Lemon Gingersnap Icebox Pie

Adapted from Gourmet in 2003 via Epicurious  I actually substituted some all-natural lemonade into this and cut the sugar as I was plum out of real lemon juice, but I'd stick to the original.  There's so much goodness here, folks. (And it makes an awesome self-made birthday dessert!)

Ingredients

For crust:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnap cookies (6 ounces)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Handful of almond slices

For ice cream: 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

For the crust, whir up the gingersnaps and almonds into a food processor, then toss together with butter, using a fork until crumbs are moistened. Press evenly onto bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Bake crust in middle of oven 7-10 minutes, then cool on a rack. The crust will harden as it cools.

For the custard ice cream, bring cream, milk, sugar, zest, and salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved (make sure to use a bigger pot than you think you might need...milk likes to overflow when boiling). Whisk yolks in a bowl until blended, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking, to prevent cooking the eggs. Transfer custard back to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 175 to 180°F on thermometer, 3 to 5 minutes (do not let boil).

Immediately pour through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned bowl, then stir in lemon juice. Cool custard to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then chill at least three hours or overnight in the fridge, covered. 

When cool, freeze the custard according to your ice cream maker's manufacturing instructions.  When the consistency looks like a soft frozen yogurt, scoop the ice cream directly into the gingersnap crust in the pie plate, and freeze completely (at least two hours).  

When ready to give it a try, remove the frozen pie at least 20 minutes prior to serving. This will soften it up enough to cut into slices.  Sprinkle with any leftover gingersnap crumbs, lemon slices, or, do like I do and just dig in!

Stone Fruit Lattice Pie and Pie Crust Recipe

Got this from the new Bon Appetit mag, but added some rosemary from my friend's garden.  Zing! I loved it.   Awesome pie crust recipe directly below.  Pie recipe below that.

Master Pie Crust

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp. sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions
Process flour, butter, vegetable shortening, sugar, and salt in a food processor until butter resembles tiny pebbles, about 25 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl. Gradually add 3/4 cup ice water, using a fork to stir until dough is a mixture of clumpy wet pieces and sandier pieces, adding more water by tablespoonfuls if dry. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to chill for at least an hour, or overnight.
For a single- or double-crust unbaked pie crust:

Divide dough in half. Flatten each half into a disk. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk into a 13"-14" round. Roll over rolling pin and transfer to the pie dish. Pick up the edges and allow dough to slump inside the dish. Trim, leaving about 1" overhang. (For single-crust pie, fold overhang under and crimp edges.) Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

For a blind-baked pie crust:

•Preaheat oven to 375°. Prick chilled crust in pie dish (see instructions, above) alll over with a fork. Line crust with foil or parchment paper. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven; lift out foil and weights. Reduce temperature to 350°. Return to oven and bake, using fork to prick any bubbles that have formed and pressing down on them with back of fork, until crust is light golden brown, 20-25 minutes longer. Let crust cool completely.

For instructions on how to lattice the heck outta your crust, check this nifty "how to" from Bon Appetit.

Stone Fruit Lattice Pie
(I only used peaches and plums, and added a pinch of rosemary. yum!)

Ingredients

Filling

2 pounds nectarines
1 pound peaches, peeled
1 pound plums
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. finely chopped rosemary (optional)
1/2 teaspoon orange-flower water (optional)
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Directions
Crust

Divide dough in half. Roll out one half according to Unbaked Pie Crust recipe. Roll out second dough disk on a lightly floured sruface to a 14" round. Transfer round to a baking sheet. Cover and chill both crusts for 1 hour. DO AHEAD option: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Filling

Preheat oven to 400°. Halve, pit, and cut fruit into 1/2" thick slices. Place all fruit in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup sugar and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, tossing occasionally. Strain fruit, reserving 1/4 cup of liquid; return fruit to same bowl. Whisk cornstarch and reserved fruit liquied in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture, nutmeg, rosemary, and orange-flower water, if using, to fruit; toss gently.

Pour fruit mixture into unbaked pie crust in dish. Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut 14" dough round into 3/4"-wide strips. Weave strips over filling, forming a lattice. Trim strips 1/2" shorter than dough overhang. Fold overhang over strips and cripm edges decoratively.

Brush beaten egg over crust edges and lattice. Sprink 1 Tbsp. sugar over. Set pie on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake pie for 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, about 40 minutes longer. Let cool on a wire rack.

Double Berry Pie

This recipe comes via Epicurious who borrowed it from Nepenthe's restaurant book, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur.

Also, there were no raspberries (originally this was a triple berry pie!) so I included the original recipe below, but, in my version, just did strawberries and blackberries.

Finally... I know it's hard. But let this puppy cool down a bit before serving it so it actually sets and doesn't have the consistency of a crumble.

Ingredients

For Pie Dough:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

For Filling:

3 cups fresh strawberries
3 cups fresh blackberries
3 cups fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (I used whiskey)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon


For Crunchy Topping:

2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup whole oats
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter


Directions

For the dough:

Combine the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until the butter resembles small peas. Drizzle in the cream a little at a time, pulsing until the dough just comes together. Add more cream if needed. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutter or your own fingers to mix the ingredients together and finish by using a wooden spoon or spatula when the cream is added.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and gently pat it into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

For the pie:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough (it may need to soften for 5 or 10 minutes first) into a 12-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, trim any ends hanging over the side, and flute the edge with your thumb. Chill until ready to use.

For the filling, wash and hull the strawberries. Cut them in half and place in a large bowl. Add the blackberries and raspberries and toss with the Grand Marnier (or whiskey). In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add to the berries and gently toss.

For the topping, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. To make by hand, cut the butter into the flour and sugar, using a pastry cutter, or your fingers. Finely chop the walnuts and add to the mixture.

Fill the chilled pie shell with the filling and cover thoroughly with the topping. Bake for 1 hour, until bubbling and golden brown on top.

Allow pie to cool and set. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream...it's all delish!

Cranberry-Apple Crumble Pie

From Gourmet, via Epicurious

Ingredients

For pastry dough:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening (trans-fat-free)
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For crumble topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

For fruit filling:
2 pounds apples (about 5), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (use a sweeter apple, like Gala to counteract the tartness of the cranberries. I like to throw in a sour apple too, just for fun).
8 ounces fresh or frozen (not thawed) cranberries
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces


Directions

For pastry:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoon ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

(Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.)

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one) and form into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

For crumble topping:
Stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until large clumps form, then stir in pecans. Chill until ready to use.

For fruit filling:
Stir together apples, cranberries, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Assemble pie:
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Transfer fruit filling to pie shell and dot with butter. Loosely cover with foil and bake until apples droop slightly, about 30 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Sprinkle crumble topping over filling and bake, uncovered, until crumble is browned, filling is bubbling, and apples are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.


Note: Dough can be chilled up to 3 days and refrigerated (but you must bring dough to almost-room temparature to be able to roll out when you do use it.)

Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Adapted from Gourmet, September 2009

Ingredients

For Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 pound extra-sharp Cheddar (preferably white), coarsely grated (2 1/2 cups)
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoon ice water
1 tablespoon milk (optional)

For Apple Filling:
1 1/2 pound Gala, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples (3 medium)
1 pound Granny Smith apples (2 medium)
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter


Directions

For cheddar crust:

Stir together flour, salt, and cheese in a large bowl. Add butter and shortening and blend with your fingertips just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 6 tablespoon ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide in half, then form each half into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

To make apple filling and bake pie:

Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Peel and core apples, then slice 1/4 inch thick. Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining disk chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into approximately a 13-inch round. Fit into pie plate. Roll out remaining piece of dough into approximately an 11-inch round.

Transfer filling to shell. Dot with butter, then cover with pastry round. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together to seal, then fold under. Lightly brush top crust with milk (or if you don't have milk, use a well-beaten egg white), then cut 5 (1-inch-long) vents.

Bake on hot baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F and bake until crust is golden-brown and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more. Cool to warm or room temperature.

*Note: dough can be chilled up to 2 days in advance.