0 Kiss Pies

Okay, so this is at least a full month late. Remember how I posted about the Bazaar thing from my Indiana trip and I told you about the tiny pumpkin pies? Well we made these too, we called them kiss pies. They sold really well and were beyond delicious. The idea came from >HERE<. Here they are waiting to be put into the oven:

First you have to start with a small candy you like.. it can be any variety of Hershey kiss (which is why they're kiss pies) or any other small candy, we also used Dove chocolates and Andes mints. 

And of course you'll need pie crust, for this one yes.. we cheated and used store-bought frozen pie crust, but in our defense we were making like a bajillion things and it was simply easier this way.

Cut your crust into squares (which would've been easier with homemade pie crust)

Pull up the corners and pinch them together

And there you have it! Make sure the edges are all sealed up really well or they will leak in the oven

Here is one with an Andes mint

A little misshapen but still good, besides, the ugly ones always get sacrificed to the kitchen gods

This is a Dove dark chocolate raspberry thing

Brush them with egg wash so they brown up nicely and have a little gloss to them

And there you have the finished product, this one is an Andes mint. I apologize yet again for my camera's inability to see anything other than orange when it's in that kind of mood. 

There they are bagged up on the tray, they sold well at 50c each and they were wonderful, we had a few left over so we ate all of those.. We also made some with an almond paste inside and called them Amaretto they were pretty amazing and were very much like cookies in that they required a glass of milk, but in a very very good way =]

Happy Baking!

Enjoy! =]

2 Tiny Pumpkin Pie

I'm so SORRY! I totally should've blogged these weeks ago, I'm so behind. Anyway..

Here they are =]

This is the recipe straight out of Betty Crocker

This is everything

Mix it up

Now mix it for real =]

Pour or spoon it into the crust (you can get a recipe for pie crust here)

Bake @375F for 40min

They will bubble then crack when they're ready

All done! Let them cool a bit

They settle back down

And they're delicious, this is Angie, check her out on YouTube

We sold them at a fall festival bazaar (I blogged that too)

These turned out pretty good and they sold just as well, be sure when you make them that you let them bake until the crust is cooked through. Great holiday project and Christmas gift idea or to send home with the family at Thanksgiving.

Happy Baking! 

Enjoy =]

0 Cherry Pie

Okay so again, its taken me forEVER to get around to blogging this even though I've had the pictures uploaded and edited for weeks now.. 

Yes I'm using pictures from the blog I did on the crust.. my apologies, however, they're great pictures and I don't care. Credit for these pictures, again, goes to James O'Hayer his website is >HERE< you should go check it out he's a GREAT photographer. 

Back to my pie, and more specifically the filling..

This recipe also came from my pie book which you can find >HERE< it was recommended to me by a friend who knows the author. 

You need 4 C cherries. Get the sour kind, if you can find fresh ones get them! If not the canned ones work fine, just note that the fresh ones will need to be pitted and that can be a chore, or so I hear, I got the canned kind, it took 2 cans, I drained the juice and dumped them into my bowl

Add 1 C sugar, yeah, I may have over done it a little. 

Put in 3 T corn starch..

Then add 3 T Amaretto, no, I didn't really measure this part. And, if you're using real cherries, take some dried cherries and soak them in the amaretto. 

Mix it all up

Spread it into a pie crust.. you can use >THIS< one, I strongly recommend it. 

I used a lattice crust..

Bake to perfection... 40mins or so @ 400F

Yes, pie is excellent, if you need more than that to be convinced you need to make one.. I don't know what to tell you. 

Oh and I'm sure you remember Candice(far right) from previous appearances on here.. check out her youTube channel >HERE<

Happy Baking!

Enjoy! =]

0 New, Better Pie Crust

 I made this pie like a week ago, technically it was still July.. that's how long it's taken me to blog this..... Anyway with all this health craze going around and my less than healthy kitchen habits I decided it was time to put in some effort. It turns out that gluten doesn't have to develop, its still there but you can make it n ot develop.. Here is my finished pie(s):

Beautiful, is it not? Honestly I didn't get to taste the cherry pie, which I'm okay with because I also made an apple pie.. or two.. with this crust and I can assure you it is quite possibly the best pie crust I have ever eaten. Also, you may note that the above photo is professionally done.. you can thank James O'Hayer for that his site is >HERE< annnd.. Here is what all is in it:

So.. you may have heard about these wonderful things called mason jars? yes? Okay so they are my new angle on the organization home-front, that and I needed something air-tight because I don't get around to baking as often as I'd like to. The big gallon size jar has flour in it, the half gallon is sugar. I forgot to throw the baking powder into the picture, you'll have to just pretend it's there, it doesn't have a mason jar yet. 

Start with a cup of flour in the mixer (I did 2 because I was making more than one pie) add 1/2 t sugar (I did a full t)

Then add 1/4 t Baking powder (again I did 1/2)

Shake in some salt if you're using unsalted butter (1/4 t) and mix it all together

You'll need 5 T butter (I used 10)

Cut it up in little pieces (make sure its super cold for this part you may even want to throw it in the freezer for a few minutes)

Mix the chunks in

Okay for real this time..

Thats better. If you don't have a pastry cutter you'll have to get creative and improvise

Like I did... No, I don't have a pastry cutter, don't worry I'm on that

In a bowl/cup mix 3-5 T ice water with a squirt of lemon juice, slowly add it in a T at a time while mixing

Your mess will be pretty dry looking, don't worry about that. Too much water will make it tough.

Time to get dirty

Don't be afraid to really get in there.. you knead to LOL! Sorry, I had to. 

Once you get it all figured out and it looks like a mass of dough rather than a crumbly mess (which it will, have patience) get it wrapped up and throw it into the fridge for an hour or so. 

I used double remember, because I planned on making two double crust pies, so you may not need to rip your ball in half like I did... but you will need to roll it out so flour up your rolling pin and get going, heads up its a bit of a pain to work with its very.. elasticky? That's not a word but its fitting. Its a lot like bread dough rather than being like cookie dough. 

Lay it into your pie plate

Spread your filling of choice in it (I'll blog the cherry filling later)

I rolled out the other half of the ball (I made two balls, one for this pie and another for the double crust apple and had enough for a second smaller one crust apple pie)

I went with a lattice crust because I feel like you need it with a bright colored filling

Brush with egg wash

Egg wash is basically just an egg mixed up with some water, all it really does is make your crust brown a lot prettier

Bake at 400F for 40mins and voila! Yummy goodness. 

We had a photo shoot with these pies, I may have mentioned that already

They were pretty awesome I'm not going to lie

I hope you all love this AMAZING crust as much as we did, and if nothing else you need to try it because its the best ever.. and here is why:

 **The acid in lemon juice prevents gluten from developing. Baking powder gives the crust a little lift, making it more flaky, and just a little bit of sugar makes the crust brown nicely. Too much sugar will make your crust tough. 

^^That came directly from the book I got the recipe out of, the book can be found >HERE<

Happy Baking! 

Enjoy! =]