Tag Archives: Pies/Crisps/Tarts

Pear Crumble Pie

December 4, 2020

I’m so excited to be finally sharing this recipe with you! For the last 3+ years this Pear Crumble Pie has become our favorite pie ever/Thanksgiving dessert tradition. Since I only make it once a year and am often traveling for the holiday and baking it in someone else’s kitchen, it has taken me this long to take a picture and share it. But I have already passed the recipe on to a few friends who love it too. It’s a keeper! And since pears are in season much of the winter, it would also make an excellent Christmas/New Years treat!

Pear pie might sound weird, since apples are more commonly used. But I promise, once you try this combo of sweet Bartlett pears with tossed with cinnamon and vanilla in a flaky all-butter pie crust and topped with cookie crumble, you won’t go back to apple pie!

You might notice that the left half of the pie above has oats in the crumb topping and the right half does not. I figured out several years ago that I can’t digest oatmeal without side effects (which I’ll spare you the details on). So I’ve adapted this recipe to be made with and without the oats and it’s great either way. Though I do love the heartiness the oatmeal provides to the crumble, and recommend using it if you can!

Lastly, please make your own pie crust. It’s really not hard. And it tastes so SO much better than store bought. This is my favorite pie crust recipe. It’s buttery and flaky and perfect. (And can easily be doubled when you want to use it in a recipe that calls for a top and bottom pie crust!)

Pear Crumble Pie

INGREDIENTS

Pie Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
3-4 Tbsp. ice water
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Filling:
5 large Bartlett pears (about 2 lbs.), peeled, cored and thinly sliced (use pears that are ripe but still firm- not too squishy yet- so they don’t get mushy once baked)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 a vanilla bean, seeds scraped out (or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract)

Crumble:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (or replace with another 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS

  1. To make the pie crust, mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor (or by hand with a whisk). Add the butter and pulse until coarse mill forms (or cut in the butter by hand with a pastry blender until only pea-size crumbs remain). Gradually blend in enough ice water until the dough clumps (or mix in a Tbsp. at a time by hand). Form the dough into a large ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours or overnight.
  2. Roll out the pastry dough on a floured surface until large enough to cover a 9-inch pie dish. Drape the rolled out pastry over the pie dish and press it down to fit. Trim and crimp the edges. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with the beaten egg white. 
  3. To make the filling, in a large bowl add the vanilla seeds/extract, pears, flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands or a spoon to carefully combine the ingredients together, making sure the pears don’t break apart. Set aside.
  4. To make the crumble, in a small bowl, combine the flour, oats (if using), brown sugar and butter. Using a pastry cutter/fork (or your fingers), combine the mixture until it resembles large crumbs.
  5. Spoon the filling into the pie crust. Top with the crumble mixture.
  6. Preheat oven to 325 F. (If you are worried about your filling spilling over, you can place the pie pan on top of a large rimmed baking sheet to catch any dripping while it bakes. I used a deep dish pie pan and didn’t need to.)
  7. Cover the exposed pie crust with thin strips of aluminum foil or a pie shield and bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove foil/shield and bake for another 25 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the top is golden and crisp. Let cool for at least an hour before serving. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Makes 1 pie.

(Adapted from Bitchin Camaro)

Mini Key Lime Pies

September 4, 2020

I’m loving mini desserts lately! Like these mini cheesecakes, these tiny key lime pies are quick to bake with my 3 small helpers and just the right size for one or two a piece. They’re tart yet sweet and perfect with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. (If you’d rather bake a full size pie, there are instructions included below the recipe.)

Mini Key Lime Pies

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 full sheet graham crackers)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar

4 oz. full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
4 large egg yolks
14 oz. can full-fat sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (120ml) key lime juice*
lime slices and whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners and a second 12-count muffin pan with only 4 (since this recipe makes only around 16). Set pans aside.
  2. Make the crust: Before you begin, here are all of my tips for a perfect graham cracker crust. If you’re starting out with full-sheet graham crackers, you can use a food processor or blender to grind them up. Or crush them in a zipped top bag with a rolling pin. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar together with a rubber spatula in a medium bowl until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Press a heaping tablespoon of mixture down into each liner, making sure the crust is tight and compact. You might have a little crust leftover. If so, press a little more into each liner—if desired! Pre-bake the crusts for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.
  3. Make the filling: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg yolks, scraping down the sides as needed. On high speed, beat in the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice until combined.
  4. Pour the filling evenly into each crust. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until the centers of the pies only slightly jiggle (I check this by wiggling the muffin pan—with an oven mitt on– while it’s still in the oven). Allow the pies to cool at room temperature in the pan set on a wire rack. Once completely cool, place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
  5. Once chilled, serve the key lime pies cold with whipped cream and a lime slice if desired. Store leftover pies in the refrigerator (covered) for up to 1 week. If they last that long!

NOTES:

*Key Lime Juice: For the best flavor, make sure you use key lime juice. You can juice your own key limes or buy it from the store. It is usually with the regular lime and lemon juice in the juice aisle. I buy Nellie & Joe’s brand. In a pinch, you can use regular lime juice.

For a Full-Size Key Lime Pie: This is the same exact recipe I use for classic key lime pie (and sometimes I add the zest of 1 lime to the filling, which you can add to these mini pies as well). To make the pie, simply use this crust and filling recipe. Press crust into a 9-inch pie dish. Pre-bake for 12 minutes at 350 F. Pour in filling. Bake for 18 minutes, then allow to cool at room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator for 4 hours – overnight.

Makes ~16 mini key lime pies.

(Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)

Blackberry Cobbler

August 21, 2020

It’s that time of year when we find blackberries growing all over the wild here. My kids love summer walks when we can scavenge for and snack on summer berries. Most of us don’t have to leave our backyards to find a few! This past weekend Dustin’s parents were visiting and we picked up a few box-fulls of berries at the farmers market and so we made cobbler.

This blackberry cobbler is super simple. You whisk together some melted butter, flour (+ baking powder + salt if like me you’ve never bought self-rising flour in your life!) , sugar, and milk, then pour it in a buttered pan and sprinkle the blackberries on top. Then you dust it with more sugar which will create an irresistible crunchy crust as it bakes. You can add even more sugar to caramelize during the last few minutes in the oven. (I did, because Paula Dean told me to. Though this last bit probably isn’t necessary because there was already A LOT of sugar.) Serve slightly warm with a scoop or vanilla ice cream (or homemade whipped cream)!

Blackberry Cobbler

INGREDIENTS

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted + extra for greasing pan
1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder + 1/4 tsp. salt)
1 cup whole milk
2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries (I added a few extra ~2 1/2 cups total)
whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart (9×13) baking dish with butter.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup sugar with the flour and milk. Whisk in the melted butter.
  3. Rinse the blackberries and pat them dry. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the blackberries evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the blackberries. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 1 hour. When 10 minutes of the cooking time remains, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with whipped cream or ice cream . . . or both!

Makes a 9×13 pan.

Adapted from Food Network

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

November 19, 2013

pumpkin pie

Before we talk about pumpkin pie, some news:

Over the next few days A Hint of Honey will experience some down time as we work behind the scenes to get the newly designed site up and running! If during that time you’re in desperate need of a recipe, don’t hesitate to contact me. You can reach me via email (ahintofhoney at gmail) or Facebook or Twitter and I’ll do my best to get that recipe to you! I hope you’re as excited as I am! It will be worth the wait…

Now pie. I’ve always wanted to make a pumpkin pie with pumpkin that didn’t come from a can. Because then it would truly be a from-scratch homemade pumpkin pie. And yes it’s more work, but it had to be done. At least once.

And now that I’ve done it, I’m already considering doing it again. Because it wasn’t so hard and it was really wonderful. Although if you’re not as determined as me, this recipe would still be delicious with canned pumpkin. And even if you skip the cardamom and lemon zest (which brighten and boost the flavor), it’ll taste great.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe all-butter pie crust (I added 1 1/2 tsp. sugar for a sweeter crust)
2 cups pumpkin puree (from a medium sized fresh roasted sugar pumpkin or canned)
12 oz. can evaporated milk (not nonfat) or 1 /2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. lemon zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare pie crust according to recipe directions, omitting the step where you pre-bake the crust. (NOTE: The dough needs to be made ahead of time and allowed to chill for several hours in the refrigerator before rolling out.)

2. To make pumpkin puree, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the sugar pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. Place cut-side-down on the prepared baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 40-60 minutes (this will depend on the size of your pumpkin) until fork tender. Set aside to cool before scraping out the pulp. Place the pumpkin pulp in a large clean dish towel and wring the towel to squeeze the extra liquid out of the pumpkin. If you want the puree to be extra smooth, puree the pumpkin with a food processor or blender.

3. Preheat oven to 425 F.

4. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, salt, spices, and lemon zest. Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin puree and milk (or cream). Whisk until well incorporated.

5. Pour into pie shell and bake in preheated 425 F oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 40-50 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (If the crust is browning too fast you can cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil partway through baking.)

6. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack for several hours before serving. The pumpkin will be puffed up when you take it out of the oven and deflate slightly as it cools. Serve with whipped cream.

Makes 1 9-inch round pie.

(Adapted from Simply Recipes)

Mango Macadamia Crisp

April 15, 2011

Mango crisp never crossed my mind until recently. I’m crazy about mangoes and wondered for some time how I could incorporate them into a dessert. And then it just came to me. Soft, sweet mangoes bubbling under a crunchy oatmeal crust. With vanilla ice cream melting on top. It sure sounded good in my head. It was one of those rare occasions where I dreamed up what I wanted to make before ever finding a recipe. So I went on a search and found that several other people had the same brilliant idea.

I based my version on a Cooking Light recipe that incorporated macadamia nuts into the crumbled topping and freshly squeezed lime juice in the filling. I spiced it up with ginger and cinnamon, but cardamom and nutmeg sound like plausible options, too. This crisp was just as wonderful as I’d imagined it would be. A light and refreshing tropical treat!

Mango Macadamia Crisp

INGREDIENTS

Filling:
4 cups ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. butter, melted

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp. cold butter, diced
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup roasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly butter or grease an 8×8 inch baking dish.

2. To make the filling, whisk to combine the sugar and cornstarch. Add mango, lime juice, and butter and toss to coat. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

3. To prepare the topping, whisk to combine flour, sugars, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender until pea-size chunks remain. Stir in the nuts and oats until the mixture clumps. Sprinkle evenly over the filling. (This step can also be done in the food processor. Mix the flour, sugars, and spices and then pulse in the butter until coarse. Add the nuts and oatmeal and pulse several more times until clumps form.)

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling (cover partway through cooking if it is browning too fast). Let cool several minutes before serving warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Fills an 8-inch square pan.

(Adapted from Cooking Light)