NEVER FAIL PIE CRUST

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

If you missed me on Studio 5 yesterday, click the above link to see me demo FRESH PEACH PIE!

I mentioned on the show that I would post my favorite pie crust recipe. I really am a little bit of a crust snob. A lot of people think of pie crust as a un-important holder of all the "Good Stuff". But I think of crust as the foundation of a pie that will make or break the over-all success of the pie. I think the crust should be flaky, but also have a bit of depth and chew. If it's a sweet pie, there should be a balance of salt/sweet in the overall flavor. Bottom line, the crust should enhance the flavors of your pie filling, combining for an overall explosion of goodness!

I know, I know...I'm dramatic about my pies! So over the years, I've tried many, many different pie crust recipes. This one has become my absolute favorite for sweet pies, and I have to tell you...it never lets me down. I hope you'll give it a try.

I got this recipe about 10 years ago from a good friend who worked at a pie shop. She assured me at the time that I could share it with anyone, as long as I never said the name of the shop. The only difficulty with this recipe, is that it's a "bulk" recipe. The original recipe made a dozen pie crusts at one time. But over the years I've been able to reduce it to make 4 pie crusts at a time. Still a lot, but it's hard to reduce it much more because of the egg and vinegar. No worries though, pie crust freezes wonderfully. If you only need one or two crust, divide the rest of the dough, wrap in Saran wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.

OLD FASHIONED PIE CRUST

4 C. Flour
2 t. salt
1/8 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. butter flavored Crisco (the original recipe calls for lard...I use butter flavored Crisco to get the flakiness that lard would give and the flavor of butter. I'm not much of a Lard fan.)
1 egg
1 T. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
water

1. Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar. Using a fork, fluff and mix until well combined.
2. Using a pastry blender, or fork, cut the Crisco into the flour mixture until the size of small pea's or a crumbly texture.
3. In a 1 cup measuring cup slightly beat the egg and vinegar. Fill the remainder of the cup with water and mix well. (I actually use a 2 cup measuring cup, so that while I'm mixing, it doesn't spill over.)
4. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and gently mix with a fork until the dough comes together.
5. Divide into 4 portions and roll out.

*For the best results I allow the dough to chill for 30 minutes or so. This isn't absolutely necessary, but will help the crust hold it's form while baking. You can also roll out the crust, mold into your pie dish and chill it in the dish. This is especially helpful with pre-cooked crusts for cream pies, or fresh fruit pies.

PINK LEMONADE CHEESECAKE

When I was in high school, my favorite after school snack was pretzels with a big glass of cold pink lemonade...no joke. I love the combination. At the time I also loved to make this yummy pink lemonade pie. It was so easy...a combination of pink lemonade concentrate with a tub of whipped topping, frozen in a graham cracker crust. I had made it in one of my cooking classes at school and thought it was the greatest recipe ever.

Fast forward 20 plus years to last month when my Cuisine at Home magazine arrived and to my surprise...what did I find inside...the yummy pink lemonade frozen pie recipe. I hadn't thought about that recipe for years! Crazy! Only Cuisine at Home had the ingenious idea of using a pretzel crust instead of graham crackers! Brilliance at it's best. All I could think about was high school and the yummy combo of pretzels with pink lemonade!

So all this talk about a frozen pink lemonade pie and you would think that's the recipe I'm posting. But it's not...sorry if I got your hopes up. Instead I was inspired to take my own twist and turn the frozen pink lemonade into cheesecake...with a pretzel crust.

I'll probably post the frozen pie at some point. But you gotta try this version! It was pretty sweet...and tart too!

PINK LEMONADE CHEESECAKE
(Mindi Original)

Crust:
1 C. crushed pretzels
¼ C. granulated sugar
¼ C. butter melted

Cheesecake:
¾ C. granulated sugar
3 – 8 oz. packages cream cheese; softened
1 C. Pink Lemonade concentrate (use 1 cup of the can and reserve the extra ½ cup)
4 eggs
½ C. all purpose flour
½ C. sour cream
1 t. vanilla
red food coloring (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pray a 10” spring form pan with cooking spray.
3. Combine the crushed pretzels, sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of the spring form pan. Be sure to press evenly. Place pan into the freezer.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese on medium-high speed until well blended; about 3-4 minutes.
5. Blend in the pink lemonade concentrate. Then add the eggs one at a time incorporating each egg before you add the next.
6. Add the flour, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix until well incorporated.
7. Add a couple drops red food coloring and stir to incorporate. (optional)
8. Pour the batter into the spring form pan.
9. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the oven for 2 hours.
10. Remove and refrigerate for an additional 4-6 hours before serving.
11. If you like, serve with pink lemonade glaze. (see recipe below)


PINK LEMONADE GLAZE

½ C. Pink Lemonade concentrate
1 T. corn starch
red food coloring (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce to medium heat and allow to boil for 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. (The syrup will thicken and set up as it cools.)
5. Serve by drizzling over each slice of cheesecake.

Friday Favorites - Love at first look!

If you know me very well, you know that I'm a sucker for Apple Pie! I happen to think that I make the worlds best apple pie; I can't remember if I've ever posted my recipe...I'll have to look into that and if not...get on it!

But in the mean time...as I was blog surfing last night, I came across this amazing looking deep dish dutch apple pie recipe. It's a good thing it was close to midnight, because it looked so good I wanted to make one immediately! Obviously sleep got the best of me. Not to mention the fact that I only have 1 apple in the house; today is grocery day! But I will be making this very soon...very soon!

The whole post and recipe directions are amazing at CityHomeCountryHome.blogspot.com!

FRESH PEACH PIE

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

(Click on above video to see me demo this recipe on KSL Studio 5, Thursday, August 19, 2010)

It really is a crime! It's the 3rd of September and I haven't stopped at my favorite fruit stand to pick up any amazingly yummy Utah peaches. More importantly, I haven't had the chance to sink my teeth into the most amazing peach pie ever! I can't remember the last time I allowed this to happen.

Some of you may be saying, "It's not too late! There are still great peaches to be had." But with sadness I must face reality...and there is no way I'm going to have time in the next couple weeks to make pie.

We're leaving tomorrow for Colorado to visit my brother and we won't be back until Tuesday. So why not next week?? I will be doing all the PR for Women's Expo while planning the greatest 1st birthday party ever for my baby girl...She's turning one...I can't believe it myself.

Anyway, I didn't want peach season to pass completely without posting this "must have" recipe. For those of you who can still make it to the peach stands, run and make this pie. You will not regret it!!

Obviously, this is not my picture. No time to bake...not time to take. I borrowed this picture from www.beyondwonderful.com. At least someone had time to make fresh peach pie this season.


FRESH PEACH PIE
(This is an original recipe from my sister Jen Uibel)

¼ cup lemon juice
3 cups fresh sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons Butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond flavoring (My sister prefers almond, I prefer vanilla.)

1. Toss the lemon juice and peaches with 1/2 cup sugar.
2. Allow to macerate (set) for one hour in the refrigerator.
3. Drain fruit and save one cup of the juice. If there isn't 1 cup of juice, add enough water or juice to make 1 cup. (If I need to, I use peach nectar or apple juice.)
4. In a sauce pan melt butter and cornstarch to make a rough.
5. Add the juice, ½ cup sugar, salt, and flavoring.
6. With a wire whisk blend until well mixed.
7. Bring to a boil stirring until thick.
8. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly; about 5-10 minutes.
9. Add the fruit and pour into a 10” prepared pie shell. Chill for 3 hours or overnight.

10. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

For my favorite pie crust recipe, click HERE!