#pie magic

Round pies - spirituality

Square pies - prosperity

Apple pie - love, healing, peace 

Apricot pie - peace

Banana cream pie - money

Blackberry pie - protection

Chess (custard) pie- spirituality

Chocolate cream pie - money, love

Coconut cream pie - spirituality

Cherry pie - love

Key lime pie - love, purification

Lemon pie - purification, love

Mince pie - “lucky,” money

Peach pie - love, healthy, happiness, wisdom

Pecan pie - money

Pineapple pie - love, healing, money, protection

Pumpkin pie - Money, healing

Raspberry pie - happiness, love, protection

Rhubarb pie - protection, love

Strawberry pie - love

For the Filling:

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 30mL

3 pounds apples Honey crisp, Golden Delicious, Cortland, or Mitsu

2/3 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling on the pie

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

For the Dough:

2 1/2 cups flour plus more for rolling

4 tbs granulated sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

16 tbs unsalted butter chilled

4 tbs ice water

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp all-spice

1/2 tsp ginger

For the Egg Wash

1 egg

1 tbsp cream

For the Caramel

1 cup brown sugar

5 tbsp butter unsalted

1/2 cup cream

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 pinch salt generous

Instructions

For the Caramel

Combine ingredients in small pot and heat over medium-low heat while whisking. Cook 7-8 minutes. You will notice when the caramel begins to thicken.

Remove from heat and set aside.

For the Filling

Once your apples are roughly chopped, put them in a bowl and add the sugar, spices and lemon juice. Toss them around to make sure they are evenly coated. Now in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook stirring until the sugar dissolves and it begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover it up, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples soften and release most of their juices, about 7 minutes.

Strain the apples in a colander over a medium bowl to catch all the juice. Shake the colander to get as much liquid as possible. Return the juices to the skillet, and simmer over medium heat until thickened and lightly caramelized, about 8-10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the reduced juice and spices. Set aside to cool completely. Chop into small piece once cool and return to bowl.

For the Crust

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and spices. Whisk together. Grate in chilled butter and drizzle in ice cold water. Mix using a fork. You can also  whiz together in a food processor.

Shape into two disks, wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes.

Crack an egg into a small bowl and add a tablespoon of cream them mix well and chill until ready to use for egg wash.

Roll your pastry dough out to about 1/4" thick. One half of the dough is for the bases and the other half is for the lattice tops. You will probably want to chill the dough for the lattice tops until just before cutting the strips and arranging on top.

Cut into circles.

Brush with caramel.

Add about 1 tablespoon of the apple pie filling to the center of each circle. Brush edge with egg wash.

Arrange the lattice top and brush with egg wash again.

Cut and remove excess with the same round cutter you used for the base.

Sprinkle with sugar (and cinnamon if desired) and bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/jDXW12DYxnE

Makes: 12 cookies

Total Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Prep - 75 min

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Layer

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese (softened)

4 tbsp powdered sugar (sifted)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pumpkin Layer

1 can pumpkin pure

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp all spice

1 pinch of salt

Crust

1 9″ graham cracker pie crust (store bought)

Maple Bourbon Meringue

1 cup egg whites

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp bourbon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven at 350F.

To make the Cream Cheese Layer

In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread into graham cracker pie crust.

To make the Pumpkin Layer

In a separate bowl, whisk all the ingredients until smooth and pour over the cream cheese layer. Smooth the top with an angled spatula. Place in the center of the oven rack.

Bake until firm around 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before topping with meringue.

To make the Meringue

In a small saucepan, bring an inch of water to a simmer.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla,  and set over the saucepan. Make sure it doesn’t touch the simmering water. Whisk until the sugar dissolves completely and the whites are warm. Feel the mixture between two fingers: It should have a smooth consistency, without any granules.

Place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add the tablespoon of bourbon and reduce speed to low, beat until combined.

Once the cheesecake cools, pat the top carefully with a paper towel to remove moisture. Spread the meringue on top. Use a small offset spatula to achieve swoops and swirls. You can brown the meringue in the oven, but for more control or prettier results use a kitchen torch.

If using a torch, hold the flame at a 90-degree angle three inches from the meringue. Move around the pie until the meringue starts to brown.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

Ingredients

2 cups vanilla ice cream (recipe below)

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1.5 ounces bourbon (optional)

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

For a nice touch add some homemade whipped cream (confectioners or granulated sugar mixed with some heavy whipping cream) and a slice of pumpkin pie (recipe below)

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Prep - 10 min

Ingredients:

14 oz can condensed milk

2 teaspoons Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

1¼ cups whipping cream

1 tablespoon skimmed milk powder aka nonfat powdered milk or Non fat Instant Dry Milk

Directions:

Add skimmed milk powder and vanilla bean paste to the cream.

Using a food processor or mixer, whip the cream until it thickens (this doesn't take long at all with the food processor so check often). When you run a spoon through it, and it holds it's shape without falling back into the gap, it's ready to use.

Fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk.

Pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for at least 5 hours.

Remove from the freezer 15 -20 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Pie

Prep - 2 hrs 50 min

Ingredients

For crust:

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 sticks of unsalted butter – cold and cubed

6 tablespoon cold water

For pie filling:

8 oz cream cheese – room temperature

1 – 14 oz can of condensed milk

1 – 14 oz can of pumpkin

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Egg wash:

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk or water

Instructions:

To make the crust, add flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Add cubed cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs and butter is about pea size. Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until dough starts to pull together.

Dump the dough out onto a slightly flour board, gather together and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for an hour.

This recipe will make about 1.5 lbs of pie dough. We will use about 1 lb for the pie crust for a deep dish 9.5” – 10” pie dish and the rest for the decoration.

Divide the dough, and roll the 1 lb portion out to 1/8” thick (about a 13” – 14” circle), carefully place it into your pie dish. Tuck the overhang underneath to fit to the edge of the dish and flute the edge of the crust. Cover in plastic and place in the freezer.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In the meantime, roll out the other piece of the dough to 1/8” thick and cut out shapes. I used maple leaf, pumpkin and acorn shape pie crust cutter. Place on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.

When the oven is preheat, take the crust out of the freezer, cover the edge of the crust with strip of foil to prevent browning. Line the bottom of pie crust with parchment paper and place pie weight on top. I used dry bean for my pie weight. Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and par-bake the crust for 20 minutes. The baking sheet is to make transporting the pie easier.

During this time, prepare your pie filling. Cream the cream cheese in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Pour in the condensed milk and cream the cheese and milk together until thoroughly combined.

Add puree pumpkin, egg, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice, whip until thoroughly combined.

When the crust is par-baked, remove from the oven, lift the parchment paper off the pie to remove the pie weight, leave the foil cover on the edges, and carefully pour in the filling. Place back in the oven and reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until the filling is half way set.

Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk or water to make egg wash.

Carefully remove the pie from the oven to add decoration. Brush egg wash on the back of each decorative pie crust pieces and adhere to the edge of the pie in a random order to create a pattern to your liking. I add the first layer around the pie crust edge using 3 maple leaves 1 pumpkin 2 maple leaves 1 acorn patter, then add a second layer randomly with whatever’s left. Lightly brush the decorative pieces with egg wash.

Place the pie back into the oven, increase temperature to 400°F and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the filling is completely set (an inserted toothpick comes out clean) and crust/decoration is brown. If the filling poofs up and the surface breaks a little, don’t worry, once it is cool it will even out.

Prep - 1 hr 10 min

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust dish (store bought or homemade)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, browned

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325°F and prepare pie crust!

Brown the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Whisking constantly until the butter begins to foam and turn brown. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs until light and foamy. Add the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt and beat until well combined. Add the cooled browned butter and whisk until completely combined. The mixture will be runny but thick! Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the chocolate chip filling into the prepared pie crust and baked for 1 hour, or until set and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pie comes out mostly clean.

Ingredients

8-10 medium apples

1 1/2 cup powder sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 medium lemon, juice

Instructions

Begin with peeling & shredding your apples so they're ready when your crust is done. I shred mine with a kitchen aid stand mixer attachment.

Place them in a bowl, & combine with lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon & sugar.

Set aside.

Crust

Preheat oven to 350F & grease your pan.*

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine your flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

Add in egg yolks, butter, vanilla, lemon & sour cream. Mix with a flat beater until fully combined & not sticking to edges of the bowl.

Place half of the dough on the bottom of you pan & spread it out like a crust coming up the sides. It should be about a 1/4-1/3" thick.

Sparsely sprinkle some grits on top of your crust to prevent it from getting soggy.**

Spread your apple filling evenly on your crust.

Top with another thin layer of grits.

Roll out the rest of your dough & lay it on top of your filling. Use a fork to connect the edges.

Poke a few holes in the top of your crust & bake for about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Let it cool at least an hour before cutting. Store in airtight container.

Notes

*I used a 9″ pie pan & my mom uses a deep dish 9″x12″ pan.

**Grits absorbs the juice from the apples a little different than flour. You can replace it with flour but it will form a little ‘sauce’ like in apple pie. Still good, just different 🙂

Prep - 1 hr

INGREDIENTS

1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust (homemade or store bought!)

2 cups (15 ounces) sweet potato puree*

2 eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)

For The Streusel

4 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the sweet potato puree, eggs, brown sugar, spices and salt until homogenous. Shake the can of evaporated milk before opening and slowly pour into the sweet potato mixture as you whisk. Mix until combined.

Pour the sweet potato filling into prepared pie crust and cook for 35 minutes or until set (the pie won’t wiggle in the middle when jostled).

While the pie is baking, prepare the streusel topping. You will put it on when the pie is set enough to hold the weight of the streusel. To make the streusel combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, using a fork or pastry cutter to cut everything together until the mixture starts to clump up and hold its shape.

Take the pie out of the oven and sprinkle the streusel on top, spreading to the edge. Place the pie back in the oven and continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until the the streusel is a light golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving!

Notes: