Pecan Pie with Oreo Cookie Crust

This is a fun twist on a Thanksgiving classic. BUT! Because you're elevating the recipe with an all new crust, who says you can't serve it at your next special occasion or upcoming event? 

This is a great recipe to make a day ahead of time and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. (Perfect for any and all get-togethers!)

 

Pecan Pie with Oreo Cookie Crust

1 3/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (approximately 20-22 regular Oreos, crushed)

9 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided

3 large eggs

3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons dark corn syrup

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups pecan halves

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place Oreos in a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. 
3. Melt 5 tablespoons butter and combine with cookie crumbs. 
4. Press mixture into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate and bake for 8 minutes. 
5. Remove from oven and let cool. 
6. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.
7. Whisk together remaining 4 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in pecan halves.
8. Pour pecan filling into pie crust. 
9. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
10. Lightly tent with foil and bake for another 15 minutes. The pie is done when the edges are set and the center is just barely jiggly.
11. Remove pie from oven to a baking rack to cool completely. Refrigerate cooled pie.

Notes

• Make sure to use regular Oreos and not double-stuffed ones. Don't remove the cookie filling before crushing them in the food processor.
• Use the flat bottom of measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray to evenly press the cookie crumbs into the pie plate.
• Cool the pie for at least two hours before slicing.
• If you have your own favorite pie crust recipe, feel free to make it and just use this recipe's filling for a traditional Pecan Pie.
• You can also use steps 1-5 of this recipe to create an Oreo Cookie Pie Crust to pair with your favorite baked pie filling, like Tarheel Pie or Coconut Custard Pie. After baking the crust, fill with filling and bake as directed in the recipe.
• To use this crust with another no-bake pie filling, chill the crust about 30 minutes before filling, then fill/chill as directed in the recipe.

No Roll Press in the Pan Pie Crust

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I LOVE pie, but I will do absolutely anything to avoid making a traditional pie crust.

Why don't you use store bought pie crusts you ask? Well, you'd think that would be the easy solution. And it is probably a go-to for many people. However, if you have food allergies (like I do) or are a vegetarian (like I am), these won't work because so many store-bought pie crusts either contain food allergens or lard.

So, let me share this easy pie crust recipe that you can use for your next pie. You can cater it to whatever food allergies you might have in your family, if needed. (For example, you can use gluten-free flour, soy-free oil, or dairy-free milk.) And the absolute best part? You make this right in the pie pan, so you don't even have to get out your rolling pin!

No Roll Press in the Pan Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 Tablespoons milk

1. Add dry ingredients to 9-inch pie plate and mix to incorporate.
2. Add oil and milk and use a fork to mix together until wet ingredients are incorporated.
3. Press evenly into bottom and sides of plate and flute edges as desired.

Baking Instructions:

1. If pre-baking crust for an unbaked filling, like a cream pie or lemon meringue pie: 
• Prick the bottom of the crust and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. 
• Cool crust before adding filling.
2. If baking the crust along with the pie filling, like with coconut custard pie or Tarheel pie: 
• Preheat the oven to the temperature listed in your pie recipe and pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes in the oven before adding pie filling. 
• Remove the crust from the oven, add pie filling, and cook filled pie at full time listed in recipe.

Here's a photo of what it looks like after the pie crust is baked. It turns out a pretty golden color.

Coconut Custard Pie

Notes

• Pie crust dough should be able to be pressed into the pie pan (up the sides and onto the bottom) and hold its shape.
• If you find that the pie crust dough is too dry when you're finished mixing, add more milk in small increments to achieve the correct consistency.
• If you find that the pie crust dough is too wet when you're finished mixing, sprinkle with more flour to achieve the correct consistency.
• If you omit the sugar, you can use this pie crust for savory dishes, like your favorite quiche recipe.

This recipe is so easy to make, I enlisted the help of my youngest son, Jaxon, to help me make some of them. This is him fluting the edges of one of the crusts. If my teenager can make this recipe, so can you!

I hope you enjoy this new recipe! I've got it queued up for all my Thankgiving pies!

Apple Rose Tarts | How to Make Puff Pastry Apple Roses

Whether you're throwing a wedding shower, baby shower, tea party, or Mother's Day celebration, wow your guests with these tiny glazed apple rose tarts. Perfect for serving alongside your other party appetizers, these individual mini desserts look adorable served in tea cups.

Apple Rose Tarts

2 sheets frozen puff pastry dough

2 medium pink or red apples like Pink Lady or Fuji

juice from half a lemon

4 Tbsp. strawberry preserves

1 Tbsp. water

powdered sugar for dusting

1. Thaw puff pastry sheets at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.
3. Remove core from apples. Using a mandoline slicer, slice apples as thin as possible. (The thinner the apples, the more pliable they will be, which will prevent them from breaking when rolling.)
4. Place apple slices into a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Fill bowl with enough water to cover apple slices. Mix in lemon juice to prevent apples from browning. Heat bowl of apples for about 1-2 minutes in the microwave or until apples are soft and pliable.
5. Lightly flour a pastry board. Place puff pastry sheets on board and slice each sheet into six equal strips.
6. In a small bowl, add strawberry preserves and 1 Tbsp. water. Stir together and then heat in the microwave for about 20 seconds, or until warm and easy to spread. Spread a thin layer of  preserve mixture on one side of each strip of dough.
7. Line apple slices on the upper half of each strip of dough, so that they are sticking out partially, with the skin part of the slices sticking out above the dough. (You don't want too much of the apple sticking out above the dough, otherwise this part of the apple will overcook in the oven. You just want about 1/3 sticking out.) Overlap the apple slices when lining them on the strip of dough. Fold up the bottom half of the dough.
8. Starting at one end, carefully roll up the strip of dough, forming a tight spiral. Stretch the end of the dough and pinch to close. Place into greased muffin tin. Repeat with remaining dough.
9. Place muffin pan into the lower half of the oven. (This will prevent the apples from browning too fast.) Bake for about 40 minutes or until puff pastry is fully cooked.
10. Dust apple roses with powdered sugar right before serving.

If you're planning a party, make sure to check out these other recipes for finger foods:

• Gouda and Tomato Tea Sandwiches
• Classic Cheese Ball
• Chicken Salad Finger Sandwiches
• Sweet Corn Salsa
• Spinach Artichoke Dip

Grandma Elizabeth's Coconut Custard Pie

This is another one of Grandma Elizabeth's "famous" recipes. We make it at least once a year. Because she was known for sometimes only writing the ingredients for her recipes and remembering the rest, it has taken a bit of trial and error to figure out other important things like oven temperature and how long to bake these. But it only took a few tries to get this recipe down and it was well worth it. It certainly lives up to Grandma's note in the cookbook - "Good" - and then some. :-)

Grandma Elizabeth's Coconut Custard Pie

2 cups granulated sugar

4 Tbsp all purpose flour

1, 14 oz bag sweetened coconut, flaked

4 eggs

2 cups milk

4 Tbsp butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla

2 prepared pie crusts (unbaked dough)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix coconut with dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, butter, and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Pour into two prepared pie crusts. Bake for 45 minutes. Center of pies should seem set.

Notes: 

I have also prepared this recipe in one deep dish pie crust before. In that instance, I have baked at 350 degrees for at least 55 minutes, checking every 5 minutes after the 45 minute mark to ensure that the coconut doesn't brown too much. The center of the pie should still be set when you remove it from the oven.

This recipe can easily be halved, though, to only make one regular-sized pie. Look at the math, it won't be that difficult.

When it comes to pie crusts, I cannot recommend Trader Joe's enough. Their pie crusts do not include that one pesky ingredient that makes vegetarians cringe - "Praise the LARD!" (or more specifically, the lack thereof) ;-)

Tarheel Pie

Well, I can't say that this pie has anything in common with the great state of North Carolina. Perhaps it is named after the sweet Southern girls who live here.

Whatever its origins, give it a try (and if you don't like pecans or coconut, leave those out and you still have an outstanding chocolate pie if I do say so myself, and I do say so.)

Tarheel Pie

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, pour warm melted butter over 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.
3. Mix together flour, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, then stir into chocolate mixture.
4. Stir in eggs and vanilla.
5. Fold in pecans, coconut, and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Pour into pie crust.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Top should be set and may crack slightly, but the pie is best if slightly under baked.
7. Cool completely before serving.

Notes:

I know, I know. You MUST be thinking that the order of adding the ingredients is not correct. However, trust me when I tell you that I have made this pie 1 million times (I may be exaggerating slightly), and adding the ingredients in this order works. Modify the order of the ingredients at your own risk.

This recipe makes only 1 pie. A darn shame if you ask me. I recommend doubling the recipe and making two pies - no extra work really - just some mathematics.

Trader Joe's makes a mean pie crust that does not include the ingredient LARD. I recommend it.

Frozen Lemonade Pie

OK, I'm going to give it to you straight. This recipe will not earn you accreditation as a fancy pants baker. It has a bunch of ingredients that aren't necessarily THAT good for you. BUT! It IS a dessert, so if that buys any goodwill with those sorts of things, you might want to give it a try before completely turning your nose up at it.

I made it for Easter, and it was a hit. And I figured if it is good enough for the Food Network stars, the Neelys, it has to be good enough for the Walkushes:

Frozen Lemonade Pie

recipe courtesy The Neelys

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

7 Tbsp butter, melted

1, 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1, 12 oz. container whipped topping, thawed

1, 6 fluid oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate, unthawed

1 tsp candied lemon peel, for garnish

1. For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In medium bowl, stir together the cracker crumbs, sugar and the melted butter until combined and resembles a wet sand mixture. Pour into a pie plate and press the mixture firmly along the bottom and sides. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
3. For the filling: In a large bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping. Fold the two together gently until combined, being careful to keep the mixture light and fluffy. Add the lemonade concentrate and continue to gently fold. Be sure to avoid letting the mixture get too liquid-y. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Place in the freezer to chill overnight.
4. Sprinkle with a little candied lemon peel and serve!

Notes:

• Since this recipe is full of other not-so-fancy ingredients, I didn't bother making a crust from scratch. I used one made by Keebler elves, and it worked just fine.
• I also omitted the fancy pants candied lemon peel garnish, and I don't think anyone was the wiser.
• I could not find a 6 oz. can of lemonade concentrate, so I used 1/2 of a 12 oz. can. I also used pink lemonade concentrate. However, the pink color was not as intense as I would have liked, so I included 3 drops of red food coloring to achieve the color you see in the photos above. 
• I could not find a 12 oz. carton of whipped topping, so I used 1 1/2, 8 oz. cartons. Look at me with the maths!

Grandma Elizabeth's Cobbler

This is a family recipe that has been handed down through generations - Chambers to Harris to Walkush. And it's so easy, you're going to love it.

Here's the original recipe in Grandma's handwriting, referred to simply as "Apple Pie," this is actually a cobbler that can be made with any fruit. Grandma was known for writing down recipes from memory and then only writing down what she thought to be pertinent. For that reason, I have written below a detailed version of the recipe that includes all steps needed to make it. 

Grandma Elizabeth's Cobbler

2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup milk

1 1/2 sticks butter, divided

2 cups fruit of choice, peeled and chopped (apples, peaches, berries, etc.)

Cinnamon to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 pan and set aside.
2. Mix 1 cup sugar and flour together in a bowl. Melt 1 stick butter and add to mixture. Add milk to mixture and stir until lumps are gone. Pour batter into greased pan.
3. Add chopped fruit over top of batter.
4. Add remaining 1 cup of sugar evenly over top of fruit.
5. Cube the remaining 1/2 stick of butter, place randomly over top of sugar, and sprinkle with cinnamon.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Notes:

If you use particularly sweet fruit, then use less than 1 cup of sugar to cover the chopped fruit in step 4 or you might go into sugar-shock when you taste the recipe. That, or you'll have your kids fighting you for it!

I hope you give this a try and that you enjoy it as much as my family does.