Pie Crust and Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust Sticks

Today I came across a picture of "pie crust fries" while viewing a Facebook post from my favorite baking site, King Arthur Flour. My Grandma Wamer made pie crust flavored with cinnamon and sugar more than 50 years ago and I loved it!  In fact, I've been making the same thing in different forms for almost that long. Grandma would roll the dough as though she was making a pie crust, sprinkle it with a cinnamon sugar mixture and fold it in half, making a semi-circle.  She'd place it on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until the crust was golden brown.  The recipe below can be used for either a 2-crust pie, or a single crust and a batch of cinnamon sugar pie crust sticks.

Many of my friends and family members shy away from making homemade pie crust.  No need.  It is simple to make if you use the "secret" ingredient--vodka. Don't laugh! The alcohol vaporizes in the oven and will not affect the taste. Vodka inhibits gluten formation, the main cause of a tough pie crust. Try it, I promise it will make the best pie crust you've ever eaten. (My choice of brand name ingredients are not an endorsement, just my personal preference).

Pie Crust (Recipe for 2-crust pie)

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour (King Arthur)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
3 tablespoons ice water
3 tablespoons ice cold Vodka (Tito's)

1.  Combine flour and salt.
2.  Add Crisco and use a pastry blender to work in until the mixture resembles large pea-sized crumbs.
3.  Sprinkle liquids over dough and combine with fork just until dough is soft, but don't over work.
4.  Divide dough in half and place on two sheets of waxed paper.
5.  Pat into 6 inch disk, wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
6.  Place chilled disk between two sheets of waxed paper. (TRICK: spray counter lightly with water to keep waxed paper from sliding while you roll the dough)
7.  Starting from the center of the disk, roll the dough out toward the edges in a circle until it is at least an inch larger than your pie pan.
8.  Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and lay your pie pan in the middle of the dough circle.
9.  Place your hand under the waxed paper and crust and flip, gently easing it into place in the pie pan. 10.Remove remaining waxed paper; roll edge and flute the crust. Repeat for 2-crust pie.

For Cinnamon Pie Crust Sticks:

1.  Make pie crust as above.  Roll one disk into a rectangle or circle.
2.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and brush over pie crust (if desired)
3.  Mix one teaspoon cinnamon and 1/3 cup of sugar in custard cup or small bowl and sprinkle evenly over crust.
4.  Cut into 1/2 inch  x  5 inch strips with pizza cutter.
5.  Place on baking sheet lined with Silpat or foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  Watch carefully!  They can go from golden to burned in a short time. Set the timer for 12 minutes to be cautious.

Baked Custard

In July I had the pleasure of visiting my sister who recently moved to Berkeley, CA. As much as we love to cook, we enjoyed walking around town and eating in new restaurants she had been wanting to try.  One of my favorites was called Fatapple's. Yes, it is all one word. We shared the very best BLT we had ever eaten!  Thick crunchy bacon on homemade multi-grain toasted bread with juicy tomato and bib lettuce.  Joy wanted to try the baked custard for dessert.  For us, baked custard is a childhood delicacy first tasted at Grandma's house as children. The smell and taste of childhood favorites such as this dessert are indelibly printed in our brains. Fortunately, it was not a disappointment.  It was delicious, silky and fragrant with nutmeg.  I've been thinking about baked custard for a month and decided it was a good day to relive childhood once again.

Baked custard is simple to make.  A beginning cook can turn out a batch of delicious custard on the first try. My version is stepped up a notch with vanilla bean crush for a deeper flavor and freshly grated nutmeg for a fragrant aroma.  If you don't have fresh nutmeg, it's worth a trip to the market for a fresh container. I usually can't wait until it's cooled.  I like it fresh from the oven.

Baked Custard       Oven 325 degrees

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground nutmeg
(4 cups boiling water needed for baking)

In a medium bowl lightly beat the eggs with a whisk.  Whisk in the milk, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Place six 6-ounce custard cups in a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.  Divide the mixture among the custard cups and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg if desired.

Place the baking pan with filled custard cups in the oven.  Transfer boiling water into a 4 cup measuring cup and gently pour the boiling water into the baking pan being careful to avoid getting water into the custard.  Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Serve warm or chilled.  You can unmold the chilled custards by loosening the edges with a spatula or knife and inverting on a serving plate.  The recipe will make 6 servings.

Fresh Lemon Curd

Lemons seem to shout "SUMMER" for me.  A lemon is everything summer should be.  It is sunny yellow, smells of fresh citrus and can be made into a number of  foods and beverages.  A bag of lemons can be purchased at bargain prices right now.  I recently bought a bag and found myself with a dozen lemons for less than $3.00.  Half of them went straight into a pitcher of fresh lemonade.  There were still a half dozen lemons.  It was 100 degrees and too hot to bake a lemon pie.  The next best thing came to mind...fresh lemon curd.  Oh sure, you can use it to fill cupcakes, tarts, cookies and scones.  But, it is still 100 degrees...so I opted to fill lovely antique glass dessert bowls and enjoy fresh lemon curd all by itself.  Tastes like summer.  Pucker up!

Recipe:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice (3 lemons)

5 T unsalted butter (melted)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Whisk together the eggs and sugar in the saucepan of a double boiler.  Stir in lemon juice, melted butter and lemon zest.  While continuing to whisk, cook over simmering water for approximately 20 minutes until thickened.  Yield is approximately 2 cups.  

Lemon curd can be used as a filling, or simply serve as a tart dessert with fresh whipped cream.