Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie

 For Pi Day 2021, I tried an idea I'd had floating around in my head for a while... Peanut butter and jelly pie. I used a real pie crust rather than a crust crust for this no-bake pie because I really wanted more of a "bread" crust and I'm glad I did. It turned out just the way I wanted. But be warned... this pie is RICH! Cut it small! 

First you will need to blind bake your crust. Preheat your oven to 375. Roll out your crust and place in pie plate. Prick crust with fork on bottom and sides. Line with non-stick parchment and fill with weights (or uncooked rice or beans). Bake for 15 minutes with weights. Then remove and bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Make your peanut butter filling by beating together:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 softened stick of butter

Beat until smooth and creamy. It will be thick.

Spread a very thin layer of the peanut butter filling on the bottom of your cooled crust to keep the jam from leaking through.

Top with a thin layer of jam or jelly of your choice. (I like my homemade strawberry jam best with peanut butter)

Spread remaining peanut butter filling on top of jam.

Chill for a few hours before cutting. 

Buttery Cracker Apple Pie

I have wanted to try making this pie for as long as I can remember but have never done it until this week. I really had a hankering for apple pie but didn't have apples and it snowed this week! But I did have left over crackers from holiday parties last month.

When you read the recipe, you can't imagine how this could be tasty much less taste like apple pie. But it is both! I loved it and it was just what the bourbon caramel sauce I bought at a bazaar needed... <3

Since my husband doesn't like pie, I made a small pie with half the recipe. I know... how can you not like pie??? :)

Prepare one 9" pie shell. You can buy one or make your own using this RECIPE.

Preheat oven to 400.

1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Bring these to a boil in a saucepan on medium-high heat.

Put 30 whole buttery round crackers (like Ritz or Town House) into the boiling sugar mixture. If the crackers are a bit small, throw in a few extra.

Simmer on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Trust me... it feels weird but works just fine.)

Gently stir in 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Let it sit while you make the crumb topping.

26 crackers, crushed into coarse crumbs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Pour pie filling into crust and top with crumb topping.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 20 minutes or until crust and topping are golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and caramel sauce, if desired.

Store leftovers in fridge.

Gingersnap Crumb Pie Topping

This crispy gingersnap topping can go atop any of your favorite crumb-topped pie recipes. Just follow your recipe and substitute this for the topping. It is especially good on top of apple or pear pies. For an added ginger-y treat, add 1/4 cup of chopped candied ginger to your pie filling.

For the perfect topping, add brown sugar to your whipping cream instead of white or powdered sugar.

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped gingersnaps (the crispy kind)

5 Tablespoons butter, softened

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the butter until it forms crumbs.

Sprinkle over the top of your favorite pie recipe and bake according to your recipe.

Family Sized Chicken Pot Pie

One little round chicken pot pie from the freezer section is never enough to fill me up, much less one of my guys. One homemade 9” pot pie doesn’t cut it either. So, this time I made one in a 9x13 baking dish and it did the trick!

I got this recipe from a sweet friend, Mary, who makes it all the time for her clan. But she got the recipe from her mom, Carolyn. They were the two who inspired me to get over my fear and make a darn pie crust! Thanks you two!

A batch of my mom’s pie crust (recipe HERE) made enough for the pot pie and a single crust dessert pie, too.

Roll out about 1/2 the dough for the bottom crust and line the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish.

Fill with 6 cups diced cooked chicken, 1/2 bag of thawed frozen peas & carrots, 1 cup of thawed southern style hashbrown potatoes.

Make a gravy.

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup flour

6 cubes or teaspoons of chicken bouillon

4 Tablespoons dried minced onion

salt & pepper, to taste

3 cups water

3 cups milk

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in onion and bouillon. Whisk in flour. When it bubbles, quickly whisk in water and milk. Continue to whisk until thick and bubbly.

Pour gravy over filling in crust.

Roll out top crust and place on top of your pie.

Bake at 425 for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

It didn’t turn out very pretty (I”m still new at the pie making thing) but it tasted great! We served it in bowls because it seemed pretty runny but it thickened right up!

Now this is comfort food!

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This pie combines my favorite dessert (pie) with my hubby’s favorite dessert (chocolate chip cookies). I think if we were ever to get married again we’d have this instead of cake at the wedding… ;o)

First make up a single pie crust. I used my mom’s pie crust recipe. It turns out great every time!

Line 1 9” pie plate with the rolled out crust.

Then make the cookie filling:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugars and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread into pie crust.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until dark golden brown.

Let cool to room temperature and serve thin slices with a glass of cold milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

My Mom’s Pie Crust

This is the recipe for the pie crust my mom has been making for over 30 years. There are no tips or pie crust secrets because I don’t know any. I only made this crust for the first time last week. But it turned out great, rolled out easily and didn’t give me any trouble. I had such a pie crust phobia that I wrote out this recipe before we got married over 20 years ago and finally made it last Thursday…

It makes enough crust for 2 double crust pies 9” or even 10”. The crust can be stored wrapped in plastic wrap for 1-2 days but needs to be frozen for longer storage and taken out to thaw before using.

Mix in large bowl:

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

Cut in:

1 3/4 cups shortening (you can also substitute 1/2 cup softened butter for some of the shortening)

Beat together and add:

1/2 cup water

1 egg

1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

  

Divide into 4 portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 15 minutes to 2 days before rolling out or freeze for longer storage.

 

Roll out on floured surface and use in your favorite pie recipe as directed.

Old Fashioned Apple Raisin Pie

For my second all by myself pie attempt, I decided to really go out on a limb and make up my own recipe. While paging through some vintage 1930s to 50s cookbooks, I found several versions of raisin pie. My mom said that they reminded her of mincemeat. Really??? Apple mincemeat is one of my favorite pies!

So I pieced together a few of the recipes, threw in some apples and spices and came up with my own apple raisin pie. And I have to admit that it turned out pretty incredible! I know what I will be making next Thanksgiving…

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoons instant clear gel (if you don’t have this, you can try cornstarch in the hot liquid but I can’t promise the results)

grated zest from 1 orange

1/2 cup orange juice

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/4 cup cold water

dash salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1.4 teaspoon cloves

1 cup raisins

1 cup peeled, chopped apples

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix brown sugar, clear gel and orange zest in a small bowl.

Combine water and juices in a medium sized saucepan. Whisk in sugar/clear gel mixture until smooth and thick.

Stir in raisins and apples.

Aren’t these gorgeous raisins?

 

Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (it will probably already be pretty thick), stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes while stirring.

Remove from heat.

Then roll out pie crust and line a 9” pie plate.

Pour hot filling into pie crust. Roll out and place crust on top. Cut vents into the crust.

Cover crust edge with foil (I LOVE the pie shield I bought!!!) and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Serve pie slightly warm or room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream.

If you are keeping your pie more than a day, store the leftovers in the fridge.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

The balance of rhubarb, strawberries, orange, and nutmeg is brilliant! It was made even better since it was made from rhubarb I cut from our yard!

Look how big it was! I can’t wait to get more!!!

3 cups sliced rhubarb (not frozen)

1 cup quartered fresh strawberries 

zest of one small orange

2 pinches of salt

isn’t this pretty pink salt???

fresh grated nutmeg

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons instant clear gel

Mix rhubarb, strawberries, orange zest, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Stir together sugar and clear gel until no lumps remain.

   

Mix with strawberry rhubarb mixture. Pour into unbaked 9” pie crust. Dot with 1 Tablespoon butter.
Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes.
After placing pie in oven, make crumb topping.
Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 2 Tablespoons butter (I may go with 3 next time???). Cut in with pastry cutter until coarse crumbs.
Place on top of pie after 15 minutes of baking.
Continue baking until the crust and topping are golden and the filling is bubbly.
 
Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Bacon Spinach Quiche

Ever since my pie crust lesson last week, I have been thinking about… pies! I adore quiche but have never made one due to my irrational fear of making pie crusts. But my friend Mary, my mother, my sisters all make it seem so easy; and I did make one crust by myself with supervision. I decided to give it a whirl!

I think that for my very first solo pie crust in 15 years, it turned out amazingly well! Flaky, tender, didn't rip or tear, rolled out to the perfect thickness...

Not bad, huh??? :o)

The bacon spinach quiche I made in it was super amazing!!!

1 – 9” unbaked pie crust

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

salt & pepper

1 cup crumbled bacon

1 cup shredded cheese

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Beat eggs and milk together. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into unbaked pie crust.

Carefully place in oven preheated to 375. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until center is set.

After 30 minutes, cover loosely with piece of foil to keep crust from over-baking.

after 30 minutes

It was pretty puffy right out of the oven after 60 minutes…

Let quiche sit for about 5 minutes to settle before serving.I served it with a small side salad and a few slices of quick bread for a light and delicious dinner!

Peanut Butter & Nutella Pie

On Wednesday I went to a friend’s house in the attempt to overcome my pie crust phobia… While I made a crust while I was there under supervision, I still have yet to make one on my own. So I’m not sure if I’m cured yet??? I have a whole list of pies I want to make, so I am hopeful I am over it!

We were all sitting around talking about pie (of course!) and we came up with the peanut butter & Nutella idea. I knew exactly what pie I was going to make first!

1/2 cup Nutella

1 8oz box of cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup heavy cream

Spread the Nutella into the bottom of a pre-baked or crumb pie crust.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter with electric mixer until smooth.

Spread half of this peanut butter mixture into pie crust.

Beat heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks.

Fold whipped cream into the remaining peanut butter mixture. Spread onto top of pie.

Chill for several hours. Top with additional whipped cream, if desired. Serve in very small slices as this pie is very rich and delicious!

I love how you can see all three layers!