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Pie recipes

Here are some tasty ideas.

By Times Staff Writer
Published April 13, 2005

	[Times photo: Scott Keeler]
	Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie combines homemade crunchy butter brickle with soft vanilla cream and sweet bananas.
	Humble pie They're not fancy or pretentious, but pies are part of a longstanding American love affair. And cream pies may just take the cake.

Nutty Graham Cracker Crust

3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts of your choice

2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Big pinch of salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter your choice of pie pan and set aside.

Combine the nuts, brown sugar and flour in a food processor and process in a number of long bursts until the nuts are very finely chopped. Dump the mixture into a large bowl. Run your fingers through them, breaking up any bigger pieces the machine might have missed. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and incorporate well. Mix first with a fork, then with your hands, and rub everything together thoroughly to form evenly dampened crumbs.

Spread the crumbs evenly and loosely in the pie pan, pressing them into the bottom and up the side. Refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place on the center oven rack and bake for 7 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before filling. For ice cream pies and other icebox pies, refrigerate the thoroughly cooled pie shell for 10 minutes before filling.

Makes enough for one 9-inch standard or 91/2-inch deep-dish pie shell.

* If you happen to have a small amount of several different nuts on hand or you just want to mix things up, this crust tastes great made with more than one kind of nut. Simply use 3/4 cup total.

Source: "Pie" by Ken Haedrich (Harvard Common Press, 2004; $24.95).

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

To make a 9-inch pie shell, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Drop in the shortening and then, with your fingers, break it into several pieces as you push it around the flour. Rub the shortening into the flour while keeping the mixture light-textured and dry. It should resemble a mixture of coarse and fine bread crumbs.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over the dough and stir briskly with a fork. Continue adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition and concentrating on the areas of the dough that seem the driest. When the dough forms a rough, cohesive mass, reach into the bowl and press the dough together into a roundish ball. If it doesn't hold together, or if parts of it seem crumbly and dry, sprinkle on a little more water.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 12 inches around.

Pick up the dough gently and place it into the pie pan. If it tears, push it back together.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Fold and flute the rim of the pie shell, and then prick the dough all over the bottom and sides with a table fork.

Press a 12-inch square of heavy-duty foil (or a double-thick square of regular foil) snugly into the pie shell, over the bottom and sides of the dough. Bake for about 8 minutes, until the edges of the dough are beginning to look dry but not browned. If they still look wet, bake the shell a couple minutes longer. Remove the foil and bake for 6 to 10 minutes more. The pie shell is done when the dough is light brown and looks dry all over. Cool before filling.

Source: "Pie Pie Pie" by John Phillip Carroll (Chronicle Books, 2005; $19.95).

1 recipe Nutty Graham Cracker Crust made with peanuts

Filling:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 cups whole milk

4 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Topping (see note):

1 cup cold heavy or whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

Thick chocolate syrup (optional)

Prepare the crust and press it into the bottom and up the side of a 9-inch standard pie pan. Refrigerate, prebake and let cool as directed.

Combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick. Whisk in the milk and egg yolks. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking virtually nonstop, until the mixture starts to thicken and comes to a low boil, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue to whisk and heat until quite thick, about 11/2 minutes.

Whisk in the vanilla and remove from heat.

Immediately pour half of the mixture into a small bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips and half the butter. Immediately turn your attention to the other half of the custard in the pan.

Stir the peanut butter chips and the remaining butter into the pan. Using separate whisks, whisk both mixtures until evenly blended.

Scrape the chocolate custard into the cooled pie shell, smoothing the top with a spoon. Using a large spoon, gently spoon the peanut butter custard over the chocolate layer, smoothing it without mixing the layers. Gently press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the top of the pie, leaving no gaps or air pockets, to prevent a skin from forming.

Place on a wire rack and let cool thoroughly, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Shortly before serving, make the topping. Using a chilled, medium-sized bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat until stiff but not grainy.

Smooth the topping over the pie, then sprinkle with the peanuts.

Drizzle each slice with chocolate syrup, if desired.

* You can substitute whipping cream with dairy topping such as Cool Whip or canned whipped cream.

Source: "Pie" by Ken Haedrich (Harvard Common Press, $24.95).

Basic All-American Pie Dough for a 9-inch pie shell

3 cups milk or evaporated milk

4 ounces (4 squares) unsweetened chocolate, broken into 6 or 8 pieces

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup unsalted (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and flute the edges, then bake the pie shell fully. Cool completely before filling.

Combine the milk and chocolate in a medium saucepan. Place over moderate heat and whisk frequently for about 4 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted.

Don't worry if the mixture looks speckled and grainy; it will become smooth later.

In the meantime, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan and whisk them together until evenly mixed. Continue whisking as you add the milk mixture in a steady, continuous stream. Add the egg yolks and whisk vigorously until blended.

Cook over medium heat, whisking almost constantly, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat, add the butter and stir until smooth.

Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to keep a skin from forming) and cool for 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the pudding into the prepared pie shell and place another sheet of plastic wrap over it. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until chilled and firm.

Before serving, prepare the whipped cream and spread it over the pie.

Source: "Pie Pie Pie" by John Phillip Carroll (Chronicle Books, $19.95).

Basic All-American Pie Dough for a 9-inch pie shell

Butter Brickle:

1/2 cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

21/4 cups milk

3 egg yolks

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large, ripe bananas

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and flute the edges, then bake the pie shell fully. Cool completely before filling.

To make the butter brickle, line a shallow baking pan with foil. Combine the sugar, butter and almonds in a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Pour into the foil-lined pan and cool completely; it will harden as it cools. Break the butter brickle into pieces and chop coarsely in a food processor. Set aside.

To make the filling, in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour in the milk and whisk until smooth. Place over moderate heat and cook, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture boils.

Cook, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes; then whisk in the egg yolks.

Bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 1 minute more.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.

To assemble the pie, spread about 1/2 cup of the chopped butter brickle in the baked pie shell. Peel the bananas and slice them about 1/4-inch thick, placing the slices over the butter brickle as you work.

Cover the bananas with the filling and cool to room temperature.

Sprinkle the filling with another 1/2 cup of the butter brickle.

Prepare the whipped cream and spread it over the pie. Sprinkle with the remaining butter brickle.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. This pie is particularly good served within a couple of hours.

If you need to wait longer, the brickle will gradually soften but will not lose its flavor.

Source: "Pie Pie Pie" by John Phillip Carroll (Chronicle Books, $19.95).

[Last modified April 15, 2005, 08:56:56]