Are You a Fan of Delicious Flavor?

A hockey teammate of Tim’s asked if I had ever made pineapple pie. I had never even heard of such a thing, which is amazing since we are such huge pineapple fans! I immediately tracked down a recipe and made one that night. It was awesome. The pineapple becomes sweet and caramelized, but not cloyingly sweet. It would be perfect for a summer barbecue.

Pineapple Pie

Pie Crust:

2 ½ C. All-Purpose Flour

2 Tbsp. Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

1 C. Cold, Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces

6 Tbsp. Very Cold Water

Pineapple Filling:

1 – 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple with juice (or 20 oz. fresh, roughly pureed)

½ C. White Granulated Sugar

3 Tbsp. Corn Starch

Pinch of salt

Milk

Sugar

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix briefly to blend.  Add in the butter pieces and mix on medium-low speed to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse sand and the largest butter pieces are not much bigger than peas.  Mix in the cold water on low speed just until the dough comes together. Shape the dough into two balls, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.   

While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Add the crushed pineapple. Place over medium heat. Bring mixture to a slow boil and cook, stirring often, until mixture has thickened and is no longer cloudy, but clear (about 3 to 5 minutes). Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 375F. When the dough has chilled, remove one disk from the fridge and on a floured surface, quickly roll it out into a circle, 12 inches in diameter. Fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate and let edges hang over. Pour filling into pie shell.

Remove second dough disk from fridge and on a floured surface, roll it out into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter. Place over the filling as desired (I did a lattice). Trim off extra and crimp edges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 – 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Filling slightly adapted from Fork vs. Spoon

April (Snow) Showers Bring May Flowers

My aunt KK requested some "May Flowers" cookies to take to work for her birthday. With all of the weird weather this year, I was more than happy to see some flowers! I went to Pinterest and found some really cute designs that I could build off of. I ended up with six different designs.

Inspired by Sweet Sugarbelle, I got very creative with my cookie cutters to get the shapes that I wanted. The bouquet was made using a diamond ring cutter. A wedding cake cutter made the potted assortment. The potted daisy was made on a snowman.

Ovar'coming Together Bingo Benefit

 Like so many other people, my life has been affected by cancer. So, when a friend asked me if I would like to donate to an event that benefits ovarian cancer awareness, I happily agreed. I suggested sugar cookies decorated like the awareness ribbon. The committee loved the idea, and wanted one for every place setting!

 I chose three different designs: detail in sanding sugar, Sugarbelle's 20-second icing method to add some depth, and a piped detail.

I need to find a better home for my ice cream maker- it's taking up valuable cookie space!

My bar is not large enough for 400 cookies!

My wonderful sister-in-law helped me to package all of the cookies, and only one broke!

We are ND

"The Shirt" was released today. In anticipation of another great season, I'm sharing the National Championship cookies that I made a few months ago...

 

Ivy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

We made these cookies in my Intro to Baking class, and they quickly became my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The bread flour gives them nice height and a wonderful texture.

I was asked to make cookie favors for my brother’s wedding. They originally wanted white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but the inflated price of macadamia nuts made this choice infeasible. I tried several different nut combinations, and we chose pistachios. They were a big hit at the reception!

Ivy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

6 ¼ C. (30 oz) Bread Flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 ¼  tsp. Salt

2 ¼ C. (20 oz) Butter, Soft

2 C. (15 oz) Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed

2 ¾ C. (13 ¼  oz) Sugar

2 ¼  tsp. Vanilla

5 (8 ¼  oz) Eggs

5 C. (27 ½ oz) White Chocolate Chips*

2 ½ C. (10 oz) Pistachios, Chopped*

 Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-15 minutes. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

*Any chocolate or nut can be used. Have fun with new combinations!