Monday Munchies - Pie

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week?  It seems like this month flew by!  In case you need some pie recipes, check out these three.  There's a classic Pecan pie, a slight twist on Apple Pie with the addition of whipping cream, and a midwest favorite, Platte County Pie (or Derby Pie) which is sort of a chocolate pecan pie.  

Check out the recipe for pie crust here.

Pecan Pie

Yield: 6-8 servings

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 unbaked pie crust (9 inches)

Directions: 

Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted.

Stir together eggs and next 5 ingredients; stir in pecans (I used whole pecans and just put a few in the filling, and arranged the rest on top of the pie). Pour filling into pie shell.

Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until set, shielding pie with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent excessive browning (They're not joking...I didn't set a timer and when I went to put the foil on mine were already too brown). Serve warm or cold.

Apple Cream Pie

Yield: 6-8 servings.

4 cups sliced peeled tart apples
1 unbaked pie shell (9 inches)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1 beaten egg

1 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions: 

Place apples in pie shell. Combine everything but the pecans and mix until well blended, then pour over apples. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 35-40 minutes longer or until center is almost set and apples are tender. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning, if necessary. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold. (Note: The consensus in our house was that the pie actually tasted better the second day, a great one to make the day before and save yourself some last minute prep!)

Platte County Pie

Yield: 6-8 servings 

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 pound butter

1 t. vanilla

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. chocolate chips

1 unbaked pie shell (9 in.)

Directions:

Beat eggs thoroughly.  Add sugar and flour to eggs and beat again.  Melt butter and allow to set 4-5 min.  Add melted and cooled butter to above mixture.  Mix well.  Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour.  Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with whipped cream.

Monday Munchies - Buster Bar Cupcakes

I've mentioned before that for each of my friends' birthdays, I like to fix them a dessert of their choice. Last year I had a little party for my friend Aaron and when I asked if he knew what he wanted for his birthday dessert, he didn't even have to think about it.  He started raving about this buster bar dessert his mom used to make him and how it was one of his favorites and said he wanted that.  Now, I know better than to try to make mama's dessert, cause it's just never going to be the same, so I decided to tweak it and make him buster bar cupcakes instead!  These are so easy and everyone loved them!  The only thing to keep in mind is that you have to wait for different parts of the dessert to cool or freeze before moving on to the next step, so make sure to allow time for them to fully set!  Also, I think these would be awesome to try with some different flavor combinations.  Ever since I made them last year I've thought how good coffee ice cream with chocolate covered espresso beans would be on top.  What flavor combinations would you like to try?

Buster Bar Cupcakes
24 foil cupcake liners
1 batch of your favorite brownie batter (don't worry, no one will judge if it's a Betty Crocker boxed mix)
1/2 gallon mint chip ice cream (or any other flavor you want) 
Spanish Peanuts (I didn't really measure these out, just sprinkle however many you want on top of the cupcakes)
Chocolate ganache (or a jar of chocolate fudge would work as well)

Directions:
Line two muffin tins with the foil cupcake liners.  Mix up the brownie batter and drop 1 - 1.5 T. into each cupcake liner.  Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until the brownies are cooked through.  Let the brownies cool to room temp, then put them in the freezer (still in the muffin tins) for 30 minutes.  When you put the brownies in the freezer, take the ice cream out and put it into your fridge to soften.  And set a timer so you don't forget your ice cream and end up with ice cream soup!

Take the muffin tins out of the freezer and place a scoop of ice cream into each foil liner on top of the brownie.  Squish it down and spread it evenly with a spoon.  Do this step as quickly as possible and return to the freezer for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, take the cupcakes back out and sprinkle some of the peanuts on top, then return to freezer for another 45 minutes.  If you're making ganache instead of using canned hot fudge, now is a great time to get that started.

Once the cupcakes are firm, take them out of the freezer and top with a heaping teaspoonful of ganache or hot fudge, you want enough to mostly cover the peanuts.  You may need to use a spoon to spread it evenly over the top of the cupcake.  When finished, put the cupcakes back into the freezer until ready to serve.

These are best if they are removed from the freezer about 5 minutes before serving.  It lets them soften the perfect amount before they are devoured!

And if you're interested, here's the chocolate ganache recipe I used:

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1/4 cup heavy cream

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan. Pour cream evenly over chocolate. Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth. Ganache will continue to thicken as it stands, so just wait until it's the desired thickness, and stir occasionally while waiting.

Crock Pot Caramel Dip

So Monday came and went and I completely forgot about Monday Munchies, like didn't think about it even one split second during the day forgot.  I didn't think about it during the day on Tuesday either, because I was SO excited that when the clouds lifted from the rain we had the past couple of days there was SNOW on the peaks of the mountains, and even covered some of the bowls.  That means we're one step closer to ski season, yay!

Tuesday night I went with a couple friends to a Flannel Attractions (don't you love the band names out here?!?) show at a new restaurant in town, then fell right into my bed when I got home.  Then Wednesday I thought about it, but I had lunch with a friend, picked up another friend from the airport and had small group that night.  After I got back I considered posting, but then I couldn't find my camera, and posts aren't nearly as good without pictures.  So yesterday I searched, found my camera, uploaded pics and now it's Friday!  This dip is super easy to make, delicious, and a great way to make a healthy food (apple slices) completely unhealthy haha!  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Caramel Dip
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:  Mix all ingredients together in a crock pot.  Cook on low, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours or until thick and bubbly around the edges. (I cooked mine on high for about an hour instead of being patient and cooking it on low.  I also made a double batch and keep it in a jar in the fridge so that I have it on hand when we have people over.  Just nuke it in the microwave for awhile and you have an easy snack or dessert!)

Recipe Source: Farming on Faith