Grandma's Secret Pie Crust

For some reason nothing reminds me of summer more than a lemon meringue pie.  I had this pie crust recipe that I have wanting to try and a bunch of lemons and eggs in the fridge...soooo why not! 

The pie crust recipe.....good!  It was nice and flaky but not my favorite. I didn't use all shortening, I used half shortening and half butter.  The next pie crust I try I want to make it with leaf lard...if I can ever find the darn stuff!!  

Grandma's Secret Pie Crust

allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups shortening
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 4 tablespoons water

Directions

1. In large bowl mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening with two butter knifes.
2. In separate bowl, mix together egg, vinegar, and water. Drizzle wet mixture into dry mixture, cutting it in.
3. Roll out dough, and fit into two 9 inch pie pans.
4. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 12 minutes.

The recipe for the lemon meringue pie I used is here.

I continue my quest for the perfect pie crust....one day I will find it!

Enjoy!

Baked Sunday Mornings: Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

When I saw that Baked Sunday Mornings was making this pie I immediately thought of how I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches and knew that I did not want to pass this one up.  I didn't really eat pb and banana sandwiches as a kid, I think my love for them started when I was a little older.  I remember making peanut butter, cream cheese, honey and banana sandwiches for my son when he was little....not sure if I was making them for him or me!!  So this really is a sort of Elvis Presley Pie...right?  LOL!  Anyway!  I know one thing is for certain, this pie will get you "All Shook up!"  Did Elvis put bacon on his grilled pb and banana sandwich???  Hmmm....some say he did and some say he didn't.  If he did you could get out that candied bacon, chop it up and sprinkle it on top of pie and have a real Elvispalooza!

This pie was fairly easy to put together.  The vanilla pudding was pretty simple and it turned out sooooo good!  The vanilla wafer crust was made in the food processor with butter and a little sugar.  Did you know that vanilla wafers taste like marshmallows??  They do!  Never realized that until I saw somebody mention it in another blog.  The peanut butter layer was made with cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla, peanut butter and whipped cream!!!  Whoa! 

Is your mouth watering yet all you peanut butter and banana fans????  

It should be!

The Baked Boys Did it Again!  

This pie is a winner!  

Make it....NOW!

Please check out what the other Baked Sunday Mornings bakers 

did and get the recipe here 
Thank you...thank you very much...*lip snarl and hip wiggle* 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Crostata

Happy Mothers Day!!

This is my 100th Post!!

I wanted to make something nice for Mom and for my niece who is having her 16th birthday in a couple of days.  I saw this lovely dessert on Seattle Pastry Girl's blog and I thought it was so beautiful I just had to make it.

The crust is a lemon flavored shortbread with a layer of mascarpone cheese and sliced strawberries arranged to resemble a beautiful flower.  This is super easy to make and everyone loved it!  It is a lovely summertime dessert.

Hope you give it a try!

Strawberry Crostata

LA Times

Total time: About 45 minutes plus 1 hour, 30 minutes chilling

Servings: 8

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

10 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups imported Italian mascarpone cheese

About 2 pints ripe strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup red currant jelly

2 tablespoons Cointreau

1. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into half-inch thick slices and add to the bowl. Using the tips of your fingers or a pastry blender, work the ingredients together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add a scant tablespoon or two of cold water and toss until the mixture just clings together. Gather into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic film and chill 30 minutes.

2. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch springform pan. Press out evenly across the bottom and about 1 inch up the side. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Freeze 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. Bake the crust until it is set and lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely.

4. Spread the mascarpone evenly over the cooled crust. Arrange the strawberries decoratively over the top in overlapping rows.

5. Combine the jelly and Cointreau in a small saucepan and heat, stirring, until the jelly dissolves. Lightly brush over the strawberries to glaze. Chill 1 hour before cutting.

Each serving: 470 calories; 6 grams protein; 36 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 35 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 92 mg. cholesterol; 98 mg. sodium.

ABC: Big Batch Scone Mix

I love scones.  When I saw that the ABC challenge for this month was scones I knew that I wanted to make them into cinnamon roll scones.  I had seen cinnamon roll scones on pinterest quite awhile ago and just had to give it a shot.  So I used the scone recipe from the Weekend Baker by Abby Dodge and looked up the recipe for the Cinnamon Roll Scones on pinterest and found out it was on one of my favorite blogs, Annie's Eats.  I used her recipe for the filling, finish and glaze.  You just take the scone dough and roll it out, fill and roll and cut as if you were making cinnamon rolls.  They turned out great!  I will definitely make these scones again!  Give them a try...you won't be sorry!

Enjoy!

Check out the scones the other bakers did here.