Some days are just regular days. And then some days, a friend sends you a glorious new pie cookbook out of the blue, and the world becomes a better place than it had been 30 minutes earlier.

This book appeared unannounced on my doorstep, courtesy of my good friend Kelly. Spontaneous acts of kindness, guys—we’ve got to do more of them.

The book is First Prize Pies by Allison Kave, and it is some serious eye candy in addition to the usual, you know, belly candy. I’m enjoying the incredible variety of ideas she includes—no two pies are similar.

I’ve had in mind ideas (piedeas, as I like to think of them) for an apple cider pie, with a pudding-like bottom and a cinnamon whipped cream topping. Lo and behold, Allison had a recipe for one, and it looked delicious. I made it according to her instructions (Actually, her boyfriend’s… long story. Read the book.), with the only exception being that I spiced my apple cider as I was reducing it, and I added a drizzle of caramel sauce to the top. It was excellent–just the right amount of sweet and tangy, and a smooth, custardy texture. Definitely one to make again.

Apple Cider Cream Pie (Take 1)

But, my one disappointment was that you really lost the apple cider flavor, which really surprised me. I really wanted a pie that tasted primarily of spiced cider, with whipped cream as a compliment quality, not a dominating one. I started doing some hunting online, and it seems that no one has made the apple cider pie I was envisioning.

So, I went back to the kitchen, and it became a 2-pie week. To make the pie, I modified my chocolate pudding recipe, replacing the milk with reduced apple cider and omitting the cocoa powder. I topped the pie with mildly sweetened whipped cream (deciding to leave out the cinnamon here), and drizzled my favorite caramel sauce over the top. This pie was also quite good, and it was much more like what I had been picturing. The apple cider punches right through, and the caramel sauce brings out the cinnamon and cloves spicing the cider. And just like that, another week goes by without giving away more than a slice or two of pie. Full disclosure: without giving away more than a slice or two of either pie.

Apple Cider Pie, Take 2

Apple Cider Cream Pie (made 10/23/15)
(Very slightly adapted from Allison Kave’s Jay’s Apple Cider Cream Pie)

1 unbaked pie crust – I used my standard recipe, which you can borrow from this recipe, but substituted chilled butter for shortening

Filling:
1 ½ c. apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
¾ c. granulated sugar
½ c. sour cream
¼ tsp. salt

Topping:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional: I omitted it because of the cinnamon in the cider)

Caramel Sauce:
½ c. (1 stick) butter
½ c. sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1/8 tsp. salt
¼ heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and roll pie dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a 9-inch pie pan, and crimp the edges. Blind-bake the piecrust until it is partially baked: Fit a piece of aluminum foil into the unbaked crust so that the edges come up above the level of the pie crust, and fill with pie weights (or dry rice or beans). Bake for 20 minutes; if the crust still appears wet when you remove the weights and foil, return to the oven at 350 degrees for another 5 minutes.

For the filling: Combine the cider, cinnamon, and cloves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, and allow to boil until it has been reduced to half (3/4 cup). Let cool—this is important, so that you don’t cook the eggs when you add it to the other filing ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, sour cream, and salt until well blended. Slowly drizzle in the apple cider, whisking to incorporate. Pour the filling into the crust. Bake at 425 to 20-25 minutes, or until the filling has just set and is still a bit wobbly in the middle. (Mine took quite a bit longer.)

For the caramel sauce, combine butter, sugar, molasses, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Continuing to stir, allow to boil for one more minute. Add whipping cream and return to a boil, stirring constantly and allowing to boil for 2-3 minutes further.

For the topping: In a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or by hand (I’ve started doing this by hand—phew, it makes you tired! but the texture is irreplaceable), whip the cream with the powdered sugar and cinnamon (if using) until soft peaks form.If you are serving the entire pie at once, pile the whipped cream on top of the cooked pie filling, then drizzle caramel sauce decoratively over the top. If you plan to store part of the pie, I recommend spooning whipped cream on and drizzling caramel over individual pieces, as you eat them.

 

Apple Cider Pie, Take 2 (made 10/26/15)

1 unbaked pie crust – again, I used my standard recipe as shown here, but substituted chilled butter for shortening

Filling:
4 c. apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves
1 tsp. lemon juice
¼ c. cornstarch
¼ c. sugar
2 tsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar (more if you like your whipped cream sweeter)

Caramel Sauce:
½ c. (1 stick) butter
½ c. sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1/8 tsp. salt
¼ heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and roll pie dough into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a 9-inch pie pan, and crimp the edges. Blind-bake the piecrust: Fit a piece of aluminum foil into the unbaked crust so that the edges come up above the level of the pie crust, and fill with pie weights (or dry rice or beans). Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and foil from the piecrust. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Combine apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow to boil until reduced to half its original volume (2 cups). Let cool. Still in the medium saucepan, add to the apple cider the lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar. Whisk well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Still stirring, allow the mixture to boil for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into fully baked piecrust, and let cool.

For the caramel sauce, combine butter, sugar, molasses, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Continuing to stir, allow to boil for one more minute. Add whipping cream and return to a boil, stirring constantly and allowing to boil for 2-3 minutes further.

Using a hand mixer, stand mixer, or by hand (oh, my tired arms!), whisk heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. If you are serving the entire pie at once, pile the whipped cream on top of the cooked pie filling, then drizzle caramel sauce decoratively over the top. If you plan to store part of the pie, I recommend spooning whipped cream on and drizzling caramel over individual pieces, as you eat them.

The “Maybe You’ll Like This Pumpkin Pie”

The way this week’s pie came into being is a simple story, and it is this. On the way home from the gym the other day, I called my very best friend to wish her a happy birthday. In the course of our chat, she asked me what pie was on the docket for this week. Realizing that I hadn’t really a clue at that point, I suggested that she choose, in honor of her birthday. Without hesitation, she responded: pumpkin.

That’s not strange at all. Except that she hates pumpkin pie.

“Maybe you’ll be able to make one that I’ll like.”

Okay. I decided on my plan on the rest of my way home: add cream cheese, add streusel. What isn’t improved by cream cheese and streusel? Bada-bing, bada-boom. And it was delicious. [Said best friend would say that my choice of cream cheese was very Midwestern. But she’s Midwestern, too, so it’s okay. Also, I promise not to put streusel and cream cheese into everything this year.]

I will be making this pie again when she comes for Thanksgiving, but if you feel the urge to set aside what you’re doing right this minute and go make it for yourself, I won’t judge.

The “Maybe You’ll Like This Pumpkin Pie” (made 10/8/15)

1 recipe pie dough, as in here (I think I used half butter, half shortening instead of all shortening this time)

Filling:
1 16-oz. can (or 2 cups) pumpkin
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 ½ c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

Streusel Topping:
1 ½ c. flour
½ c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ c. butter, melted
½ tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out pie dough into a circle approximately 11 inches in diameter. Place in a greased 9-inch pie pan. Trim selvedges to 1 inch of overhang, then fold edges under and crimp decoratively. Set aside.

For the filling: Mix all ingredients in a stand or hand mixer until well blended. Pour into unbaked piecrust.

For the streusel topping: Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the molasses, butter, and vanilla. Combine the two mixtures, rubbing the wet ingredients in with your fingers to achieve an overall crumbly texture. Pour gently over the filling. (Some will sink down into the pumpkin mixture, and that’s okay—just try to minimize it as you can.)

Bake pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake another 45 minutes. Pie is done when streusel is toasty brown and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

A few years back, we lived in Princeton, New Jersey, where my husband attended seminary. If you were to stop me on the street and ask me what the best part of living in New Jersey was, I would answer without hesitation: the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch markets. More specifically, their soft pretzels.* Followed closely by their desserts: fried hand pies, whoopie pies, and sticky buns. Followed closely again by the Garden State’s fabulous (and affordable) farmer’s markets.

Let’s all take a moment of thoughtful gratitude for Amish baked goods.

Our favorite fried hand pies at the Amish market always had a good-sized pat of cream cheese in them, which I think is sheer genius. Hold this thought.

I knew, when I was planning the pie for this weekend, that it was going to be primarily consumed by The Husband, because I was going to be out of town at a conference. This meant that the pie had to be cherry—his favorite. The best cherry pies in his book are made from Michigan cherries, where he spent a number of memorable childhood summers sipping cherry-ade at The Cherry Hut. Lucky me, I found a forgotten bag of Michigan pie cherries in the freezer. Taking a nod from our Amish dessert experts above, I decided to up the ante by adding dollops of cream cheese. Behold, the Don’t-Forget-Me-While-I’m Gone Cherry Pie.

The Don’t-Forget-Me-While-I’m-Gone Cherry Pie

I did manage to get one slice of this pie before I had to leave, and it was delicious. The filling is primarily borrowed from The Best Recipe’s Lattice Top Cherry pie, to which I’m partial, but the cream cheese was a nice addition. Unfortunately, it didn’t physically integrate into the pie well, and next time I might consider creaming it with the sugar before stirring them both into the cherries. Also, the pie turned out a little soupy because I forgot to compensate for the high proportion of cherry juice in this particular batch of cherries. That said, the pie evidently served as a reminder of me several times a day over the course of the weekend, being as it was gone by the time I got home.

* Though soft pretzels closely rival pie in my food love rankings (and would likely win on most days—gasp!), this is a pie challenge and a pie blog, so this post will stick to the fried hand pies.

The Don’t-Forget-Me –While-I’m-Gone Cherry Pie
Adapted only slightly from The Best Recipe’s Lattice-Top Cherry Pie

Ingredients:
1 recipe pie dough (you can use the same one I used here)
¼ c. cornstarch
1 ¼ c. sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of salt
6 c. sour pie cherries (frozen or fresh)
¼ tsp. almond extract
3 oz. cream cheese

Roll half the pie dough out to a circle approximately 11 inches in diameter. Fit into a greased 9-inch pie pan. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave. Stir together with the cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and almond extract. Add to the cherries and stir to distribute evenly. Add the filling to the unbaked piecrust. [This is what I would do next time. In reality, I just placed pats of cream cheese on top of the cherry filling before I added the top crust, and the cream cheese didn’t incorporate itself at all. Still tasty, but not the most skillful or beautiful in terms of presentation.]

Roll out the remainder of the pie dough to a circle approximately 10-11” in diameter. Dipping your fingers in cold water, dampen the rim of the bottom crust (to ensure a tight seal), and place the top crust over the pie. Press gently along the rim to seal. Trim the selvedges of the dough to about an inch overhang, then fold under and crimp decoratively. Cut several vent holes in the top of the pie.

Lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees, and bake the pie for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is set and begins to brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or until crust is brown and the juices are bubbly. Cool and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

This pie. This pie almost convinced me to quit the Pie A Week challenge right then and there, because I knew it would all be downhill from then on out. The apples maintain their own distinct flavor, but the caramel creeps in on the edges, and the streusel! All streusel wants to taste like this streusel.

We tried this pie at a variety of temperatures (all in the name of science), and I decided that I like it best at room temperature. A dollop of fresh whipped cream on top doesn’t hurt either.

When I first talked about baking a pie once a week, I made sure to emphasize that I would be giving most of the pie away. Ha!

Caramel Apple Streusel Pie (made 9/19/2015)

Piecrust: (Alternatively, if you have no regard for anything holy, you may use a premade piecrust and skip to the pre-baking step.)
1 c. flour
pinch of kosher salt
1/3 c. shortening
ice water

Caramel Sauce:
½ c. (1 stick) butter
½ c. sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1/8 tsp. salt
¼ heavy whipping cream

Apple Filling:
9 medium apples (I used Jonathans, because I like their quintessential apple-y flavor)
¼ c. lemon juice
½ tsp. cinnamon

Streusel topping: (modified from the streusel in Bon Appetit’s Sour-Cherry Streusel pie here)
1 ½ c. flour
½ c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ c. butter, melted
½ tsp. vanilla

1. Assemble the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the salt and flour together in a small mixing bowl. Add the shortening and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until you have a bowl of pea-sized crumbles. Add ¼ cup of ice-cold water (not the ice cubes) to the mixture. Mix with pastry blender or fingers until the mixture holds together in one ball, adding additional ice water a tablespoon at a time as needed, but being careful not to add too much water. Avoid adding too much water, which will make the pie dough sticky; if this happens, add a little more flour.

Roll to 1/4” thick and fit into an ungreased standard or extra deep (I prefer the latter) pie pan. Trim the edges so that there is a 1-inch overhang all around the pie pan. Fold the selvedge under and crimp with fingers or a fork all around the rim. Prick crust with a fork and bake for 8-10 minutes, using pie weights [which I don’t have, unless someone buys me some for Christmas—I use a smaller pie pan placed on top of a layer of parchment paper set inside the unbaked piecrust]. Set aside. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.

2. Make caramel sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, molasses, and salt. Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring frequently. Continuing to stir, allow to boil for one more minute. Add whipping cream and return to a boil, stirring constantly and allowing to boil for 2-3 minutes further. Pour into the partially baked piecrust.

3. Prepare filling: Keeping the apple skins on, slice apples ¼” thick. (I used my mandolin for this, and it worked well.) Toss apple slices with lemon juice and cinnamon. Layer in piecrust on top of caramel sauce.

4. Prepare streusel topping: The way you’re supposed to assemble this is by first mixing all the dry ingredients, then rubbing the wet ingredients in with your fingers to achieve an overall crumbly texture. The truth is that I threw everything together in a bowl, mixed it thoroughly with my pastry blender, and then more or less played with it with my fingers until it was crumbly. Local sources (a.k.a. the husband and me) say it tastes just as good this way. Carefully pour [–pile, balance–] on top of the apple layer. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the caramel begins to bubble slightly and the streusel is browned. Allow to fully cool before cutting to allow the caramel sauce to set up.

a pie to write home about