Oatmeal Pie with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

This is one of my new favorites! I’ve made 3 of these in the past week and everyone I’ve shared it with has really liked it (“Definitely Blog-worthy!” seems to be the consensus).Very easy to make, this pie is reminiscent of pecan pie, but with walnuts, coconut, and oatmeal and with a subtle maple flavor (I used real maple syrup in the recipe, but I think that the cheaper stuff would be just fine). Serve it warm or cold topped with Cinnamon Whipped Cream (recipe follows).

The recipe was passed to my wife from a friend at work (it was originally published in Midwest Living). For all of my Iowa City friends who are looking for a clone of the Oatmeal Pie served at Mondo’s (the best dessert in Iowa City) this is not it. I need to go to Mondo’s again in the near future to refresh my taste memory, but I’m pretty sure that their Oatmeal Pie doesn’t have coconut and I don’t remember it being quite as gooey. Although this pie is a bit different, I’ll be bold enough to say that it is equally as good. Give it a try and see if you agree!

Preheat oven to 375°F.

• One 9-inch pie crust pressed into pie pan

Beat together the following ingredients:

• 2 egg
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter (but not so hot that it cooks the eggs)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Stir in the following dry ingredients:

• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pour into pie crust and bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean (a total baking time of 45 minutes seemed to be just right in my oven). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve with Cinnamon Whipped Cream (see below). The pie stores well in the refrigerator and can be reheated in microwave or served cold.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:

Beat the following together in a bowl until whipped to desired consistency:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 T. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground nutmeg

Serve with pie and store leftovers in refrigerator.

Pecan Crumb-Top Blueberry Pie

Fresh blueberries were on sale at the local grocery store last week and so we bought several cartons. On the 4th of July I decided to use them for a pie. I merged two recipes from the fantastic cookbook Pie by Ken Haedrich (contains 300 different pie recipes). The result? One of the best pies I’ve ever had. I would put this up against any blueberry pie I’ve ever had. A few days ago we went and hand-picked blueberries with some friends. So now I have more blueberries and I definitely think it’s time to make this pie again…

A note about pie crust: If you are able to make a delicious pie crust you have my admiration. I’ve found that the pre-made, refrigerated pie crusts (from Pillsbury, for example) that you simply unroll and place in your pie pan are as good as any crust I’ve ever made myself AND SO MUCH EASIER. With a pre-made crust, this pie can be assembled in less than 15 minutes.

• One pie crust

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Filling

• 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (but thawed) or canned (but drained)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. flour
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 T. lemon juice

Place blueberries in large bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix well, trying not to smash the blueberries. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes while you press pie crust into pie pan.

Pour filling into pie pan and place in 400°F oven for 30 minutes.

Pecan Crumb Topping

• 6 T. butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 T. milk

While pie is baking, prepare topping by placing butter, flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine well with pastry cutter (a food processor can also do the job). Add pecans and milk. Continue to mix with pastry cutter (or fork) until damp and crumbly. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

After 30 minutes in oven, remove pie and reduce oven heat to 375°F. Spread crumb topping onto the pie and lightly pat them down. Return pie to oven and bake for 30-40 more minutes at 375°F until juices bubble thickly. (It is helpful to place foil under the pie to catch dripping juices. Also, if crust starts getting too dark, you can place foil loosely over top of pie for last 10-15 minutes of baking.)

Transfer hot pie to cooling rack and allow to sit for a couple of hours before serving. Enjoy with ice cream or by itself, cold or warm.

Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie is probably my favorite kind of pie. For a long time I have been wanting to learn to make a good, traditional pecan pie. Well, I discovered that they are much simpler to make than I ever expected. This recipe is from Joy of Cooking.

You may use either light or dark brown sugar and either light or dark corn syrup, depending on your taste. I used light brown sugar and half light and half dark corn syrup. The recipe also calls for 2 cups of pecans, but 1 1/2 cups was plenty. Pecan halves look more traditional, but I used the more finely chopped pecan pieces. I think they make the pie easier to cut into slices and, as you can see from the above picture, still make a very nice-looking pie.

Erin and I usually use the refrigerated pie crusts that you unroll and put in the pie pan. We pre-baked the crust for 10 minutes at 375 degrees with tin foil over it, but the pre-bake may not be necessary.

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 5 T. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups pecans

Thoroughly whisk all ingredients except pecans together in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in the pecans and then pour into the pie crust. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the edges are firm and the center seems set but quivery, like gelatin. Rotate 180 degrees halfway through baking. If the crust starts becoming too brown before the pie is ready, wrap tin foil around crust to prevent it from burning.

Remove from oven, allow to cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!

Butterscotch Pecan Pie

This is another very good pecan pie recipe. I found it in the book "Pie" by Ken Haedrich. If you like butterscotch flavor and feel like adding a little excitement to your traditional pecan pie, I highly recommend this one. This recipe also calls for 2 cups of pecans, but 1 1/2 cups is just fine.

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (light brown works fine too)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
• Generous pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups coarsely choppped pecans

Prepare the pie crust, partially pre-baking for 10 minutes as in the recipe above. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently warm the corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter together in a medium-size saucepan until the butter melts. Turn off the heat and add the butterscotch chips. Scatter them around rather than dumping them in one spot. Set the pan aside for 5 minutes, shaking it once or twice to move hot liquid over the chips. After 5 minutes, add the salt and whisk to smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together just until frothy. Whisk in the vanilla. Whisk a little less than half of the hot liquid and whisk until smooth. Add the pecans and stir well. Turn the filling into the cooled pie shell. Using a fork, gently rake the filling to distribute the pecans evenly.

Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until the perimeter of the filling has puffed up and perhaps cracked slightly, 40-45 minutes. Rotate the pie 180 degrees halfway through the baking. When done, the center may wobble a little, but it shouldn't seem soupy.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool.

Buttermilk Pie

Here's another buttermilk recipe! I couldn't end my streak of buttermilk recipes without including a pie recipe (in honor of my pie-loving wife). This is another recipe from Nan. It turns out as sort of a custard-like pie. The flavor is subtle and it lends itself well to any topping that you may be in the mood for. It is good with just some whip cream or vanilla ice cream, or you could go with some chocolate, or fruit (I made a rasberry sauce to go over it and thought it was excellent). I found that the recipe here is enough to fill 2 of the pre-made frozen pie crusts that you can buy at the store.

• 7 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter (or margarine)
• 2 (9 in.) unbaked pie shells

Beat eggs and buttermilk together. Mix flour, sugar, and salt together; add to egg and buttermilk mixture. Blend in vanilla and butter. Mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees for at least 1 hour (I have found about 80 minutes to be right for me) until center is set.

French Silk Pie

A few years ago I spent the summer living and working in Washington, D.C. as part of the BYU Washington Seminar internship program. My roommate there, Sam, was an aspiring chef and there were a few times during that summer when we were fortunate enough to have him cook for us. He whipped up this chocolate pie (I've always loved French Silk Pies) and I asked him to write down the recipe for me--even though I don't think he used a recipe to begin with. It's easy, tasty, but probably not very healthy!

• 1 oreo cookie (or graham cracker) pie crust
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (melted)
• 3/4 cup pasteurized egg product
• whipped cream and chocolate shavings for topping/garnishing

Whip butter until very fluffy and soft; add sugar and mix well. Add chocolate (microwaving chocolate gradually at 50% power is a great way to melt it) and mix until fully combined with butter. Add vanilla. Add egg product 1/4 cup at a time, very slowly, then beat for 30 sec. to 1 min. before adding more. This must be mixed very well and very gradually!!!

Fill pie crust and chill for at least 3 hours. Top with whipped cream and chocolate. Refrigerate leftovers (if there are any).

Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Pie

My wife loves pie. Since Erin and I got married, I've been trying out more pie recipes. My favorite kind of pie is pecan pie. I made this pie a couple of months ago and it was an instant hit with both of us. It's delicious, unique, and very easy to make—one of my very favorite!

To me, this pie is magical. You put in the cream cheese mix on the bottom, then the pecans in the middle, and the caramel mix on top. When it comes out of the oven, the caramel mix is on the bottom, the cream cheese mix in the middle, and the pecans on the top!

Also, note that the pie needs to be refrigerated at least 4 hours before serving so it is best to make it in the morning or the night before you plan to serve it.
This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine.

• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 unbaked pastry shell (9-inch, the deep/large size)
• 1 ¼ cups chopped pecans
• 1 cup caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 375°.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla until smooth. Spread into pastry shell; sprinkle with pecans.
In a small bowl, whisk remaining eggs; gradually whisk in caramel topping until blended. Pour over pecans.
Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned (loosely cover with foil after 20 minutes if pie browns too quickly). Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before slicing. Refrigerate leftovers.