Berry Custard Birthday Pie

It's Birthday Cake time - which, this year, means a pie.

I was perusing recipes in my Mom's Cook Books and the pies kept jumping out at me. I finally decided that a pie was it - and a creamy pie was really it! Creamy turned into custard, and an assortment of frozen berries made it a berry custard pie. Simple, eh?!?

Pies have a long tradition in my family for birthday cake substitutions. My birthday pie was Pineapple Cream Meringue. I think I may have to make myself one on the next birthday.

But I digress...

This is a quick and easy recipe that requires no blind baking or pre-cooking of the filling - but is just loaded with flavor. You can switch out the frozen berries for any fruit you want. Anything will work!

Berry Custard Birthday Pie

  • 2 cups mixed berries - or fruit of choice (I used a bag of frozen mixed berries, thawed)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • pinch salt
  • pie crust for single pie

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll out dough and place in pie plate. Crimp edges and refrigerate until filling is done.

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add eggs, vanilla, and cream, and mix well.

Evenly spread fruit over bottom of crust. Pour custard over fruit.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until pie is set.

Cool and then refrigerate before serving.

 

 

 

 


Irish Whiskey Oatmeal Cookies

It's a week before St Patrick's Day - the Irish-American holiday that has finally become a celebration in Ireland. Time to break out the Guinness and Red Breast.

I'm Irish - or, at least, 65% Irish and British from my 23 and Me analysis. The rest is a fun mixture of French, German, Iberian, Scandinavian, and even a bit of Ashkenazi Jewish and sub-Saharan African. I'm a pale-cancer-prone-skinned 99% European. With 295 Neanderthal variants. Most folks who know me will be surprised that it's not higher...

I'm also a lover of cookies. Genetically, that's probably from my father. My mother was more of an ooey-gooey dessert person. However, I also share that trait.

I had to do a quick run to the grocery store to pick up Nonna's Apple Strudel Bites and a strange obsession came over me and I grabbed a 6-pack of Guinness in anticipation of things I probably wanted to make later in the week. I've made a Barmbrack for years that calls for the dried fruits to be soaked in strong tea. I've almost always used Irish whiskey for soaking, but I'm not using 2 cups of $60/bottle Irish whiskey to soak fruit for a damned loaf of bread. I figured this year I'd try Guinness. I'll make that later in the week for Saturday.

In the meantime, we needed dessert tonight, and then I thought of a Guinness Stew for dinner... and you can't have stew without a loaf of bread... The rest, as they say, is history.

Irish Whiskey Oatmeal Cookies

This is a riff on a cookie from Dessert for Two.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp Irish whiskey
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup rolled oats

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks and Irish whiskey and mix well.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.

Stir in the oats.

Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake about 12 minutes. I used a 1/4 cup scoop and got 14 large cookies.

This will be dessert after the Guinness Stew and the Guinness Rye Bread.

65% Irish Eyes are definitely Smiling!


Thumbprints

Just before our inclement weather, I was a bit under the weather. I spent most of 36 hours sleeping - except when I was bolting across the hall. It's amazing how fast one can move from  a dead sleep when one has to.

As the snow fell, the wicked curse lifted and the following day, under reasonably sunny skies, I returned to life.

My total caloric intake for two days was 2 cups of chicken soup that Victor had made. Totally what I needed - and it was good, to boot. We slowly brought actual food back into the diet, and by yesterday, I was fit and ready to go.

That meant we needed cookies.

I've been working on getting recipes off my computer and onto the site, so I decided I should make one of them - and Thumbprints won the day!

Quick and easy with lots of flavor - without being overpowering. I used a Bonne Maman Four Fruits for the filling.

Not bad.

 

 

 


Fig and Polenta Cake

Tonight's dessert is brought to you by a little 118 ml bottle of Grappa we brought back from Italy in 2012.

For five years I have looked at that bottle and said i was going to make something with it. Today, I finally did.

Grappa, for the uninitiated, is a liquor made by distilling the leftover skins, stems, pulp, and seeds from wine making. It can be pretty harsh.

Polenta is to northern Italy what pizza is to southern Italy - and this cake hails from Veneto.

I could see myself eating a slice of this on the Grand Canal and swooning over every morsel.

Sitting on the couch watching Jeopardy?!? Not as much.

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't really good... As I said, overlooking the Grand Canal in Veneto, it would be stellar... It just needs the salt air of the Adriatic Sea...

Polenta Fig Cake

adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

  • 4 large egg yolks2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 cup grappa
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal; do not use instant)
  • 1/2 cup diced dried Calimyrna figs (about 6)
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 8-inch-diameter cake pan. Beat egg yolks and sugar in large bowl. Bring milk, grappa, and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into egg yolk mixture. Return to saucepan. Whisk in polenta. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 8 minutes.

Fold figs, raisins, pine nuts, and fennel seeds into polenta mixture. Pour into prepared cake pan.

Bake cake until golden brown, set in center, and beginning to pull away from sides of pan, about 40 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes. Cut around pan sides and invert cake onto platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I may play with it...

 

 

 


Pineapple Upside Down Cake

It's Saturday Night. We need a new dessert!

Dessert is a nightly adventure at our house. 7pm. like clockwork, Jeopardy comes on and I get dessert. Even Blanche gets into the act. She hears the Jeopardy theme and into the living room she comes for her own cookies. She has us trained well.

Since the Olympics are on, we're having dessert in front of the tube, cheering on all the gay boys and girls who are making our vice president all squirmy with impure thoughts. But enough of that idiot... on to the dessert...

I wasn't sure what I was going to make, today, but I knew it was going to be pineapple-related in some way, shape, or form. I was up in the cupboard the other day and found 2 small cans of pineapple that needed to be used - one chunks and one rings.

I searched all my mom's recipes, looked through the blog, pulled out a couple of cookbooks, and then finally settled on my old standby. It's quick, easy, and never fails!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

topping:

  • 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 lg can pineapple

cake:

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 tbsp. rum
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup pineapple juice

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a round 9” cake pan.

Make topping: Melt butter and pour into pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Place drained pineapple rings on top of sugar.

Make batter: Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Cream butter with sugars. Beat in egg, vanilla, rum, and sour cream. Add flour and juice in 2 additions.

Spoon the batter over the pineapple, spreading it evenly.

Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

As I said... quick, easy, and never fails...


Chocolate Ganache Peanut Butter Cookies

We're off to watch the Super Bowl at Victor's brother's house later, today. I think if it were just any two teams playing, we'd sit at home with the game on in the background while we did our normal lazy Sunday routine. But it's not just any two teams - it's Boston and Philadelphia.

Philadelphia and Boston have been rivals since Day One. Pre-Revolutionary War Day One. Ben Franklin was born in Boston and moved to Philadelphia. I think that pretty much says it all. Of course, that's not all... Boston has Irish South Boston and Philadelphia has Italian South Philly. The Italians are better cooks. Boston has Lobster Rolls that cost an average of $17.99 and are served on hot dog buns. Philadelphia has cheese steaks served on foot-long Amoroso rolls for less than half of that.

Gastronomically speaking, I think Philly wins.

And it's going to win, today, as well. Marie is a great cook, so we never have to worry about having mediocre fare - it's always top notch. And top notch fare requires a fun dessert to bring.

I've had a recipe for a stuffed peanut butter cookie for a long time and finally decided today was the day to make them! The concept is fairly simple - a ganache of sorts is made with chocolate and peanut butter, formed into balls, and then stuffed into cookie dough, rolled in sugar, and baked. How could it be bad?!?

Well... they're not. In fact, they're really, really good. Really, REALLY good. A lot good. I highly recommend heading into the kitchen right now and baking them. They will be ready in time for the Super Bowl.

I'm a chunky peanut butter fan, so I only have chunky at home. If you like creamy, use it.

Chocolate Ganache Peanut Butter Cookies

for the filling:

  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup semi-sweet/bittersweet chocolate

cookie dough:

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt

for assembly:

  • demerara sugar - or granulated - for rolling before baking

make the ganache:

Microwave the chocolate and peanut butter in 30 second spurts until melted. Refrigerate until thick enough to form 18 balls. Keep balls refrigerated until ready to use.

make the cookie dough:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and peanut butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until dough forms.

to assemble:

Portion dough into 18 balls. With thumb, make hole in dough ball and insert a ganache ball. Completely seal balls and roll in sugar. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

Cool completely before eating!

I have a new favorite peanut butter cookie!

 

 


Butterscotch Chip Cookies

The upside of having a well-stocked larder is the ability to make just about anything you want - when you want. The downside is having all this stuff in the house that is taking up space.

In the weeks prior to Christmas Cookie Baking, I started buying ingredients. I didn't have a plan, I didn't have my recipes together, but if I saw something that looked like it could possibly be used, I picked it up.

That's how we ended up with a bag of butterscotch chips in the pantry.

I don't know if I've ever actually used butterscotch chip before, but that didn't stop me from picking up a bag. I mean - you just never know, right?!? They were there, price was right. Into the cart they went.

The Christmas Cookies were planned, baked, wrapped, and delivered - and that bag of butterscotch chips just sat there. Mocking me.

Until today.

I was planning on making cookies, today, and was going through my vast cookie recipe collection, when it dawned on me that butterscotch chips could be substituted for chocolate chips, and if I made a cake-like cookie, Nonna would eat them!

A recipe was born! I used half shortening and half butter because shortening gives tenderness and butter gives flavor. You can use all of one or the other... I also used baking powder and baking soda - baking powder helps give it the cake-like rise.

Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb of shortening
  • 1/4 lb butter
  • 1/2 lb brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt
  • 11 oz bag butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cream shortening and butter; gradually add sugar. When light, add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and salt.

Gradually add flour. When fully mixed, stir in butterscotch chips. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

Scoop 1 1/2 tbsp balls of dough on cookie sheets.

Bake until lightly browned - about 12 minutes.

They're good. Really good. And really easy to make.

 


Orange Bars

So... what to do if you have a bag of your favorite Cara Cara oranges hanging about? Well... if you're a basic, normal person, you peel and eat. If you're me - you make Orange Bars.

These are quick and easy and really good. Granted, they're not quite as over-the-top as David Lebovitz's Lemon Bars, but they're not half bad! I actually forgot about David's recipe, otherwise I would have made them with the oranges instead of lemon.

Oh, well... so many recipes, so little memory.

Orange Bars

crust

  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • pinch salt

filling

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp finely grated orange peel
  • 2/3 cup orange juice
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8"x8" pan with foil. Grease foil and set aside.

In a food processor - easiest - combine ingredients until it becomes a coarse crumb. Press into bottom of pan and bake about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

In a medium bowl, whisk all filling ingredients together until smooth. Pour over hot crust and bake about 25 minutes, or until filling is set.

Cool completely. Remove from pan and cut into squares, dusting with powdered sugar, if desired.

Really quick and easy - and really good!

 

 


Maple Walnut Cheesecake

You know me... any excuse for a party. And any excuse for making a wicked dessert.

This particular excuse was my friend and coworker, Fran's, birthday. With so many employees, our basic rule-of-thumb at work is we'll celebrate your day if you're actually working it, or, if it's a significant number.

Fran made the significant number rule.

Her stunning outfit was created by our Funderella Czarina, Diane - one of the best trash-to-treasure mavens on the planet.

Diane came up to me the other day while I was cashiering and the following conversation ensued...

Diane: Have I ever told you what a fantastic baker you are?

Me: Why, no.

Diane: I haven't? Gee, you're one of the best bakers I know.

Customer to me: Careful. She wants something.

After hilarity and denials, the something was something for Fran's birthday. Cupcakes, cookies, something...

As luck would have it, I was thinking of making a maple cheesecake for Thanksgiving! This would be the perfect opportunity to test it out. Of course I said yes!

And I'm glad I did - this sucker is G-O-O-D!

It's pretty much a riff on my basic cheesecake but the idea and the maple walnut caramel topping comes from Kraft.

Maple Walnut Cheesecake

crust:

  • 1 sleeve graham crackers
  • 3/4 cup walnuts
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted

filling:

  • 4 pkg cream cheese
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cup mascarpone
  • 4 eggs
  • pinch of salt

topping:

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°. Butter or spray a 10" springform pan.

Make crust:

Pulse together graham crackers, walnuts, and brown sugar until fine crumbs are formed. Add melted butter and pulse to combine. Press firmly onto bottom of buttered pan - a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup works well.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Make filling:

Mix cream cheese, mascarpone, spices, and pinch of salt together until creamy. Add maple syrup and mix well

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Pour into crust and smooth top.

Bake until center is barely set - about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and cool before refrigerating overnight.

Make topping:

Mix together 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup maple syrup. Heat to boiling - stirring constantly. Reduce heat and reduce to about 2/3 cup, stirring occasionally. Stir in nuts and refrigerate.

Final assembly:

Spread cold caramel topping over cold cake almost to edge.

Slice and enjoy!

As I said, this came out great. The only problem I had was making it at night for early morning, so it went into the 'fridge too soon and it cracked. The topping hid it, but do make sure to cool completely before refrigerating.

You could also top it with a maple sour cream and serve the caramel on the side.

No matter how you do it, though, it's going to come out most excellently!


Almond Torta

A good dinner deserves a good dessert - and Victor made a good dessert!

Quite a few years ago we saw Lidia bake this cake on one of her shows. We thought it looked great, we were intrigued - and then promptly forgot about it. We saw it, again. Started paying attention - as in we really should make this.

Time went by. And, finally, Victor decided to make it today.

Mike and Barbara were up from South Carolina - coming back down from their trip much further north - and good friends always need a good dessert, right?!? Well... we think so! Dinner was a five hour affair, because we talktalktalk about everything under the sun.

We're good at talking. And good at eating.

Dinner was the basic pasta, sausages, breads and rolls... lots of Onion Fig Jam with shavings of pecorino... Typical fare from the garden.

And then, dessert.

To say that the cake was spectacular is an understatement. It's light, it's dense, moist, yet dry. The mixture of flour and almond meal is perfection. The only sure thing is that after every bite you want another one.

I topped it with a dollop of vanilla and almond whipped cream just because.

It worked.

Almond Torta

Adapted from “Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy’’

  • 2 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons Amaretto
  • 2 cups almond flour or almond meal
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds
  • Confectioners’ sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.
2. In a bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt to blend them.

3. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat each on medium speed before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.

4. Beat in the lemon rind and amaretto. Turn the speed to high and beat the batter for 1 minute or until very light.

5. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half the flour mixture just until it is incorporated. Beat in half the almond flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the remaining flour mixture and almond flour. Beat briefly on medium until the batter is smooth. On low speed again, beat in the chips until they are evenly distributed.

6. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Scatter the sliced almonds on top.

7. Bake the torta in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run the blade of a paring knife around the edge of the cake, then release the spring and remove the ring. Cool the cake completely. Cut it into wedges and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I'm kinda glad we waited to make this because we got to share it with some good friends. We also had some Pistachio Cookies I had made yesterday for a neighbor's party we missed. These pull together in the food processor and then freeze before baking. It's a really simple recipe with only 5 ingredients!

Pistachio Cookies

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pistachios

In a food processor, process butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until smooth. Add flour and pulse until a dough forms. Stir in pistachios. Shape dough into two 8-inch-long logs, tightly wrap in plastic, and freeze until firm, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set and barely golden at edges, 10 to 15 minutes.

Cool and dust with powdered sugar.

They had cookies, BBQ Sauce and Salsa to take back home with them.

A great visit.

And now I need a nap.


Fig Tart

I just realized the danger of winging a recipe. Victor declared this tart to be one of the five best things I have ever made - and while I have a pretty good idea of what I did, I didn't measure or write anything down.

Curses, says I.

It was a bit of a clean-out-the-refrigerator idea. I had a pie crust made from Sunday, figs that needed using, some ricotta cheese that needed using, and a can of almond paste in the cabinet from Dubya's first term. Time to make a dessert, eh?!?

Making a tart was my first idea because I had that single pie crust, so I started rooting around for what to do. I didn't feel like making a pastry cream, I didn't want to blind-bake a tart shell. I wanted something really good and I was feeling really lazy. I grabbed the step stool and found the can of almond paste on the top shelf of the baking cabinet - back in the corner behind some Wilton Meringue Powder I think we brought from San Leandro.

The can was in good shape, no rust, no bulges, and when I opened it, it actually smelled like almond paste. Score one for the lazy guy.

I thought mixing it with cream cheese would be good for the base but we didn't have any - but we did have some ricotta left from when Victor made the eggplant rolatini. I thought some corn syrup might help pull it together, but I espied a jar of Lyle's Golden Syrup with a few drops remaining, and went for it, instead. I almost added an egg yolk, and then decided against it. Some vanilla went in. Then it almost got pistachios on top - because figs and pistachios go really well together - but pistachios and almonds?!? I forewent the nuts.

The end result was nothing short of miraculous.

Victor's first remark was that it reminded him of the holidays. We've done a lot of cookies and desserts with almond paste over the years so that makes sense. And it was light in texture and heavy on flavor. Not a bad combination.

So here are the measurements I think I used - and the ones I will use the next time I make this.

Fig Tart

  • pastry for single crust pie
  • 3/4 pound fresh figs
  • 1 8oz can almond paste
  • 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
  • 3 tbsp Lyle's Golden Syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Roll out pastry to about a 13"-14" circle. Place on sheet pan - on parchment paper, if you have it.

Break up almond paste and slowly mix in the ricotta - making sure the almond paste is breaking up and mixing in. Add the vanilla and Golden syrup.

Spread the almond cream evenly over the crust leaving a 3" border all around.

Thickly slice the figs and place then atop the almond cream.

Fold the pastry up over the filling, crimping as you go along.

Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 45 minutes.

Cool and serve!

Give it a try. It may be one of the best five things you've ever made!


Jacques Pepin's Individual Chocolate Nut Pies

The newest cook book to come into the house is Essential Pepin. To say that I am enamoured of Jacques Pepin would be an understatement. I love his cooking, his take on food - and his take on life. The book is something like 6 years old, now, but it's new to me - and something that's never going to go out of style.

I especially like how he has evolved and how all of his various cooking positions have had an impact on what he does, today. We catch his show on PBS and after seeing a few of the things he was making, I knew I needed to get the book.

Recipes run from basic and simple to more complex -but with a bit of practice, there's nothing that can't be made by anyone who really wants to make it. As in all things, you get out of it what you put in.

Today, I decided to put in chocolate.

Victor is making dinner, tonight, so I needed something to do to dirty up the kitchen while he was trying to get dinner together - using up counter space, equipment, the oven, sink... We work well in the kitchen together...

Since it's raining outside, Blanche was in there, as well - laying right in the middle of the floor - moving only to get in the way somewhere else. Meanwhile, Nonna was in looking for a fresh water bottle and  half-dozen coconut cookies.

The kitchen is the heart of the home, right?!? There are times when I think ours is having a coronary.

But here we go. I'm copying the recipe here because I found it on numerous sites on the web. I made the recipe as written, but I used walnuts in place of pecans and pistachios in place of the pine nuts. It's what I had in the house and cooking is more about using what you have than buying more things.

Individual Chocolate Nut Pies

Jacques Pepin

Serves 4

CRUST

  • 5 graham crackers (3 1/2 ounces)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons sugar

FILLING

  • 1/2 cup mixed nuts (pecans, almonds) - I used walnuts and almonds
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts - I used pistachios
  • 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FOR THE CRUST:

Process the graham crackers, butter, canola oil, and sugar in a food processor for 1 minute, until the mixture is finely chopped, mealy, and starting to come together.

Divide the mixture among four 1-cup ramekins or aluminum muffin cups and press it evenly over the bottom and up the sides of each ramekin.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

FOR THE FILLING:

Process the pecans and almonds in the food processor for a few seconds to coarsely chop them. Mix with the pine nuts and divide among the lined ramekins.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl in a microwave oven or in a double boiler. Add the cornstarch and mix well, then add the corn syrup and mix well. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

Divide the mixture among the ramekins.

Arrange the ramekins on a cookie sheet, and bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, until the filling is set but still somewhat soft in the middle. Let cool to lukewarm or room temperature on a rack.

At serving time, invert each of the pies onto a dessert plate. Carefully turn the pies right side up and serve.

Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. 

 

Okay... these are ridiculously good. As in ridiculously good. The combination of the rich, fudgy chocolate and the crunchy nuts, held together with the graham crackers is unbelievably good. And it was ridiculously easy to put together!

This could be made with ingredients already found in many kitchens. While I get the mixed nuts - and I want to use pine nuts next time because I really like their taste and texture - 3/4 cup of any nuts at all would work.

So... make this one soon. You'll be glad you did!