This pie pulled me in with its description. A dark, molasses-ey holiday pie with a hit of pepper and lots of spices? A silent "p"? Perfect for a holiday evening. To create an exciting visual on top of the pie (and to be festive) I used a skill from kindergarten - cutting paper into a snowflake by folding it in half and cutting out elaborate shapes along the side. This, next to knowing state capitals and performing simple arithmetic are probably the skills from elementary school that I use the most. The skills that I use least are the rules of wall ball and long division. The pie was beautiful and just as strong in the molasses as it had promised. If you like molasses, this is a pie for you. If you don't like molasses, the popsicle project might be more your speed. Pfeffernusse Pie
Yield: 1 pie | Total Time: 2 hours Ingredients Sister Pie crust 1/2 cup melted butter 1/4 cup molasses 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup cornmeal 1/2 tsp kosher salt 3 eggs 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp black pepper (freshly ground) 1/8 tsp ground cardamom 1/8 tsp ground ginger 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground cloves 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg Directions Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare your sister pie pie crust. To make the filling, combine the melted butter and molasses. Whisk in the brown sugar, cornmeal, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, vanilla, pepper, and all spices until combined. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the molasses and whisk until combined. Pour the filling into the blind-baked crust. Bake on a sheet tray for 40-50 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in center. Let cool. When pie is cool, create your desired shape with parchment paper and sift powdered sugar over the top. Serve with whipped cream (I added some egg nog into mine!).
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This recipe came from a mental mash-up of two intriguing pies. The first pie had a cranberry base and an oat + walnut crumble topping. I was very pleased with the look of the recipe until I came across the layer below the cranberry filling. A swipe of cream cheese across the base. I am sure that there is a world where the action of swiping cream cheese could create a good pie. Maybe in the late twenties of this project I will even dance into this world. But not this early. The cream cheese layer terrified me, but the cranberries and the pretty circular crumble topping stayed in my mind. I decided to look into more cranberry pies in my (ever growing) stack of pie cookbooks. Soon, I found a pear cranberry pie. Pear and cranberry are two of the most texturally displeasing (in my opinion) fruits, so the pairing seemed apt. As I read through the recipe, my mind began to construct the ideal pie. A pear cranberry filling with a crumble topping. I decided to cut the oats, as the pie already felt busy enough. The richness of the walnuts, however, seemed essential. The eleventh pie was born. Cranberry Pear Walnut Pie
Yield: 1 pie | Total Time: 2-3 hours Ingredients Sister Pie crust Filling: 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries 1/2 cup sugar 4 pears (bartlett or bose), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tbsp grated orange zest 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Dash of nutmeg Topping: 1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1 stick butter Directions Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare your sister pie pie crust. To make the filling, pulse the cranberries and sugar in a food processor until cranberries are coarsely chopped. In a bowl, combine cranberry mixture with pears, lemon juice, and orange zest. Let sit for ten minutes. Add in cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg and gentle mix. To make the topping, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the butter into the mixture until it is no longer visible. To assemble the pie, add the cranberry-pear filling to the pie crust, distributing the pieces evenly. Sprinkle the crumble around the edges of the pie, leaving a hole in the middle (it is up to you how big you want the hole to be, but it is also a useful indicator of pie-doneness, so keep that in mind). Bake the pie at 425° for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven to 375° and bake for 40-45 more minutes, or until the juices bubble. |