I’ve lost 2 of my favorite Gingers in the past week. First Conan’s tear-jerking last hurrah on NBC, and then I found out one of my favorite people at work, Chris the resident snarky redhead, was leaving. So of course, I put pastries on the pain. And since Chris probably has the biggest sweet tooth in the building (next to mine), I knew I wanted to bake something pretty over-the-top while hopefully continuing my pie crusade for his goodbye dessert.

And wow, does this cover over-the-top. It’s basically cookie dough pie. With walnuts. And Irish whiskey.

Are you still with me? Good.

This pie is one of those great things you could most likely throw together since the ingredients are all pretty standard baking (and drinking) fare. I keep everything except the walnuts in my baking pantry, and the whiskey I used was actually from a teeny bottle of 12-year-old Jameson my friend Robbie got me while she was interning for Irish parliament (thanks, Robbie!). It comes together incredibly fast which is good because once you taste the filling it will take the hand of God to stop you from eating the rest of it.

So rich and chocolatey and indulgent… it’s got one of those pecan pie-esque ooey gooey sticky fillings, except it’s chocolate and walnuts and…  you really, really need to serve this with milk. Or ice cream. Or both. And maybe a gym pass.

Check that pie crust out!

Need I say more?

MY WALNUTS!

Cookie dough filling (basically).

Of course more chocolate chips.

A giant cookie pie. Jesus take the wheel!

Ooey gooey.

Dig in!

—

Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie

Based on the recipe from the Baked cookbook.

This is my second real foray into pie world. The first crust I made was from The Modern Baker and this one was from Baked. Although Malgieri’s dough came together much easier (Baked’s was extremely sticky and loose), the taste and texture of Baked’s is far superior. It has a little more body and flavor, so for now, it’s ranked #1 (out of two… heh).

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• ¾ cup ice water

For the filling:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
• 1½ tablespoons whiskey
• ¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 8 oz (about 1¼ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

For the dough:

1.) Make the dough well in advance or ideally, the night before. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Toss the cold butter cubes in the dry ingredients and then put into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the butter is pea-sized.

2.) Pour in the water while pulsing every few seconds until the dough comes together in a loose ball. My dough was incredibly loose and sticky (and I read other bloggers who have had the same issue with Baked’s recipe) but don’t worry – it firms up very well.

3.) Remove it from the bowl and pour out onto a floured surface. Divide into two balls and flatten/shape into discs. Wrap each disc in parchment paper, then in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before forming in the shell, or freeze up to 3 months.

For the pie:

1.) Preheat your oven to 350° F with the rack set in the center.

2.) Lightly flour a large surface and roll out the refrigerated dough into a 12-inch round. Press into a 9-inch pie dish, trimming the excess and folding under/pinching the edges. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and freeze at least two hours before using. (You can also freeze the prepared shell for up to 3 months.)

3.) Once the crust is ready, make the filling, but keep the pie shell in the freezer while you do so. Whisk together the flour and sugars in a mixing bowl and set aside.

4.) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs on high speed until very foamy – about 3 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and with the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer to high and beat for 2 minutes.

5.) Add the butter, and beat on high until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides, add the whiskey, and then beat on high for another minute. Remove the bowl from the stand and then fold in the walnuts and ¾ cup of the chocolate chips.

6.) Remove the pie shell from the freezer and pour in the filling. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips over the top and bake for 25 minutes. Wrap the crust in foil so it doesn’t get too brown, and then bake for another 25 minutes or until a cake tester is clean when inserted and removed.

7.) Cool the pie on a wire rack before slicing. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream, milk, and more Jameson at the goodbye party.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: chocolate, dessert, indulge, pie

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My only notable New Years resolution this year involves perhaps the holy grail of baking.

Perfect pie crust.

Now, those close to me will scratch their heads and say “But, I thought you didn’t even like pie?” (cue the dramatic music) Yes, it’s true, pie is probably my least favorite dessert. I love filling and very little crust. I’m not a fan of a double-layered pie with thick edges and a barrage of flaky shell, so I mostly avoid it. However, I’m also oddly stubborn in the fact that I hate disliking ingredients, dishes, etc. I love being an incredibly unpicky eater, so I constantly try foods I dislike to see if my taste or opinion has changed. I love tarts and quiches, so this year, my hope is to reconcile with pie and not only practice it constantly, but try to perfect what is the perfect pie crust to me.

So when I recently picked up “The Modern Baker” by Nick Malgieri (amazing book, by the way), I was immediately drawn to this recipe. It has a simple sweet pie crust for the bottom, a yummy tart filling of sauteed apples and sour cream custard, and then a crumbly, almost streusel topping. Half pie-half crumble, I thought it would be the perfect transition into pie zone.

And it truly is a wonderful mix of baked goods. Pie meets crumble meets coffee cake even. The pie dough cut easily (even if I overbaked it slightly – but baby steps, folks!), the filling was incredibly tender, moist, and just sweet enough, and the topping was a cinnamon-sugar crumble delight. The whole pie is actually quite subtle (aka not too sweet) when you first taste it, but if you let it sit overnight and allow the flavors to meld and marinate a bit, it’s 100 times better the next day. And yet, for my first pie, I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

The butter is gone.

Disc o’ dough.

Mise.

Rolled out and sort-of measured.

Crust!

Golden.

Sweet and caramelized.

Base.

More custard!

Crumbly topping.

A little too golden brown on the edges, but smells divine.

One perfect (huge) slice.

The beginning of a journey starts with a single bite.

—

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie (about 10 slices).

Based on Nick Malgieri’s recipe in “The Modern Baker.”

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 TBL ice water

For the filling:

• 2½ pounds golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced fairly thin
• 4 TBL (½ stick) unsalted butter
• ½ cup sugar plus an additional ¼ cup sugar
• 2 TBL flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup sour cream

For the streusel topping:

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 TBL (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1.) Make the crust. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse until mixed and then add the butter. Pulse until completely incorporated and you can no longer see the butter.

2.) Add the egg, yolk, and water. Pulse again until a ball forms, and dump out the contents of the bowl onto a floured surface. Form the dough into a disk about ½-inch thick. Wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days before you use it, but chill at least 2 hours until you need it.

3.) Get ready to make the pie. Preheat the oven to 350° F with the rack in the lower third of the oven. Roll out the dough and form in a glass or metal 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.

4.) Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the apples, butter, and ½ cup sugar, and cook 5-7 minutes until the sugar melts and some of the apples have dissolved. Transfer to a glass bowl and let cool.

5.) Meanwhile, whisk together the flour and ¼ cup sugar in a bowl. In order, whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream, incorporating each ingredient as you go. Set aside.

6.) Make the streusel topping. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork until it forms a crumbly texture.

7.) Assemble the pie. Combine the apples with the sour cream custard. Pour the apple-sour cream mixture into the prepared pie shell and then sprinkle on the streusel topping. Bake 50-55 minutes or until pie is set and topping is a golden brown.

8.) Cool completely on a wire rack before eating, preferably covered, overnight. The flavor intensifies tenfold if you wait to eat the pie until the next day!

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: apples, dessert, pie, sweet

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