Mamma Rosie's Apple Pie

"Okay so you finally harassed me and made me feel guilty....haha...just kidding!  Love you."

--Mom, in her email containing this recipe

I give you Rosie's Apple Pie! It is a bit different than your traditional apple pie, as it calls for golden delicious apples and cranraisins. Start out by preparing the pastry crust, and then move on to the filling.

Rosie’s Apple Pie

Pastry 9-inch Two-Crust Pie

Ingredients

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening.

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons or until pliable, Ice water

Procedure

1. Measure out the flour.  Cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture.  

2. Add ice water in 1 tablespoon increments tossing after each tablespoon until dough makes a ball. 

3. Split in half.  Place half of the pastry on the board.  Roll out. 

4. Repeat with second crust. Bake as directed below (with filling).

Pie Filling

Ingredients

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

6 cups thinly sliced golden delicious apples (about 6 medium apples)

½ cup cranraisens (optional but for a true Rosie pie they must be added)

2 tablespoons butter

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.   

2. Prepare the pastry as directed above.   

3. Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the apples.   

4. Place apples into mixture and toss to coat evenly.  Let stand till the juices from the apples forms a sauce for the apples (5 min. approx.).

5. Line pie plate with bottom crust.  Place apples into the plate.  Dot with butter.   

6. Cover with top crust.  Cut slits into to allow steam to escape while baking.   

7. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble 40 to 50 minutes. 

8. Enjoy!

Lemon Meringue Pie (with tips)

Probably the most difficult pie to make out of my three family favorites is the lemon meringue pie. If you miss a step, do a step wrong, or fudge it, the whole pie will flop. For instance, trying to skimp on sugar, or using something other than honest-to-goodness sugar (Splenda is a definite no-no), you will end up with soup. If you are not careful when getting the lemon zest and you get some of the pith (the white stuff), even a little bit will make your pie bitter and give you stomach aches. I HIGHLY recommend that you read this recipe thoroughly and be prepared before you begin. On the other hand, if you perfect this pie, you will have a mouth-watering, deliciously tangy pie that beats the pants off of any pathetic lemon-pie-impostor. So here we go!
Lemon Meringue Pie

Pie Shell

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl.

2. Gather pastry into a ball and divide into two parts, and shape into two flattened rounds on a lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate or 3 inches larger than a 10- or 11- inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

4. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute. 5. Bake pie shell at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

6. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and proceed to the filling.

*Crust recipe and directions courtesy of Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th Edition.

Pie Filling
Ingredients
For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (3 cups)
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch (2/3 cup plus 2 heaping tablespoons)
     Note: Don't skimp or you will end up with soup.
1/2 cup water (1 cup)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten (6 egg yolks)
3 tablespoons butter (6 tablespoons)
about 2 tsp grated lemon peel (4 tsp)
     Note: You must have this for the right flavor. Use a microplane zester for best results, and finely zest the lemon before you squeeze it. Will probably take about three (six) lemons, which is about how many you will need for the juice.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 cup)
     Note: Approx. 3 (6) lemons. Must be fresh.

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, mix--NOT over heat--sugar and cornstarch first, then gradually stir in water.
3. Cook mixture over medium heat (not high), stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, turning translucent. Takes about a half hour. Be careful, as it will be hot and popping.
4. Boil mixture for 1 minute while stirring.
5. For this next part, you need two people. Stir half of the hot mixture into your lightly beaten egg yolks. Spoon it in SLOWLY while stirring constantly. Keep the pot on the stove and KEEP STIRRING!
6. Take your new egg yolk mixture and spoon it all into the pot, slowly.
7. Boil and stir for 1 minute, then remove from stove.
8. QUICKLY, stir in the butter.
9. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, and keep stirring. Mixture will start to harden if you do this all too slowly and it won't be smooth, so stir, stir, STIR!
10. Pour mixture into prepared pie shells.

Meringue
Your meringue ingredients and tools should be measured out and ready before you even begin the filling.

Ingredients
For a 9-inch meringue. For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
4 egg whites (8 egg whites)
     Note: Egg whites must be at room temperature. If you get any yolk in the white at all, it won't work at all.
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (1/2 tsp)
6 tablespoon white sugar (12 tablespoons)
1/2 tsp vanilla (1 tsp)

Procedure
1. Beat egg and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy.
2. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time (meringue will be gritty if you don't).
3. Add vanilla, then beat until mixture is thick and glossy. Don't overdo it as it will be dry, but don't underdo it either. Peaks must be stiff, but able to curl over a bit.
4. Spoon meringue onto pie, putting meringue up against the crust to seal the pie so that the meringue doesn't pull away from the crust when it cools.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Cool away from drafts or else the meringue will shrink, pulling away from the crust.

After all this work, enjoy your masterpiece! Or, if you didn't get it right the first time, try, try again. My mom spent an entire summer making pies til they were coming out of her ears so that she could become a master at making this pie.

Pumpkin Pie a la Peterson

What are the holidays without some pie? Our family has three different pies that we love: pumpkin, apple, and lemon meringue. This first post has the recipe for my mom's (and Grandma Peterson's) fabulous pumpkin pie, which has won all sorts of blue ribbons and whatnot. I must say, it truly is the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted, probably because it tastes more like a light, pumpkin-y custard in a light, flaky crust than the dense, squash-y pies that most pumpkin pies are.

Pumpkin Pie a la Peterson

Crust

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl.

2. Gather pastry into a ball and divide into two parts, and shape into two flattened rounds on a lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate or 3 inches larger than a 10- or 11- inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

4. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute. Crust is now ready for the filling.

*Crust recipe and directions courtesy of Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th Edition.

Filling

Ingredients

1 large can of pumpkin or 3 cups cooked fresh pumpkin

1 C Sugar

1 C Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash of ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

5 large eggs

1 can evaporated milk

2 C + milk

Procedure
1. Prepare single crust for three pies.  Do not pre-bake the crust.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a extra large mixing bowl.  Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then turn down temperature to 350 degrees and cook for another 50 minutes.

3. Pie will be done when butter knife is inserted in the middle of the pie and comes out clean.

4. Let cool in draft-free place, top with whipped cream, and serve.

Poached Pears in Ginger Syrup

Poached Pears in Ginger Syrup

Dad made this recipe up for when he and my mom had a couple of Chinese friends over for dinner. My dad wanted to make something that they liked, and so he decided to go with ginger. He had me try the syrup, and holy cow! It's like eating dark chocolate, where you have to wait for the full experience, which comes in layers. First, it tastes like any other sugar syrup, but then you get that hint of ginger. Finally, you get that signature ginger burn at the last. Coupled with the poached pears, it's divine.

Ingredients

Pears
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
5 Spice Powder (Buy at Chinese market--Typically a mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and ground fennel seeds. It's all about the feng shui in Chinese spices!)
Ginger, sliced really thin

Procedure

1. Combine a cup of sugar, a cup of water, the ginger, and some 5 spice powder in a pan and heat up until the sugar dissolves. Poach the fruit (pears) for 20-30 min (however long it takes--Dad wasn't all that specific).
2. Remove the fruit and set aside.
3. Boil down the syrup until it starts to get thicker, then strain the syrup through a strainer lined with cheese cloth to get all the bits out. You can put it back into the pan and reduce it further if desired.
4. Drizzle the syrup over the pears and sever warm. Voila!

Mom's Pumpkin Cookies

My sister and I spent months trying to find this recipe for my mom's pumpkin cookies. Sarah finally got it from my mom, so I'm logging it away on my blog so that we don't lose it again!

Mom's Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
dash of ginger
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or dried cranberries (optional)

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix sugar, pumpkin, and butter together.
3. Then stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon,cloves,nutmeg, allspice, ginger, salt.
4. Stir in walnuts or cranberries, if desired.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Top with cream cheese frosting and serve warm.

Persimmon Pudding

My dad has been making this traditional English pudding for as long as I can remember, and I have fond memories of the spicy aroma wafting through the house around the start of the holidays. This last year, my dad's little persimmon tree started to bear fruit, and we made this pudding as a steamed pudding for the first time. Excellent! Both ways are great, but the baked pudding is more like brownies while the steamed pudding is lighter and more moist.

 

Persimmon Pudding

 

Ingredients

1 cup ripe pulp

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts

pinch of salt

 

Procedure

Dissolve soda in pulp. Add sugar. Sift flour with baking powder. Add to pulp alternately with milk. Add butter, vanilla, nuts, and salt. Put into greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or it can be steamed for 1 1/2 hours.

 

Vanilla Sauce for Pudding

 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups hot water

2 tablespoons butter

pinch of salt

About 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

nutmeg

 

Procedure

Stir corn starch into sugar thoroughly. Pour hot water into mixture slowly stirring constantly to keep from lumping. Add all other ingredients and bring to boil.

Mormon Scones

When I went to Girl's Camp with the Pleasanton CA Stake for the first time when I was fourteen or fifteen, I was introduced to something they called, "scones." My mom brought us up with tea on Sundays, holidays, when we were sick, or whenever she felt like it, and true scones often accompanied tea time or brunch, so when they called these puffy fried pastries "scones" I wondered what on earth they meant. Again, when I went to school in Utah, I was served "scones" that weren't really scones. But they were good. They were really good. Similar to beignets, Mormon scones are bits of fried bread batter, covered in whatever topping you want, from powdered sugar or honey to jam or Nutella.

Ingredients
 

Yeast Dough

1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons yeast
1 tablespoons sugar
4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 stick butter, melted & cooled
3 eggs

Scones
1 batch yeast dough, risen double it's normal size
2 quarts frying oil (Canola works well)
Powdered sugar, honey butter, jam (optional toppings)


Procedure 

Preparing Dough
1. Combine water, yeast & sugar in small bowl.  Set aside and allow yeast to activate.
2. Combine Flour, Sugar, Salt in large bowl.
3. Stir together melted cooled better and 3 eggs. Add yeast mixture.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Knead lightly, put in (flour) dusted bowl, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
5. Let rise on greased baking sheet for 1 hour.

Frying the Scones
1. Prepare a drain plate and set aside.
2. Split dough into two equal parts.  Take one part and roll out on a flat floured surface to approximately 1/4" thick.  Using a pizza cutter, cut rolled dough into pieces approximately 3" - 4" each.
3. Heat oil in large heavy pan to 350 - 375 F over medium-high heat.  Once temperature is achieved, reduce heat slightly.
4. Carefully place two or three scones in the oil.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until slightly golden and flip.  Cook an additional couple minutes until slightly golden and remove immediately to your prepared drain plate.
5. Repeat cooking, two or three scones at a time, until all dough has been fried.

Serve hot with desired toppings.

Grandma Peterson's Lemon Cake

This is my dad's mom's cake, but my mom has made this cake for us a zillion times. I love how it's a traditional lemon cake, but the sauce that goes on top definitely makes this cake amazing. The sauce seeps down into the top layer of the cake, enfusing it with a beautiful, sugary zing. I suppose you could frost it, but I've never seen the need to corrupt this cake with frosting. It offers a refreshing lemony flavor in a world bombarded by chocolate.

Ingredients

Cake
1 package Duncan Hines lemon cake
1 package small lemon Jell-o
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup oil


Sauce
2 lemons
2 cups powdered sugar

Procedure

1. Mix lemon cake, jello, eggs and water. Beat for 4 minutes.
2. Add oil. Beat 4 minutes.
3. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, juice and zest lemons, and beat in powdered sugar.
5. Poke hole in hot cake with a skewer or fork. Pour lemon sauce over warm cake and serve.

Grandma Dana's Banana Nut Bread

This banana nut bread is my Great-Grandma Sarah Dana's bread. It's an excellent way to get rid of overripe bananas, but it does better in smaller loaf pans than larger ones. Like the zucchini/pumpkin bread in the last post, it freezes quite well. To freeze, first wrap each individual loaf in plastic wrap, then again in foil.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 well-beaten eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) sour cream
1 cup mashed banana pulp
1 cup walnuts or other nuts

Procedure:
1. Cream shortening and sugar together. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat until creamy.
2. Add sifted flour with soda and salt. Alternately add sour cream and banana pulp. Add nuts last.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Aunt Audrey's Zucchini or Pumpkin Bread

I've mentioned before that I lost all of my heirloom recipes when we moved from Provo to Monterey. When we went to visit my parents' house this weekend, I managed to pillage the family cookbook and rescue most of the old recipes!

This particular recipe works for zucchini or pumpkin bread, and the recipe notes the small changes between the two. It's a delicious recipe from my Great-Aunt Audrey. During the summer months while I was growing up, when our zucchini plants would go out of control as zucchini plants are apt to do, we would make tons of this bread and freeze some of it for later. Around the holidays, we made the pumpkin bread and gave it to our neighbors and friends. To freeze it, wrap each loaf in plastic wrap, and then wrap it in foil.


Ingredients

1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
(Zucchini bread) 1 teaspoon cinnamon
(Pumpkin bread) 1/2 tsp each nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups zucchini, peeled and grated (or pumpkin)

Procedure

1. Beat oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.
2. Put in small loaf pans or shallow oblong baking dish.
3. Bake in oven at 325 degrees for one hour or until done.

Dad's Killer Coconut Cookies

Since I've been putting up a bunch of sweet stuff anyways, I'll put up my dad's crazy cookies. They really are killer cookies because of how bad they are for you! But they are delicious! My dad makes them for us during the holidays, and they hardly ever make it to the cookie jar!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups oats
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1 cup coconut

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut; mix well.

3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Rich Bread Pudding with Non-Alcoholic Rum Sauce

Photo courtesy of myrecipes.com

During my first summer away at college, I decided to try out Bread Pudding, something my dad had made a few times but which I couldn't remember very well. I had just made Egg Bread (which was delicious) and made the bread pudding out of that. Then, for Halloween last year, I made this for my parents who had come to visit. My mom was amazed and told me it was the best bread pudding she had ever had! I don't remember what other bread pudding tastes like, so I'll just have to take her word for it.
Any sort of rich, stiff bread will do, but don't use mundane breads like white bread or wheat bread that you would use to make sandwiches. Specialty breads and homemade breads are much better for holding the liquids that make this dessert amazing. 

Ingredients 

Bread Pudding
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups milk/half and half mixture: Use 1 pint half and half, and add enough milk to make up the difference
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla (extract works, but real vanilla is better)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 oz French or other firm bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 10 cups)
1/2 cup raisins 

Topping (can be mixed in instead)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

Non-Alcoholic Rum Sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons water
1 large egg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rum extract 

Procedure 

1. Grease bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with shortening or cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, beat 4 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, and 3/4 cup sugar with wire whisk until well blended. Beat in milk, half and half, whipping cream, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon until well blended. Stir in the bread pieces and the raisins. Let stand an hour, then pour into baking dish.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. In small bowl, stir 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until well blended. Sprinkle over top of bread pudding. At this point, the original recipe says to mix the cinnamon sugar with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and then drizzle it over the pudding, but I skipped the butter, sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on top, and then mixed it all together. Since there is a rum sauce that gets poured over the pudding later, I find a sublayer of cinnamon sugar to be pointless.

5. Bake uncovered for 55 to 65 minutes or until top is puffed and light golden brown. The center will jiggle slightly. Cool 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over low heat; do not allow to simmer. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Mix egg and water in a bowl, then stir into butter until well blended. Stir in 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon rum extract.

7. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat, and pour over bread pudding. Cool until the topping is hard enough to keep its shape (more or less) when the pudding is served.

Enjoy!

(Must be refrigerated if not immediately completely consumed.)