Apple Crostata

This month for our Secret Recipe Club reveal, I was assigned a blog named

Join Us,Pull Up a Chair.

I spent an evening with my iPad in my lap browsing and pinning, trying to decide on what I wanted to make.

My family LOVES apple pie, so when I happened upon Heather's Apple Crostata, I knew I had to try it.

I have seen others post recipes like this, and have always thought they were so pretty.

If you have been with me for a while, you will have heard me say once or thirty times, that I am kind of a pie girl.  I mean, I love to make cakes and cupcakes, but to me, pie is where it's at.

I love the crust... just like pizza, its my favorite part.

I will warn you, if you and I ever find ourselves enjoying our favorite pies of choice over coffee and conversation, and you leave your crust on your plate, I am going to eat it.

Don't say you weren't warned! ;)

Look at those spiced apples ... I bet you can almost smell it, can't you?

Well, what are you waiting for?

Go make one!

They look so pretty and they're so darn easy!

I only changed Heather's recipe a touch, by amping up the spices a little bit, and using a tarter apple.

Apple Crostata

adapted from: Join Us, Pull Up a Chair

1 1/2 pounds of apples, I used Granny Smith, about 3 large 

1/4 cup flour

1/4 sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspooon nutmeg

4 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, sliced into small pieces

1 refrigerated pie crust, or your own homemade

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, roll your crust on a lightly floured surface, then transfer to you baking sheet.  I used my pizza stone.

Mix flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. 

Peel,  core and slice your apples and lay them in the center of the crust leaving a border about 1 1/2 inch big.

With a pastry blender, or two knives, "cut" the butter pieces into the flour mixture, mix until crumbly.

Sprinkle evenly over apples.

Fold edges up and pleat to hold filling in.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender.

Cool slightly. You can serve warm or cold, but may I suggest warm with a scoop of ice cream?

Trust me, I'm a Pie Girl.

To See Other Great Recipes from the Secret Recipe Club Check Out the Links Below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Egg & Hash Brown Breakfast Pie

It varies whether we go to church on Saturday nights, or Sunday mornings in our house.

If we go on Sundays we always go to brunch afterward, but if we go on Saturdays, that means we have brunch at home, in our PJs,  because we slept in!

It varies what we make, sometimes it's just eggs and bacon, other times, I try something new.

This was one of those weekends.

My kids LOVE hash browns,

pair them with bacon and I have hit a home run!

I wanted to make some sort of a breakfast casserole, but so many of them I have made that are tried and true, are make ahead.

Well it was 10 AM and we wanted to eat it sooner than later, so  I experimented.

This is what came of it.  A pie with a hash brown crust, filled with bacon, eggs, bread crumbs, onion and Swiss cheese.

Egg & Hash Brown Breakfast Pie

4 cups hash brown potatoes, defrosted

1/2 cup green onion, sliced

2 Tablespoons butter

1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 cups Italian or French bread, cubed without crust

1 1/4 cup cream (substitute milk if need be)

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4- 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" deep dish pie plate with non-stick cooking spray.

Cook and crumble bacon into fairly large pieces.

Melt butter in a skillet over high heat.  Add hash browns and onions and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Press into bottom and sides of pie pan.

Place bread crumbs in next and top with bacon.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, cream salt, pepper and Dijon mustard.

Pour over breadcrumbs and bacon.

Top with Cheese.

The next time I make this I am going to mix the cheese into the egg mixture.  

I felt it got a litter browner than I wanted, but still tasted fantastic!

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and egg is set.

Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Shared at: Kitchen Dreaming: Weekend Social

Strawberry Sour Cream Crumb Pie Bars

You may have heard me mention once or a hundred times, that I would pick pie over cake any 'ol day.

But sometimes, pie is hard to take somewhere.

In most cases, it requires a plate and fork...

In some cases is served "a la mode"...

and these are good things, 

but when I am asked to make something like "bars" for food committee for school or church, I want to leap beyond the brownie, or the cookie bar...

and jump right into pie!

That's why these are the best of both worlds.

Tastes like pie, no need for ice cream with that yummy (almost cheesecake like) sour cream filling, and you can eat them (almost effortlessly) with your hands.

And, guess what? If you don't want them to be Strawberry, make them any 'ol flavor your little heart desires!

Personally, my next plan for these is to make them cherry... drool.

But for now, I am going to share the recipe for these beauties:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Crumb Pie Bars

recipe adapted from: the recipe critic

Crust:

1 stick butter, melted, and cooled to room temperature

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

About 3/4 of a 20 ounce can strawberry pie filling, can substitute other fruits

1/2 cup sour cream 

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Melt butter in microwave and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line an 8x8 square pan with either non-stick foil or parchment paper sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

To make the crust, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Pour in the melted butter, mix making sure to completely incorporate the butter, dough will be crumbly.

Reserve 1/4 of your crust mixture, and press the other 3/4 firmly into the bottom of your pan. Set aside.

For the filling, mix together the sour cream, sugar, 1 Tablespoon flour, egg and vanilla.

Pour over the crust and smooth out.

Spoon strawberry filling over the top, and gently swirl with the sour cream mixture.

Sprinkle with the remaining crust and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown

Cool in the refrigerator, cut and serve.

Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Shared at Munching Mondays - At Nibbles by Nic

Cherry {Heart Shaped} Hand-Pies

Happy National Cherry Pie Day!

I love that National Cherry Pie Day lands in February.

It's the perfect pie for the month of hearts and love and red.

I actually made these the week before Valentine's Day, but I wanted to save the post until today.

I love my Nordic Heart Shaped Pocket Pie Maker!

You could totally make these without it, but it's so cute...and EASY to use.

Here's a recipe I did for Spiced Peach Pocket Pies that tells you more about this 

"HANDy" hand-pie maker!

Late afternoon, this time of year, the sun makes pretty little shadows on my kitchen counter.  

Love these shots.

I used my small heart shaped cookie cutter and my XO {kisses and hugs} cookie cutter to make little sugar crusts to decorate with, using the remaining dough.

Cherry {Heart Shaped} Hand-Pies

2 refrigerated pie crusts (or your own homemade)

1 can cherry pie filling

1 egg white, whisked

sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

I laid my crust on a piece of parchment paper, and slightly rolled it out further.

I got 6 hearts to (3 pies) to one crust.

Brush the edges with egg white to get them to seal properly.

Place two Tablespoons of cherry pie filling in the middle of each and seal edges together.

I took a small paring knife and made the small (vent) heart cut out.

There will be extra filling, save for serving.

Dust with sugar and bake for about 15 minutes.

What them closely, they bake quickly!

Serve with vanilla ice cream topped with a little extra cherry filling and sugar crusts.

French Silk Pie

This is the pie my youngest daughter (and come to think of it, quite often my oldest daughter) ask for as their "Birthday Pie" most of the time.

It's taken me a while to perfect it, I have tried SO MANY recipes and just never really liked all of the components.  This fall I perfected it.

Josie had it as her birthday pie, 

and then I took orders for it at Thanksgiving.

The people that ordered it texted me and said they had eaten some or all of the pie before Thanksgiving.

Talk about a complement!

Mile High Pie!

French Silk Pie

Crust:

1/2 package of Oreos (not double stuffed) crushed in food processor

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:

1 1/2 sticks salted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

Whipped topping:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

chocolate curls or shavings for serving

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Crush cookies and in a bowl, pour in vanilla and melted butter.  Mix with a fork until moist.

Press into bottom and sides of a 9" deep dish pie pan.

Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes or so.  While machine is running add your vanilla and melted chocolate.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition on medium speed for 5 minutes.

(15 minutes total)

Pour filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

In your mixer with the whisk attachment, pour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.

Whip until cream is stiff.

Top your filling with cream, and add shaved or curled chocolate to top for serving.

Pecan Pie

Honestly?
I have never really cared for pecan pie.
Many may gasp, but I didn't grow up with it, and pecans were never my favorite.
Gimme peanuts and chocolate or ooooo...cashews...but pecans?
Not so much.

So when I took pie orders for Thanksgiving, I had to do a little research, and asked for Pecan Pie loving
TASTE TESTERS.
I had quite a few takers.

This pie got RAVE reviews.  I found it at a blog that I have always had wonderful luck with recipes
 "Gimme Some Oven" --  first off, what a clever name!  and when I read her post on this pie, it made my heart happy.  It was all about her grandma, this is her grandma's pie recipe.

I hope you enjoy it as much as the pecan pie lovers in my life did!

Pecan Pie

Gimme Some Oven

1 pie crust PRE-BAKED < --find how to here

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs beaten

1 stick of salted butter

2 cups pecans

Pre-bake your crust (click here for instructions)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for pie.

In a medium bowl whisk together sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.  Add eggs and whisk until smooth.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and heat for about 4-5 minutes, until butter becomes brown and fragrant.  Stir often.  Pour butter into the sugar mixture and whisk to combine.  Stir in pecan and pour into prepared crust.

Bake for 50-60 minute or until center is set.  If your crust edges begin to get too brown, you can remove pie and cover crust with foil.  I didn't have that problem with mine at all.

Cool pie on rack for 3-4 hours before slicing and serving.

How to: Pre-bake a Pie Crust

Ever made a recipe that called to " pre-bake your crust" and you made the crust, put it in the pan, baked it, and it slide down the side of the pie pan into the bottom.
So, you maybe cussed a little, then sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar and baked it the rest of the way,  ate it to heal your ego, bought a pre-made crust and used it instead?

No?

Errrrrr..... me either?

Now... in case you need to pre-bake a crust, here's the super easy way to do it correctly!

How To: Pre-Bake a Pie Crust

Lay your pie crust in your pie plate and form the crust edge.

Lay a large piece of heavy duty foil over crust and form to cover.

Bake at 450 degrees for 4 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for 2 minutes more.

Cool.

Fill with whatever your pie loving heart desires!!

Whiskey Peach Pie

My Mother-In_Law loves Peach Pie.

It's her favorite!

So, typically when I ask her what kind of pie to bring, she says peach...even for Thanksgiving!

FYI... It's nearly impossible to find fresh peaches in Nebraska in November.

But not in August when it's her Birthday!!

My friend, Betsy, has three fabulous peach trees in her yard, and is so sweet to let me pick as many as I want!!

So this past August I made my Mother-in-Law this Whiskey Peach Pie, I also made her this 

Peaches & Cream Spice Cake!!

Whiskey Peach Pie

Double Pie Crust

Filling:

7 cups sliced fresh peaches

1/2 c - 1 c sugar

 (I used 1/2 c because the peaches were so sweet on their own!)

1/3 c flour

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons whiskey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a deep dish pie pan with the bottom crust.

Toss peaches with whiskey, sugar, flour and spices.

*I added a little more flour to mine, because the peaches I used were SO RIPE.  I didn't want my pie to be watery.  Start off with 1/3 cup and if they seem really wet sprinkle a little more on them

Pour into pie crust.

Add top crust.  you can just make a regular top crust, or a lattice topped one like I did here.

Ready for the oven!

Dust crust lightly with cinnamon/sugar. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Serve with ice cream!

Banana Cream Pie

My husband's birthday was this past Friday.  

Every year for his birthday I make him this 

Chocolate Macaroon Tunnel Cake

It's his FAVORITE.

If you have followed my blog for a while, you may have read how we celebrate birthdays here.

The birthday boy/girl gets to choose their dinner and dessert of choice (homemade by Mom)

We had made some weekend plans, happy hour with some good friends on Friday night (then home for cake and presents with the kids) and dinner with some other good friends Saturday night.

That left Sunday for our family dinner celebration.

Might as well make it a whole weekend celebration.

The hubby requested Chicken Parmesan, Garlic Cheese Bread and Salad for dinner.

We had to have dessert!!

He loves Banana Cream Pie, last year I made him this 

Coconut Banana Cream Pie

and it was a hit!

This year I searched and found the recipe for this pie at a blog that I recently discovered called

 A Spicy Perspective.

This pie was so perfect!! It was light and fluffy and bursting with flavor.

I will TOTALLY be making this one again!!

Banana Cream Pie

A Spicy Perspective

Crust:

2 Cups graham cracker crumbs 

6 Tablespoons butter (melted)

1/4 cup sugar

dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons water

Filling:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 - 3.4 ox box of instant vanilla pudding

1 cup milk

8 ozs cream cheese

1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

4 bananas (divided)

1/2 cup coconut (toasted)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  I used my food processor to crumble my crackers.  I took about 14 crackers to get 2 cups.  If you want to be quick, buy the graham cracker crumbs!! ;)

Add to it your salt, sugar and cinnamon.  Combine with a fork.  Add the melted butter and water and continue to combine until the crumbs  are well blended.

Press into sides and bottom of a 9" deep pie pan.

Bake for 10 minutes, set aside to cool.

For filling, combine the pudding mix and cold milk and set aside.

In your mixer whip your cream and sugar and vanilla until its fluffy, set aside.

In your mixer, cream your cream cheese  and slowly add in the sweetened condensed milk.

Add to this the pudding and combine.

Fold in HALF of the whipped cream, reserving the rest.

Spread a small amount of cream mixture over graham cracker crust, and top with 3 sliced bananas.

(I doubled the recipe and made two pies!!)

Spoon the rest of the cream mixture over bananas and  top with whipped cream.

Cover lightly with plastic wrap and chill at least one hour.

Before serving top with one sliced banana and toasted coconut.

German Apple Dessert

Yesterday I was sitting in the eye doctor with my daughter, and flipping through a local magazine that is in waiting rooms around town.

Lots of times they have good sounding recipes, but I forget about them, and never make them.

But yesterday, this one leaped out at me.

German Apple Dessert

I was making my Little King Salad for dinner that night, per my daughter's request, and thought, 

We're having salad, might as well have dessert??

So I whipped it up when we got home, and we did!!

With a little side of vanilla ice cream!

This got RAVE reviews from my family.

My husband said (with his mouth full) "This is really good" about 6 times!

Great alternative to an apple pie.

German Apple Dessert

via Women's Edition Magazine

Crust:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

5 Tablespoons cut up cold butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

Combine with fingers until it resembles corn meal, set aside.

4 baking apples, peeled and sliced

I used Granny Smith, the tang was perfect!

Topping:

3 Tablespoons of sugar

3 Tablespoons of melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg

Stir sugar and melted butter together, whisk in egg and cinnamon.

Set Aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Press crust mixture into the bottom of the pan.

Top with apples.  

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven, drizzle topping mixture over apples and spread evenly with the bottom of a spoon.

Return to oven and bake for another 25 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Here's the Little King Salad we had, it's so good!!

RECIPE HERE!

My Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

Today is my Grandma Czaplewski's birthday.  

She was such a delightful person, and I miss her all of the time.

I used to talk to her on the phone almost daily.  She passed when my oldest son, Spencer, was only one month old.  She was so excited to hold her first great grandchild, I hate that she didn't get to see him grow up to be the stellar person he has grown up to be.

I know that she is watching all of us from heaven.

I have mentioned in past posts, that I am definitely a "pie person" way before I would chose cake, pie is always my first choice.

Her rhubarb pie was my favorite.

A few weeks ago, my Mom's cousin, Shirley, (my grandma's niece) came for a visit from California.

She visited the town my grandma grew up in, and brought back some fresh rhubarb.

It only seemed right to make this pie in my grandma's honor.

My Aunt Edie had her recipe and I am sharing it with you today!

rhubarb pie and lilacs...two of my favorite memories of my Grandma

Grandma Czaplewski's Rhubarb Pie

6-8 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup raisins

3 Tablespoons flour

2 pie crusts

1 egg white, beaten

In a large bowl, mix rhubarb with sugar and flour. Next add beaten egg and raisins. Pour filling into pie plate lined with a crust.

So pretty!

Cover with top crust and brush with egg white.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35 minutes.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

xxoo