Pies, Tarts & Other Pastries Pie . it fills the cracks in the heart . —Kevin James, Mall Cop . Q 1 Q 2 Pies—Autumn Pour into the par-baked pie shell, smoothing the surface. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake (middle rack) until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean yet the filling still jiggles a bit, about 1-1½ hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to serve. Original Source: Adapted from “LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About,” by Patti LaBelle (Clarkson Potter, 1999). https://www.washingtonpost.com www.foodnetwork.com Patti LaBelle’s Sweet Potato Pie The pie crust dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Any leftover pureed sweet potatoes can be frozen for up to 6 months. The pie can be baked and refrigerated a day in advance.—Ed 1 2 9” PIES 8 16 SERVINGS 1 2 Recipes Patti LaBelle’s Pie Crust or prepared deep-dish pie shells Salt prismlondon.com 3 6 Large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 2¾, 5½ pounds), scrubbed Pumpkin Pie 7 14 Tablespoons (most of 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted ½ 1 Cup packed light brown sugar Mama got this off the Libby’s pumpkin can, but it sort of ½ 1 Cup granulated sugar varies from time to time. This is our traditional pie. 2 4 Large eggs, beaten 1 2 3 4 9” PIES ¼ ½ Cup half-and-half ¾ 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 2 3 4 Prepared 9” pie shells, uncooked 1 2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 2 4 6 8 Eggs, well beaten ¾ 1½ 2¼ 3 Cups brown sugar, firmly packed For the filling: ring a large pot of water to a boil over high 1½ 3 4½ 6 Cups canned pumpkin heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, then the sweet potatoes. ¼ ½ ¾ 1 tsp. ginger Reduce the heat to medium; cook until the sweet potatoes are ¼ ½ ¾ 1 tsp. nutmeg tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 to 45 minutes. 1 2 3 4 tsp. cinnamon Drain the sweet potatoes, letting them fall into a colander. Run ½ 1 1½ 2 tsp. salt under cold water until cool enough to handle. Discard the 1 2 3 4 Cups milk skins; transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a mixing bowl. ½ 1 1½ 2 Cups heavy cream Use a hand-held electric mixer to blend on medium speed until creamy and smooth. You’ll need 3 cups for the filling; scoop Preheat oven to 425ºF. out the remainder and reserve for another use. Combine all ingredients. Turn into pie shell. Bake for 40 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. minutes, or at 450 ºF for 10 minutes and then at 350 ºF for 30 Uncover the pie shell; brush the interior with the melted butter. minutes. Either way, until they test done with a silver knife Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom of the pie shell. Par- inserted halfway between the crust and center of the pie comes bake until the crust is set and just beginning to brown—about out clean. 15 minutes. (If the pie shell puffs, do not prick it.) Let cool. Judy Frank Meanwhile, add the melted butter and brown sugar, the granulated sugar, eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pureed sweet potatoes. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Q 3 Pies—Autumn www.grouprecipes.com Pecan Tassies These wonderful little pie-lets became a great favorite at Jekyll . Mama loved making them and everybody loved eating them. Mama’s version is slightly different. www.playbuzz.com After searching the web for a representative sampling on which to determine Mama’s recipe, I found they were identical Pecan Pie except for the quantity of nuts used. I lined them up in the 1 2 PIES recipe. Experiment and suit yourself. These are good enough to have become Christmas cookies. 1 2 9” deep dish pie shells (4-cup volume) 24 48 72 TASSIES 1 2 Cups Karo corn syrup 3 6 Eggs, slightly beaten 1 2 Recipes Tassie’s Cream Cheese Pastry (S-18) 1 2 Cups sugar 2 4 Tbsp. butter (or margarine), melted ½ 1 1 ½ Cup chopped pecans (web) or 1 2 tsp. vanilla ≈ ⅓ ⅔ Cup chopped pecans, (web) or 1¼ 2½ Cups pecan halves 1 2 3 Cups chopped pecans (web) or ⅔ 1⅓ 2 Cups chopped pecans (BH&G) or Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and ⅓ ⅔ 1 Cups chopped pecans (web) plus vanilla together, then stir in the pecans. Pour into the pie Extra pecans for decoration, in all cases shell(s) and bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Anonymous ¾ 1½ Cups light brown sugar 1 2 Eggs 1 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted ¼ ½ tsp. vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease or spray mini-muffin pans; press prepared dough into mini-muffin cups as described in the recipe. Mix together brown sugar, chopped pecans, eggs, melted butter and vanilla with a spoon and then evenly divide it between the dough-lined mini muffin cups. Top each with some additional chopped pecans. Bake until the tops are set—about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for a few minutes in the muffin cups and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. The tassies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Patty Bell Robertson, adapted from Various sources Q 4 Pies—Berry whatscookingamerica.net My Blackberry Pie Maine Wild Blueberry Pie I used to live on the hillside overlooking South Center, and it This traditional Maine Wild Blueberry Pie recipe brings out was covered by forests of blackberries. On my days off, I’d go the sweet and refreshing taste of blueberries and isn't out and pick a bucketful or two. Or six. During the blackberry overpowered by the taste of lemon or the texture that can come season I lived on them, making syrup and clear jelly. I froze from using too many thickeners. Serve with a tall glass of milk whole berries by the pint. And pies. I made enough pie that it or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Some folks consider this pie a replaced my toast and jam in the morning, my jam sandwiches bit runny, but that's how many New Englanders prefer it. at lunchtime, and often, ever regular mealtime at dinner. I 1 2 PIES literally lived on blackberry pie. I love blackberry pie. 1 2 Recipes Double-Crust Pastry Dough or 1 2 3 4 9” PIES frozen prepared double-crust pie dough 1 2 3 4 Prepared pastry for 2-crust pies 5 10 Cups fresh wild blueberries, washed and stemmed ⅞ 1¾ 2⅜ 3½ Cups sugar 3 6 Tbsp. flour 5 10 15 20 Tbsp. flour ½ 1 Cup sugar ½ 1 1 ½ 2 tsp. cinnamon ½-1 1-2 tsp. lemon juice 4 8 12 16 Cups fresh blackberries 1½ 3 Tbsp. butter ¼ ½ ¾ 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract Preheat oven to 400˚F. 1⅓ 2⅔ 4 5⅓Tbsp. butter cut into small pieces Gently stir berries with flour. Sprinkle with lemon juice to Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix together the sugar, flour and taste and set aside. cinnamon. Lightly toss the berries in the mixture, with the flavoring, coating all the berries. Pour into pastry-lined pan Spread bottom crust in pan, with extra hanging over the edge. and dot with butter pieces. Place vented top crust; seal and Pour berries into bottom crust. Distribute dots of butter over flute the edges. Bake until crust is nicely browned and juices berries. are beginning to bubble up through the vents—35-40 minutes. Using a sharp knife, make three slashes in top crust to let Cool to just slightly warm before cutting. steam escape. Fold bottom crust up over top crust and crimp to seal. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling—about , 40-50 minutes. Judy Frank Anonymous Q 5 Pies—Berry www.sugartwin.com www.gorseltarif.com Cream Cheese Tart with Fruit Strawberry Pie This came to me from a friend at work, and friends always feel I got this lovely treasure from my sister, Patty. honored when I serve it. 1 9” pie shell Crust 1 Cup sugar 1 Cup water 4 Ounces cream cheese ¼ Cup corn starch 1 Cube/Stick margarine or butter 1 Box strawberry Jell-O. 1¼ Cup flour 3 Tbsp. Karo corn syrup Pinch salt ⅛ tsp. red food coloring 1 Container fresh strawberries Mix together and chill. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Spread in baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cook sugar, water corn starch until clear. Add ¼ cup Jell-O, syrup and food coloring. Cool. Filling Cut strawberries; arrange on bottom of pie shell. Pour cooled mixture into shell. Put into fridge to set. When set, Garnish 12 Ounce cream cheese with cool whip and more berries. 1 Cup whipping cream Annemarie BUrks ⅓ Cup sugar 1 Tbsp. lemon juice ¼ Cup apricot preserves 1 Tbsp. water Whole strawberries Kiwi, sliced ½” thick Blueberries Peach slices Combine cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar and lemon juice. Spread into cooled crust. Combine apricot preserves with the water. Drip over top of pie. On top of the pie place the fruit pieces in a decorative manner. Annemarie Burks www.baypins.com Q 6 Pies—Berry & Cherry www.kraftrecipes.com www.recipeshubs.com Nana’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Cherry Cream Cheese Pie Katie made this pie a week or so ago, and did not have a 1 2 9” Pie prepared shells rolling pin. She realized that a wine bottle was just as good 1 2 8-ounce pkg.