By little blue hen (Flickr: unbaked graham cracker pie crust) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsThe traditional cookie-based pie crust is the graham cracker crust, which is essentially graham cracker crumbs and butter, sometimes with a bit of sugar and/or spice added in. (I usually leave out the sugar, because I don’t think I need the extra sweetness.) But you don’t really need to be limited to that.
You can make a wide variety of fun, tasty pie crusts from other types of cookies. The key is to choose crispy cookies, as soft cookies are more likely to create a soggy crust. Here are some suggestions:
Gingersnaps — great with pumpkin pie or vanilla custard filling
Chocolate cookies — great with chocolate fillings. Oreos can be used, but if you don’t remove the creaming filling, be sure to reduce the butter.
Vanilla Wafers — Toast them first so they are extra crispy
Oatmeal cookies — Be sure to use the crispy kind!
Shortbread cookies — A great subtle crust flavor
Pecan Sandies — This adds a touch of nuttiness to the shortbread cookie idea
Ready to get creative with your crumb-y pie crust? Here’s a basic recipe:
Mix together and press into your pie tin. Fill with your chosen filling! For some ideas on what to fill that pie crust with, grab a copy of Your Perfect Pie.
I have no idea why pies can seem so daunting, but for many they are. That’s why I wrote Your Perfect Pie. I spent several months researching recipes, tips and tricks — then testing them all to create this book.
What sets Your Perfect Pie apart is that I don’t tell you how to make a whole pie from crust to garnish, I let you mix and match from a variety of recipes for crusts, fillings, tops and decorations so that you can create your perfect pie!
My favorite recipe is for a cherry pie. I had a lot of fun playing around with the lattice topping I used and finding the perfect mix of cherry and amaretto flavor. I also dug deep to create a coconut cream pie that really was packed with coconut flavor. The secret? Coconut powder!
You can grab your copy of Your Perfect Pie in either physical or ebook format from a variety of online vendors. Just visit www.carmascookery.com/yourperfectpie to find out how!
If your party takes place the second week of August, you can celebrate National Apple Week . Or, if you’re looking for a field trip idea, why not take a trip to your local Farmer’s Market to celebrate National Farmers Market Week, August 2-8, 2015?
Some of my favorite foods get a send up during this month. Here are just a select few:
National Ice Cream Sandwich Day – August 2
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day – August 4
National Frozen Custard Day – August 8
National Rice Pudding Day – August 9
National S’mores Day – August 10
National Filet Mignon Day – August 13
National Vanilla Custard Day – August 17
Potato Day – August 19
National Pecan Torte Day – August 21
National Waffle Day – August 24
National Banana Split Day – August 25
Banana Lover’s Day – August 27
National Toasted Marshmallow Day – August 30
Every month has its food-focused “holidays” and these observance can help you make your parties fun. So grab you Ice Cream Sandwich today and enjoy!
Source: www.reminisce.comWhen my Abuela died, I inherited all her cookbooks, recipes and clippings. Sometimes I enjoy perusing all those recipes and adverts from the 1950s and 1960s — how carefree we were about cholesterol, fat content and other health concerns!
Well, if you don’t have old clippings to peruse yourself, you’ve got the next best thing: Reminisce— North America’s top-selling nostalgia magazine.
They currently have a post that takes a look back at baking ads from the 1950s. Some of the ingredients these ads push may be hard to find to day, others are still staples on our grocery store baking shelves.
To view the full vintage ad slideshow, go to: www.reminisce.com/1950s/vintage-ads-we-do-the-work-you-bake-the-pie.
The first month of the year brings an easy, family-pleasing dish from Betty Crocker.For several years now, I’ve had the annual tradition of proudly hanging the Betty Crocker calendar on my wall. I love the lush photography and reading the fun recipes. But I rarely ever make them … just drewl and think about it.
Well, this year is different. I’ve promised myself that I will make all 12 recipes this year and last night I made my version of January’s recipe: Impossibly Easy Pizza Bake.
Here’s what my experience was:
1. The recipe calls for pepperoni, which doesn’t agree with me … so instead I substituted sausage. I browned a package of Farmer John’s mild pork breakfast sausage and used that.
2. The recipe is so easy and only took about 10-15 minutes to prepare, and it only took that long because I used a can of pasta sauce instead of a jar of pizza sauce (extra time to open a can compared to a jar) and I grated my own cheese rather than purchase it already grated (extra time to grate the cheese).
3. It took a little longer to bake than suggested, but that may be my oven. I’ve found that to be a trend.
4. Absolutely delicious — I had three pieces last night for dinner and another for brunch today. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Notes on Bringing Kitchen Creativity to Your Home
Did you notice how I followed the spirit of the recipe but still made it mine? You can do that, too. Here’s my thought process in modifying this recipe.
1. Switched out pepperoni for sausage.
This is a pizza bake, right? What other toppings go on pizza besides pepperoni? I like sausage, so I used that. But you could put any of your favorite toppings instead. I’m thinking of adding broccoli, olives and/or sun-dried tomatoes next time.
2. Switched out a jar of pizza sauce for a can of pasta sauce.
Frankly, I just couldn’t find a jar of pizza sauce when I went out. But you could use any kind of sauce that you like on pizza — it doesn’t even have to be tomato based! A nice pesto sauce would have worked well, too.
3. Grated my own cheese.
Cheese is cheese and it doesn’t matter who grates it — you or the manufacturer. I did use mozzarella, but I could have used any kind of melt-y cheese I wanted, such as jack, cheddar or gouda, for that matter!
When you think of recipes as guidelines and make substitutions in a parallel fashion, you can begin to gain confidence in your ability to apply your creativity in the kitchen.
One more note, I’m lactose intolerant, so I rarely have cow’s milk in my home. So, in this recipe I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it turned out fine. Now, there are cases where non-dairy milk won’t work, so be careful with this kind of substitution.
Every month there are days, weeks and even the entire month, set aside to recognize something … even food! Here is a list of Regional, National and International food and beverage related observances for January 2015, c/o Brownielocks.com/.
Click on image to view largerNutiva, a brand of coconut, chia, hemp and red palm organic superfoods, recently launched bite-sized snacks called O’CoconutTM. Because I love coconut, I gratefully accepted a free sample to review for this site.
They arrived while I was on vacation, so I’m not sure how long they sat at my front door, but when I opened the package, everything looked fine … just slightly flattened.
What I liked about O’Coconut:
These snacks are made from organic, fair trade coconut and have only 60 calories per snack. They are lightly sweet, so they don’t overpower your palate.
I was sent samples of both the Classic and Hemp & Chia snacks. The classic was just that — it tasted like a less-sweet macaroon. The Hemp & Chia is where the flavor got interesting. The press material described the flavor as “nutty” — but my experience was closer to blue cheese.
I know, weird, huh? I checked the ingredients … nothing in there that should taste like cheese, blue or otherwise. So take that comment with a grain of salt.
I enjoyed both of them and was happy they sent be two of each!
What I didn’t like about O’Coconut:
They’re so small! They truly are bite sized! I wonder if they’d consider making a larger, say 100-calorie, version?
My recommendation:
I enjoyed them. They both had a slightly unconventional flavor that I appreciated. I also like that they are made with organic ingredients, which is important for many consumers, and that the coconut is fair trade, which means that the coconut is grown sustainably with an eye toward being better stewards of the land. Fair trade also means that standards are in place to protect human rights and deal fairly with workers and their families. All good in my book.
So, yes, I’d recommend these handy little snacks. You can find them at Whole Foods Market locations, as well as at Nutiva.com and Amazon.com.
