Chestnut Pie

Gardeners and tree farmers are all too familiar with blight, which is a disease than can kill flowers, vegetables and trees. Overall, I believe that the most destruction it has caused would be the extinction of chestnut trees in the US.

Before the blight took over, chestnut trees were quite plentiful here. They spanned from Maine to Georgia and the amount of trees were too many to count. Sadly, blight can kill a tree in about 5 days. The Christmas song lyrics of "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" no longer applies here in the US. That is, unless you go to the expense of having them shipped to you from another country in order to roast them.

In scanning my pantry, I did find a can of chestnut puree from France. It was an import I ordered previously. With the holidays coming up, I decided to put it to use and make a chestnut pie. This pie is much like a pecan pie, without the chunks of nuts. However, the filling is not as sweet and has a thicker consistency. Regarding flavor, it has the unmistakable earthy taste of chestnuts with a touch of orange.

Outside of crust preparation, the pie comes together easily and only has about 6 ingredients. The crust is not par-baked so you can prepare the dough days before rolling and forming.

If you like chestnuts, do not be discouraged by the fact the trees are extinct in the US. Seek out the chestnut puree on line or at specialty grocers this season. You will be glad you went to the extra trouble. As always, reading the whole recipe along with the tips prior to creating are helpful in order for your efforts to be successful.

Chestnut Pie
adapted from Mrs Rowe's Southern Pies
Ingredients/Pie Pastry
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup plus 2 tbs vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tbs milk
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg white (depending on form of pie edge)

Ingredients/Pie Filling
3 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbs orange liqueur
1 tbs orange juice
1 1/2 cups sweetened chestnut puree ( about 1 pound)
ground nutmeg (optional for sprinkling)
sweetened whipped cream (optional for topping serving)

For the crust, start by whisking together the flour and the salt. Then add the shortening and use a pastry blender to cut and mix it in with the sifted ingredients. This will result in a dough that has several small, "pebble sized", clumps. At that point, sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the milk and blend by folding the dough over several times with the fork. Once the liquid is absorbed, continue with the process by adding one tablespoon of milk at a time. Test for consistency at 6 tablespoons, mixture should easily clump together leaving no dry crumbs behind.

Dust a flat surface and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Flatten the dough into a disk and roll out to 1/8 of an inch thick. It should be between 13 and 14 inches in diameter. Once rolled out, carefully roll dough around rolling pin. Then unroll over the top of a 9 inch the pie plate or dish. Lightly press the dough into the plate, smoothing out evenly.

If you are using the fold under and shape type of edge, trim the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch overhang. If you intend to decorate edges with cut out dough, trim leaving only a 1/4 inch overhang.When adding decorative toppings to the edges with cut outs from the excess dough, be sure to brush top of dough edge in pan prior to placing the extra layer of the cut out dough on top. As you can see by the picture, the pie edge has layers of overlapping rectangles. This is the decorative edge that I created with the excess dough.

After you have formed the pie crust, mark the bottom with the tines of a fork to prevent bubbling up when baking. Then place in the refrigerator while you make the filling. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

The filling starts with 2 egg whites. Beat the whites until they are very stiff. Set aside. Using a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Then stir in the cream, orange liqueur and orange juice. Add the chestnut puree and sugar. Using a wooden spoon, blend the mixture together until it comes together, creating a thick batter. Lastly, carefully fold in the egg whites.

Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator. Pour the filling in the prepared pie crust and smooth the surface until even. At this point you can opt to sprinkle the surface with some nutmeg, if you prefer. Place in oven and bake until center is set and a knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 hour on rack and then transfer to refrigerator for an additional hour to chill. Then it is ready to slice and serve. Feel free to top each serving with sweetened whipped cream.

Tips and Notes:
1. The original crust recipe was modified, so the above reflects a 1/4 increase in the amount of each pie crust ingredients. This gave me enough to do a nice edge on the crust. The original quantity did not roll out big enough to make a nice edge.

2. I used a stoneware pie dish instead of aluminum. The refrigeration time and the type of pan used added an extra 15 minutes to the baking time.

3. My decorative topping made the back crust too heavy and it collapsed upon serving. Next time I will just make a formed, fold over edge.

                                     **LAST YEAR:Oatmeal Raisin Sandwich Cookies*

Fruits of the Forest Pie

There are actually 2 types of fruits of the forest pie, one being fruit and the other being nut.  However the nut version is the more authentic type.

Since there is such a large group of pecan lovers out there, I decided to try a different type of nut pie.  The pie, as you can see, is quite packed with nuts.  It has very little liquid filling, but what is there does impart a lot of extra flavor to the nuts.  It includes nut liqueur as well as nut extract.

A little does go a long way but it is sure to please the nut lovers in the family. I especially liked how the liqueur flavors came through in the taste. There are some important tips to this recipe at the end, so be sure to read it completely before starting.

Fruits of the Forest Pie
adapted from Pie by Ken Haedrich

Ingredients
1 basic pie pastry, single crust refrigerated
1 tbs hazelnut liqueur
1 tbs almond liqueur
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
5 tbs unsalted melted butter
2 1/2 cups roasted salted mixed nuts chopped

Once the pie crust is firm enough to roll, roll out into a circle 13 inches in diameter.  Roll up around the rolling pin and roll out into a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie pan.  Make sure it is centered and push the dough into the pan.  Then sculpt the upper edges as desired.  Place in freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove from the freezer and cover the interior with aluminum foil and place pie weights evenly in the center then bake for 15 minutes.  Slide the rack out of the oven with the pie pan on it.  Remove the pie weights and the foil.  Prick the pie all around the bottom interior.  Lower the temperature to 375 and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Add the eggs to a large bowl and scramble with a fork.  Stir in the corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, liqueurs and extracts.

Pour the chopped nuts into the pie shell. Then pour the egg filling evenly over the nuts.  Using a spoon, make sure all the nuts in the pan are completely covered with the wet filling.  Bake for 30 minutes and turn pan halfway. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.  The pie should be firm in the center when done.

Serve at room temperature.

Tips and Notes:
1. The mixed nuts must not contain peanuts.  Peanuts have a very strong flavor, so strong that it can be overpowering in baked items or pastries.  I found the brand of Emerald has the mixed nuts without the peanuts.
2. Feel free to eliminate some of nuts, should the amount be too much for your preference, but remember that the liquid filling is sparse due to the amount of nuts.
3. The pie dough I used was a butter shortening mix.
4. The recipe ingredient list has salt, listing the amount to be 1/4 to 1/2 tsp, due to the salt in the nuts I eliminated it from the recipe.
                                **LAST YEAR: Cinnamon Roll Cookies**

Blondie Pie

While this one will not really get the vote for the prettiest dessert, it can hold its own when it comes to chewy rich indulgences.  My first thought when coming across this recipe was that this was a blondie bar in a pie form.  However, it turned out to be much like the texture of fudge instead of cake like.

The two things that control the flavor in this pie is the white chocolate and the pulverized cashew brittle.  If you are one that loves nut brittles or pralines, than this is the recipe for you.  You may favor a different type of nut in this recipe, but be aware that other nuts do have a stronger flavor.  The author stated that the cashews were more of a balance with the white chocolate than other types of nuts.

A little slice of this goes a long way, so make sure your sweet tooth is ready for this one. This recipe makes one 10 inch pie.

Blondie Pie
adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar

Ingredients/ Graham Crust
3 tbs milk powder
1 cup plus 2 tbs graham cracker crumbs
4 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbs melted butter
3 tbs heavy cream

Ingredients/Cashew Brittle
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs cashews

Ingredients/Pie Filling
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
5.5 oz white chocolate
4 tbs butter
2 egg yolks
3 tbs sugar
pulverized cashew brittle (recipe included)

To make the crust, blend the milk powder, salt, graham cracker crumbs and sugar together in a medium size bowl.  In another bowl, mix the butter and cream together.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until all is damp and no dry powder is left.  The end result should be a crumbly mixture that clumps together with pressure from a spoon or your hand.

Put the crumb mixture into a 10 inch pie tin.  Press crumbs evenly along the bottom and sides of the pan.  Then set aside while you make the other components of the pie.

For the cashew brittle, prepare a pan by lining with a Silpat or wax paper.  Pour the sugar into a small saucepan and place the pan over medium high heat.  Use a wooden spoon and stir constantly until the sugar becomes a dark amber color.  This should take about 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the cashews.  Make sure all are coated.  Then tip the saucepan over the baking sheet and scrape out all the contents using a heatproof spatula.  Smooth out the brittle onto the pan and let cool completely.

Once cool, remove the brittle from the silpat or wax paper.  Then break the brittle into big chunks and run thru a food processor.  Set aside until ready to use.

To start on the filling, take the white chocolate and break it into chunks.  Place it in a microwave safe bowl and add the butter.  Heat in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each time.  Once all has melted, stir until the butter is fully incorporated into the chocolate.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.  Combine the melted white chocolate mixture with the egg yolks and sugar by stirring together with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir and drizzle in the heavy cream.  Set aside.

Sift together the salt and flour in a separate bowl.  Then mix in the pulverized cashew brittle.  Fold this dry mixture into the wet.

Place the prepared pie tin on a baking sheet and pour in the filling.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes.  When done, the pie will be a dark amber color and be slightly set in the center.  Let cool to room temperature.

Tips and Notes:
1. The recipe strongly recommends using a Silpat.  I used wax paper and had a little trouble peeling it off the underside of the brittle, so if you do not want to have that issue get a Silpat.
2. Use your judgement on the consistency of the graham cracker crust, if you feel it is not moist enough add an additional 1-1 1/2 tbs of melted butter.
3. Should you want to use hazelnuts or peanuts, your sugar to nut ratio of ingredients will be 1/2 cup to a 1/4 cup.
4. The brittle sets up in less than a minute, so act quickly to mix in the cashews and smooth onto the baking sheet.
                          **LAST YEAR: Chocolate Italian Wedding Cupcakes**