Mamaw’s Apple Pie

It’s been chilly out for the last couple weeks, which by itself is quite lovely.  The leaves are starting to change, and I can make pumpkin flavored anything without people looking at me weird. The one bad thing about this time of year is that  even though it can get quite cold in the house,…

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Petit Pain au Chocolate

My recipe for Petit Pain au Chocolate (read small bread with chocolate) comes from the KitchenAid recipe collection.  It makes 8 sweet rolls with chocolate centers. Ingredients: 3 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup plus 1 ablespoon milk, divided…

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Pâte Brisée (Tart Dough)

This recipe for tart dough is used in a majority of the recipes in my copy of Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts. Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water Instructions: Put flour, salt, and…

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Crème Pâtissière (or Pastry Cream)

What the heck is crème pâtissière, you ask?  It’s a pastry cream used in many of the Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts recipes.  The recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups of cream. Ingredients: 1 cup milk 1/2 vanilla bean 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar 3 egg yolks 1 tablespoon corn starch 1 tablespoon flour…

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Burbon Street Beignets

For those of you who have never heard of them beignets (pronounced “been-yea-s”) are basically fancy homemade doughnuts (meaning we’re not going to make them out of canned biscuits. This is a recipe from the KitchenAid collection. Ingredients: 1 package dry active yeast 1/4 cup warm water (105° – 115° F) – yes this recipe…

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Farmer’s Daughter Pate Sucree

This pie dough is a sweet dough, which is great for tarts.  It has a lot of butter, so it’s harder to handle than all-purpose doughs. Ingredients: 1/2 lb. unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 2 egg yolks 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour pinch of salt Instructions: In a medium bowl,…

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Pie Dough

This is Matt’s grandmother Eleanor’s pie dough recipe. Ingredients: 3 cups flour 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup ice cold water Instructions: Cut shortening into flour and salt. Gradually add water until blended. *Makes 3 single crusts.

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Never Fail Pie Dough

This is the pie dough recipe I use.  I find that it is much flakier if you are willing to use real lard instead of Crisco.  You can purchase lard in buckets and sticks at most large groceries.  Don’t be concerned if you use your own lard and it has a bacony smell, this bakes…

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