to catch spills.)

Let cool on a wire rack.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.  (Yes, it's required.)  We like Haagen-Dazs 5-Vanilla Bean.

{Just look at those flaky layers!!!  This pie crust recipe is the secret!}

I think Mr. E chose well!  Fruit pies for birthdays may become a trend around here!