Pie Another Day: Delicious Pie Fries from Leftover Pie Dough Scraps For Serious Eats

When it comes to pie, my mantra is "I must increase my crust." But even carbohydrate addicts find themselves with extra scraps of pie dough from time to time. And I now have the best solution for making use of them: Pie Fries.

I came across this idea from Seattle piemaker Dani Cone, whom I suspect is a genius, and whose High 5 Pie offerings have been rated some of the best in the country.

The concept is simple behind these pie fries: simply put your pie scraps on a baking sheet, slice them into fry-sized pieces, brush with butter, cinnamon and sugar, and bake until crispy. Want extra cute points? Put 'em in pillow boxes (available at most craft supply stores) or paper cones and serve with jam for dipping.

Of course, if the fry shape isn't your thing, you could always cut out the shape of your choice, perhaps a pie dough unicorn (like the one I made with the cookie cutter I bought at Cookies in Seattle?)

For the full entry and recipe/tutorial, visit Serious Eats!

Pop It Up: Pumpkin Pie Pops for Serious Eats

Riddle me this: what doesn't taste better on a stick?

While you ponder that epic question, let me introduce you to a pint-sized pop of flavor guaranteed to delight your dining companions this Thanksgiving: the Pumpkin Pie Pop.

A sweet way to serve the classic autumn treat, these pops are ideal for crust lovers, providing a high crust-to-filling ratio. This also allows you to go a little sweeter with the filling: I substituted sweetened condensed milk for the more-frequently used evaporated milk in my batch, which provided a deliciously rich, caramelly-tasting filling as a result.

View the full tutorial and recipe over at Serious Eats!

Live and Let Pie: Bourbon Orange Pecan Pie Recipe from megpies

CakeSpy Note: This is a guest post from the very talented Megan of megpies--let's let her take it from here!

Hello Everyone! I’m Megan from megpies and I’m so thrilled to be a guest on Cakespy!

One year ago, I started a small pie business completely by accident. In fact, this Thanksgiving marks megpies’ first anniversary! Sharing its Anniversary with Thanksgiving is only fitting since it’s my favorite holiday. The smell of food cooking early in the morning, having people over, getting the linen napkins out…these are the things that make it special. Now that megpies is born, it makes it all the more dear to my heart.

In honor of the Thanksgiving season coming up I would like to share one of my most popular pie recipes – Bourbon-Orange Pecan Pie. It’s not Thanksgiving without pie! In fact, my family is so into pie that traditionally we will eat pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Our reasoning is that we’d rather not wait until we’re too full of dinner to enjoy the pie! So pie is first on Thanksgiving – it’s our favorite part after all! I hope you enjoy it at your Thanksgiving table this year.

Bourbon-Orange Pecan Pie

Photos by www.halliewestcott.com

• 1 uncooked pie crust
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbl – 1 ½ tbl orange zest
• 2 tbl bourbon
• ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 cups (plus 1 cup for decoration) Pecan halves

 Procedure

1. Place the uncooked pie crust into a 9” pie pan and gently form into the pan. Crimp the edges as desired. Place the pie shell in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Wisk the eggs and add the brown sugar and corn syrup. Wisk again to combine.
4. Add the salt, orange zest and bourbon. Wisk again to combine.
5. Add the melted butter and wisk until combined.
6. Pour in 2 cups Pecan halves and toss.
7. Pour the mixture into the pie crust shell
8. Arrange the remaining cup of Pecan halves around the outer edge of the pie.
9. Place the pie on a baking sheet and wrap the edges in foil to prevent the crust from burning.
10. Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes until the top looks dry and starts to rise a bit. Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

 megpies Tips:

1. While forming the crust to the pan, be careful not to stretch your dough. Any stretching you do now, will shrink as it bakes.
2. I use several pieces of tin foil to wrap the edges of the pie while it bakes. There are other methods such as the metal pie baking rings, etc. but I’ve found that good ‘ol tin foil works best. It’s a little harder to get it in place, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure the shiny side of the foil is facing the outside.

Thank you all for spending some time with me today. You can find more of my work here, and I would love to hear about your Thanksgiving traditions in the comments below! Happy Holidays!

Sweet Profiles: Wendy Sykes of Four and Twenty Blackbirds

If you're a professional CakeSpy, basically when it comes to anything sweet, you always want the backstory. So when Wendy Sykes (AKA Four and 20 Blackbirds) entered her prize-winning Rhueberry Pie in the Cake Vs. Pie faceoff, basically I had to know more. Turns out, she's not only a tremendous baker, but has recently launched a business where she will teach you how to make delicious pies, too!

Here's a bit more of the story, directly from the source!

I've always been an big baker, but my entire professional life was spent as a journalist/public radio producer. (most recently at Marketplace, but Seattleites might remember my first show, Rewind.)

Recently, I was between jobs (like sooooooo many) and I was baking and entertaining and cooking a lot.  Friends kept asking me questions about the things I made, how to do this and that - but they seemed especially befuddled by and intimidated by pie crust.

I gave a few classes for fun, to a group of friends and it just spread from there!

I really like it - it's a great fit for my personality (as it turns out, teaching is not so different from producing) and I love seeing how proud people are when they make their own little pie!

I teach the classes out of my home in Ravenna and keep them small (8-10) so everyone gets hands-on instruction. I really think that's key - you have to feel and touch the pastry dough to know how it's supposed to be. So many people in class say, "Ohhhh - that's how it should feel!"

The setting also makes for a really fun, relaxed event - it's more like having your friend teach you something, rather than learning from an "instructor."  Since I'm not a trained professional (I joke that I went to The Culinary Institute of My Mom) people seemed more apt to ask questions, joke around, be silly.

The most important thing that I want people to leave class with is confidence. I want them to know that they can do this at home. Confidence is key - because pie crust is just like dogs and horses - it can smell fear.

I have some class descriptions on my blog as well on my site; I do the pie classes, (also one for parents and kids) and then cookie classes as well. I've been making this certain sugar cookie forever and decorating them. I teach people all the little tricks to ice the cookies as well.  The cookies are so good - which is important to me, cuz sometimes those really adorable decorated sweets taste just ungodly - they're made more for looks than taste.

Want yet more? You are urged to visit fourand20blackbirds.com.

Are You Ready for this Jelly? Peanut Butter and Jelly Tart Recipe for Serious Eats

The problem with the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich? Like most childhood treats, it's rarely as delicious as you remember. However, there's a way to update this classic in a totally sweet way: turn it into a tart. Anchored by a substantial buttery shortbread crust, this peanut butter and jelly pie is sophisticated enough to satisfy adult palates—after all, it's an adaptation of the Rosemary-Scented Date-Nut Bars from The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark—but simple and tasty enough to please eaters of all ages.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Pie + Cake + Shake = Pake Shake

This is a personal note to everyone who came to Monday's Cake Vs. Pie Party. This crust-against-crumb was a star-studded event, and you have my greatest thanks (along with co-hosts Jenise and Edible Seattle) for coming. True, a PIE was declared best in show--but it was a rather fine specimen, so I can live with this.

But today I'm here to talk about the darker side of sampling 10 pies and 10 cakes in one evening: the massive pie-and-cake sugar hangover you're bound to have the next morning. How to deal with this unique sort of sugar shock to the system?

Hair of the dog that bit you, that's how. And my suggested medicine? The Pake Shake.

Equal parts pie, cake, and shake, this beauty is inspired by both the pake and the excess of Monday's indulgent evening of tasting pie and cakes. True, it may not be the most beautiful concoction, but it's good for what ails you, a sort of bloody mary equivalent for a sugar hangover.  Keep this idea on file for the next time you find yourself sampling 10 pies and 10 cakes in one night (it might be sooner than you think).

Pake Shake (Pie-and-Cake Shake)

Ingredients

• 1 slice pie (I used the "Rhueberry", a lattice-topped rhubarb-blueberry pie made by Wendy Sykes)
• 1 slice cake (I used a slice of mocha cake with chocolate buttercream made by Nazla Merce)
• 2 large scoops vanilla ice cream
• Cream or milk, to taste

Procedure 

1. Combine all of the above ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding more milk or cream until it has reached your desired consistency.
2. Pour into a glass, reflect on last night's revelry, and enjoy.

Sweet Love: A Bakery Crush on A La Mode Pies, Seattle

The time is Pie--er, high--to discover some delicious new pies in Seattle. 

I'm happy to share my newest discovery: A La Mode Pies, a new company which is currently running a fairly small operation, working on a custom order and wholesale basis in Seattle (as I learned from owner and "Pie Guy" Chris Porter, a retail location is the ultimate goal; for the moment, though, if you want to try it by the slice, the pies can be found most reliably at Knee High Stocking Co.)

Why are they worth seeking out? Well, for me, it comes down to one beautiful, beautiful phrase: "Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Tart". This beauty is described as a "gift to your sweet tooth"--comprised of bittersweet chocolate ganache lining an all-butter crust, which is then filled in with toasted pecans and a perfectly balanced, rich homemade caramel. 

Another lovely which has captured my attentions is the fetching "Chocolate Cream With Pretzel Crust", which sounds like the perfect unity of sweet and salty (and we all know how delicious chocolate and pretzel are together!).

And--OMG, cute!--they have LolliPies!

And of course, if you like, you know, health food, they also have fruit pies, including the signature "Blue Hawaiian" (blueberry, pineapple, and coconut) and seasonal variations such as Sour Cherry.

You can hit them up online to order entire pies, or you can visit Seattle's Knee High Stocking Co. to grab a slice today.

Sweet Banana Manna: Banana Cream Pie in a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Crust for Serious Eats

Please, please stop using banana bread as the final resting place for your ripe bananas. Because there's a much sweeter option: namely, banana cream pie. In a chocolate peanut butter cookie crust.

This concoction combines the classic idea of combining rich, creamy banana pudding with cookies, but in a far more decadent way. Rather than the classic Nilla wafer pairing, this pie capitalizes on the fact that both peanut butter and chocolate taste excellent with bananas—and brings all these harmonious flavors together, in one delicious place.

When topped with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, this is not merely the stuff that dreams are made of, but the stuff of waking fantasy as well.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Sweetie Pie: PiePops and More for Valentine's Day from High 5 Pie

Don't get me wrong, if someone shows up with a big ol' box of chocolates, I'd never refuse them.

But I might just do happy backflips if someone brought me a Valentine's Day parcel full of flipsides, PieJars, Slab Pie (you may know it from the TV) and -- like, OMG--PiePops (yes, those are pie lollipops, in the Luxirare and Bakerella tradition) from Seattle's High 5 Pie.

Per proprietress and her royal Pie-Ness Dani Cone, there's some sweet stuff going on for Valentine's Day--on the menu will be some romantic

heart-shaped flipsides and Piepops! Yep, those are pie-lollipops! And, we're now going to offer our "as seen on tv" Slab Pie by special order, too! Folks can place a special order this week for Valentine's Day (or whenever they want).

Don't know about you, but I'm certainly giving the pie pictures above the look of love.

High 5 Pies are available at all Fuel Coffee locations; for more information, visithigh5pie.com. Also, keep updated with them via Twitter and their blog, and you can also buy proprietress Dani Cone's awesome book on Northwest coffee culture, Tall Skinny Bitter: Notes from the Center of Coffee Culture.

Double Pleasure: Decadent Brownie Pie

Brownies. Pie. Relegated to separate quadrants of the baked good world, always on separate shelves in bakery cases.

But why, when they're so much better together?

And so, in the spirit of sweet unity, I've baked what may in fact be a masterpiece: the Brownie Pie.

Comprised of a chocolate graham crust, rich, fudgy brownie filling, and topped off with a copious amount of luxuriant cocoa buttercream frosting and a festive array of malt balls, this baby weighs about the same as (if not more than) a newborn. Of course, it's a good thing it's not actually a baby--otherwise you might be coming closer to understanding why some species eat their young.

One may be tempted to call this beast of a baked good "too much", but based on how quickly it disappeared at a Pie Day party, I'm inclined to say it's "just enough".

Brownie Pie. Now, instead of asking what's been keeping these treats apart for so long, it's time to ask--what are you waiting for?

Here's how to make it.

Brownie Pie

Elements:

• One chocolate pie crust (I used a Keebler ready-made crust; but here's a recipe if you wanted to make your own)
• One batch of your favorite brownie recipe (note: I used a fudgy brownie recipe, which is shown below. You could probably use a more cakey recipe with similar results; find the difference between chewy, fudgy and cakey brownies here).
• One batch of cocoa buttercream (recipe follows)
• Malt balls to garnish the top (optional)

Procedure

1. Prepare your pie crust (either make it or take it out of the package); leave it off to the side.
2. Prepare your brownie batter to the directions specified in your recipe (or on your box mix--I won't judge). But at the point where you would normally put the batter in a pan, instead put it in your pie crust. Fill it about 2/3 full; you might have extra brownie batter.
3. Bake on top of a cookie sheet (just in case of overflow) at the temperature and heat specified in your recipe; test the doneness the same way you normally would, by inserting a pick in the center and making sure it comes out clean. 
4. When it's ready, remove your brownie pie from the oven, and let it cool. I didn't let mine cool very long because I was pressed for time; but ideally, you'd let it cool until it reached room temperature.
5. Prepare your cocoa buttercream or whatever chocolate frosting you'd like, but make sure that it is a fairly spreadable (not too stiff) consistency--because brownies have a flaky texture on top, you want to make sure that you can spread it with ease and won't bring up too many of the crumbs on top (that just looks messy!). Spread it on top of the brownie pie, leaving a little bit of the brownie showing on the sides.
6. If desired, garnish with malt balls (I used Malteasers).

Recipes I used:

Fudge Brownies

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

 Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have your prepared crust ready on the side.
2. In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
3. While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.
4. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
5. Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.
6. Once you've put this batter in your crust, bake for about 30 minutes (I baked mine on top of a cookie sheet in case of overflow; it didn't end up being a problem but better safe than sorry) or until a cake pick comes out clean (it may be longer depending on the thickness of your crust and cookie sheet).

Cocoa Buttercream

 Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 2-3 tablespoons milk, as needed
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-3 cups (use more or less, to your desired consistency) confectioners' sugar, sifted

Procedure

Cream butter; add cocoa, mixing well. Add milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Slowly beat in confectioners' sugar until it has reached your desired spreading consistency. Spread immediately.