Perfecting The Pie {Crust}

I headed north {Boston to be exact} to celebrate the holidays at home.  Before this pie baking journey began, my mom asked if I wanted to take a baking class at King Arthur Flour in Vermont while I was home.  I quickly jumped on the opportunity, and when the December class schedule was posted, I was ecstatic to see "Easy as Pie," which fit in perfectly to our jam-packed schedule.  The class' main focus was perfecting the pie crust {which, lets be honest, I'm not even close to perfecting even after eighteen pies}.  I learned new tips and tricks that have definitely progressed my pie-dough-making skills {I knew pie dough was tricky, but there really are so many intricate details of how the dough should look, feel, the size of the butter, the strings of gluten, etc, it was all a bit overwhelming.  Walking away with just a few tricks to help my pie crusts was a win in my book}.  We baked two different pies {A traditional Pumpkin Pie and an Apple, Pear, Cranberry Pie with a Double Crust}.  My mom took the class, too, so we left with four {4!!!} pies, which were all devoured by the end of my visit.

Recipe c/o King Arthur Flour

bon appétit,
Kelsey

Apple Crumble Pie

The baker's blog I pulled this recipe from says it best: "The Apple Pie to Trump All Other Apple Pies."  While I'm normally not all that into Apple Pies, I figured it was time to move from cranberries to apples.  One of my best friends got me addicted to Sallys Baking Addiction blog.  She bakes up some of the most delicious looking recipes, and when I was searching for the perfect Apple Pie recipe, her blog was one of the first I searched.  I found this recipe, one that wasn't too complex, but had all the traditional flavors.  And it was hit!  I was extremely happy I decided to keep a mini-pie at home for my own consumption.  

bon appétit,

Kelsey

Crazy About Cranberries

If you were anything like me, Thanksgiving put me in a comatose state.  The last think I wanted to do post-Thanksgiving was think about food, let alone bake a pie.  As I was browsing Trader Joe's, I loaded my cart with cranberries, fearful the store could not meet my wintery demands.  I know I've been on a kick with cranberries lately, and while I can't promise this won't be my last cranberry pie of the year, I can say I got my fix of cranberries with a simple toss in lemon juice and fall spices.  The pie was a perfect supplement to my leftover dishes from Thanksgiving.

bon appétit,

Kelsey

Hand Pie

Pre-Thanksgiving, all I could think about was the cooking and baking ahead.  My mom arrive on Monday and we headed to our annual Kiawah Island Thanksgiving Wednesday afternoon.  Prior to that, my mom cooked up a storm in my kitchen (squash casserole, sweet potato casserole, and a pumpkin roll).  I decided to keep it simple this week, and use some leftover pie dough to make hand pies.  The best part was the simplicity--stove top filling, quick pie dough cut-out, and a fast 20-minute bake that produced the crispiest delight.  It was such a perfect pre-Thanksgiving weekend dessert.  

bon appétit,

Kelsey

All About the Cranberries

I'm on a cranberry kick lately, so when I found this recipe, I no doubt got excited.  Every time I step into Williams-Sonoma, my mouth begins to water at the first smell of whatever is being cooked in the test kitchen.  I secretly hoped this recipe would fill my place with the same aroma.  The spiced apples and cranberries on the stove-top did just that.  And once the pie was done baking, it was full-blown WS aroma.

Now that I've mastered become decent at making pie crust, I'm starting to get a little fancy in my pie "styling."  This is the first time I tried a braided crust.  What do you think?

bon appétit,

Kelsey

All of the Fall Things

There's nothing that says fall more than pumpkin and gingersnaps.  If you ask me, I could eat gingersnaps year-round.  But with fall, comes all the fall flavors, and gingersnaps are no exception.  I whipped this pie up in {no joke} 10 minutes.  I quickly put gingersnaps in a food processor, with a little added white sugar and melted butter.  I pressed the mixture firmly in my new {super cute} mini pie dish, and tossed it in the oven for a quick 7 minutes.  During that time, I let two ice creams--Vanilla and Pumpkin Pie {if you haven't tried Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Ice-cream, run--don't walk--to your nearest Trader Joe's and pick up a pint}--defrost a little.  I let the pie crust chill, and filled it with all vanilla ice-cream.  Because I didn't want to ruin an upcoming pumpkin pie {coming to the blog soon}, I opted to just drizzle in the Pumpkin Pie Ice-cream, just to add a touch of the pumpkin flavor. I then covered with plastic wrap, and let freeze overnight.  The juxtaposition of the crunchy crust and creamy filling was simply perfection.

 bon appétit,

Kelsey

Crushin' on Cranberries

Aside from apples, the fruit I associate most with the holiday season is cranberries.  And while I can't stand the sight of cranberry sauce {maybe it was the ribs indentation from the aluminum can the sauce was squeezed into that turned me off}, I've always loved the fruit in desserts.  Since I'm not quite ready to fully accept that it's fall {goodbye  70 degree days, hello freezing mornings} this recipe the perfect marriage to hold onto those summer flavors while attempting to embrace the start of fall.

bon appétit,

Kelsey