Tasty Thursday: National Pie Day

It’s national pie day! My oldest requested a chocolate cream pie for her birthday last month and I spent quite a bit of time digging through recipes to come up with one. It was delicious and the dark chocolate was a great twist. Today seems like the perfect day to share it.

Dark Chocolate Cream Pie

Credit to Betty Crocker for the filling.

1 refrigerated pie crust (or see pie crust recipe at bottom)
2 1/4 cups skim milk
1 6 serving size chocolate pudding mix
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
Rich & Creamy Cool Whip for topping

1. Bake pie crust according to instructions. Let cool.

2. Cook milk and pudding mix over medium heat 5 to 8 minutes or until mixture comes to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add chips; stir until chips are melted and smooth. Pour into your cool pie crust and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least two hours.

3. Serve with whipped topping. I recommend the Rich & Creamy Cool Whip option.

Pie Crust

I’m one of those people that is afraid of pie crust. However, if anyone can cure me of this fear – it’s Smitten Kitchen. Check out her easy (yes really) pie crust recipe and then leave her a note and thank her for it. If you use this recipe, here’s how you bake the crust for your cream pie filling:

1. Use a fork to lightly prick the bottom of the pastry. Take a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper and press it into the pie plate, gently pushing it right up against the pastry. Fill the sheet of foil or parchment paper with pie weights, dried beans or even uncooked rice to hold it in place. This weight helps the pie dough hold its shape.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and take out the pie weights, return to the oven for 10-15 more minutes until pie is golden.

Happy Pie Day!

Tasty Thursday: Crunchy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Yesterday was the last day of school and as follows tradition, I made a big batch of Last Day of School Cookies! We always start the school year with a homemade waffle breakfast for a sweet beginning. And we finish by inviting all our neighborhood friends over to share in a sweet ending. This year I made a new type of cookie. It involves peanut butter and chocolate and extra peanuts on top. Paired with a glass of milk, it was quite the hit. I should have taken a picture of all the hands reaching for them – but it would have been a blurry shot anyway so you’ll just have to imagine it.

Crunchy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (see note)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup roasted peanuts, crushed

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat butter, sugar and peanut butter in a mixer on medium-high until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well blended. Switch to low speed and add the flour and baking powder. Mix until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Put crushed peanuts in a shallow dish. Roll dough into small balls (no bigger than a golf ball) and dip balls in peanuts to coat on one side. Place peanut side up on the baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 9-10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Note: I recommend using natural peanut butter with no added sugar for this recipe so your cookies aren’t too sweet. You can use whatever kind you like but if they are so sweet that they make your teeth hurt, don’t blame me.

Tasty Thursday: Eclair Cake

Last week while visiting D.C., we stayed with my aunt. She is also the official family history keeper for that side of the family and while there we got to look through the albums she has compiled. It was especially fun to follow my great-grandparents from Italy to this country. All those pictures look like they could be stills from The Godfather. But I digress.

Seeing all that family history made me remember that I have some handwritten recipes from that side of the family tucked away in my recipe box. Last night while cooking dinner, I dug them out. This one popped out as something I’d like to make soon. I remember this dessert making an appearance at nearly every large family function… holiday parties, wedding showers, family reunions. It’s nothing fancy (though it has a fancy name) but it is pretty yummy.

Eclair Cake

Courtesy of my great aunt.

Ingredients
Cake:

• graham crackers
• 2 large boxes instant vanilla pudding
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 8 oz cool whip

Chocolate topping:

• 2 oz baking chocolate
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Line the dish with whole graham crackers (not crushed).
2. Mix pudding with milk, fold in cool whip and pour over the graham crackers. Cover with another layer of graham crackers. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the chocolate with the butter. Remove from heat and stir in milk and powdered sugar until well mixed. Spread over the top of the final graham cracker layer.
4. Refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Serve chilled.

Tasty Thursday: Grasshopper Brownies

I was looking through my archives and realize that over the years I’ve posted our favorite St. Patrick’s Day dinners:

Crock Pot Corned Beef (My favorite part of this one is the horseradish crust you do at the end, yum.)

Coddle (Delicious, though never as good as the Irish Lion’s, I’m still trying.)

Beer Bread and Brown Soda Bread (A perfect accompaniment to stew any time of the year, but a nice addition to your St. Patrick’s Day table for sure.)

This year St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday. That’s going to give me a little extra time to cook. I’m thinking I might have to whip up these for dessert. They really have nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day other than adding a dash of green to the table but that seems like a darn good excuse to make them. I’ll rename them for this weekend:

St. Patrick’s Day Grasshopper Brownies

1 box of family size fudge brownie mix
4 cups of powdered sugar
3 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 TB milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
6 or so drops of green food coloring
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 TB butter

1. Bake the brownies in a 9×13 pan according to package directions.
2. As they cool, make the mint topping: Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, milk, vanilla & peppermint extracts and food coloring in a bowl using a hand or stand mixer until nice and creamy. Spread over the top of cooled brownies.
3. In a small sauce pan melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter together, stirring to combine. Drizzle over the top of the brownies. Store in the fridge at least 30 minutes to chill before serving.

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Those brownies are a recipe I’ve had in my recipe box for years. They are delicious and I know they’ll be a hit this weekend. Between you & I – I might also have to try a batch of these: Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes You know… in the name of experimentation and trying something new.

Tasty Thursday: Valentine’s Pixie Bites

Today is Valentine’s Day. Yes, I tend to agree with many of you that it’s a made-up holiday with an inordinate amount of associated pressure. I also think it’s a good excuse to give the loved ones around you a little treat, a little smile, an acknowledgement that they mean something special.

Here’s a little treat (literally) that you can bake up to surprise your kids/spouse/significant other tonight. Or this weekend… who says you have to give Valentine’s treats *on* Valentine’s Day anyway?

Valentine’s Pixie Bites

• 6 TB butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (or a Devil’s Food and add red food coloring)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 375. Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly. Mix powdered sugar and corn starch together in a shallow bowl, set aside.
2. Place cake mix, cooled butter, eggs and lemon zest in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well-blended. It should feel like a dough not a cake batter.
3. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the powdered sugar mix. Place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake for 9-11 minutes.