Cranberry Meringue Pie

 I made this cranberry meringue pie for Thanksgiving dinner.  I love this recipe because we are used to lemon meringue pies, so substituting the lemon for a different sour, tart fruit is a really clever idea that actually translated into a good thing.

 It's a Martha Stewart Recipe for mini pies that I modified into a full pie recipe.

 So delicious. . almost makes you want to eat more cranberries.  Yes, there will be more cranberries.

Cranberry Meringue Pie
(overnight for best results)

1 pie crust dough

3 1/4 cups fresh cranberries (12 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped blood orange zest, plus 1/4 cup blood orange juice (Can use any kind of orange)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick. Place in a deep 9-inch pie plate. Pierce bottom with tines of a fork. Freeze 15 minutes.  Line shell with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Return to oven; bake until bottom is just turning golden, 5 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack; let cool 5 minutes. Remove shells from tin; let cool completely.
 

Bring 2 cups cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 5 minutes. Pour through a coarse sieve, then a fine sieve; discard solids. (You should have about 1 3/4 cups; if you have less, add water).

Bring strained cranberry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, the zests, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining 1 1/4 cups cranberries to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir cornstarch, blood orange juice, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl; whisk into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 1 minute. into pie shell. Refrigerate until set, a few hours to overnight.
 

Preheat broiler. Put egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar into the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch. Attach to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until foamy. Raise speed to high. Add cream of tartar; beat until medium, glossy peaks form. Spread meringue on pie.
Set pie under broiler until top is browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

(Alternately: Homemade Chocolate Pudding --the chocolate filling for this pie is also my recipe for homemade chocolate pudding.)

Today is my next installment of the "You want pies with that?" challenge. I never mentioned, but my first attempt last month tied for first place! That's why I love my internet friends--they make me feel good about myself. I tied with Mary's Blueberry Hand Pies, an association I'm proud of since I voted for her! We won the opportunity to name the next challenge- it's gonna be good, but you'll have to wait and see! This month the challenge was named by someone else, and it was to create a pie starring nuts.


The nut that fills some great memories of mine is the hazelnut. Beginning with when my family lived in Germany and we discovered the delicious hazelnut and cocoa spread called Nutella. This began my love for hazelnuts. When I returned to study abroad in Vienna I enjoyed the locally produced Manner Schnitten-- waffle wafers filled with a hazelnut creme. But my favorite thing to do was walk down Kartner Strasse in the afternoon following classes and treat myself to creamy hazelnut ice cream cone.

"Ein Kugel Haselnuss, bitte." I'd say and pay my 2 Euros.

So picking my nut of choice for this challenge was--really--a simple task. I searched around a bit and in the end came up with a pie that is a bit of this, a bit of that, but altogether delicious.

Going with the classic hazelnut pairing with chocolate, here is my:

Chocolate Hazelnut Pie--A chocolate pie in a hazelnut-graham cracker pie crust, topped with hazelnut-coca whipped cream and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts--


Crust recipe:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (I put the "kitchen elves" in charge of that one)
1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 Tbl butter, melted

Combine dry ingredients, stir in the butter, and press into pie plate. Bake at 350* for seven minutes.

Chocolate cream filling recipe:
2 ounces/squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tbls butter
2 tsp vanilla

Begin by finely chopping or grating 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate. This means two whole individually wrapped squares, not just square segments. Place this in a small saucepan and pour 1 1/2 cups milk over it. Heat slowly to scald milk and melt chocolate.

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, flour, and salt. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of cold milk and mix to combine. Pour in the melted chocolate and scalded milk. Bring quickly to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for three minutes.

Temper the egg yolks adding small spoonfuls of the hot liquid to the yolks while stirring quickly. When you've at least doubled the volume of the egg yolk mixture add back into the saucepan. Cook for three minutes. Stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla and allow to cool to lukewarm. Spoon filling into pie crust and place in refrigerator to cool completely.


Whipped cream recipe:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 heaping tablespoon "Nutella" hazelnut-cocoa spread

Beat the heavy cream to soft peaks, add the Nutella for sweetness and flavor and beat until stiff peaks form.

Spoon cream on top of pie filling, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and garnish with a piece of hazelnut chocolate.

Enjoy!

Lemonade Stand Pie

I made a pie this weekend as a part of the "You Want Pies With That?" challenge. The theme for this month a Taste of Summer pie. I decided that nothing reminds me of those idyllic summer days than a good old fashioned lemonade stand. One that is run by a blond little girl wearing gingham and pigtails. And there is a sprinkler running on the lawn behind her. And some other neighborhood kids are playing with sidewalk chalk and jump ropes nearby. . .

So wrapping all those images into one delicious bite. . . here is my Lemonade Stand Pie


This recipe is adapted from Martha.

Wash a lemon and cut crosswise into thin slices using a mandoline. Remove any seeds and discard. Remove peel and pith of 2 more lemons and discard. Slice lemon flesh crosswise into very thin slices. Remove seeds and discard; add to a bowl with other lemon slices. Add 3 cups sugar and toss well to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let mixture stand overnight, stirring occasionally.


The next day, make a double pie crust recipe of your choice, adding in 2 tablespoons lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 piece of crust into a 13-inch round. Fit dough into a 10-inch pie plate, pressing it into the edges; refrigerate 15 minutes.

Add 1/8 teaspoon salt and 7 whole eggs to lemon mixture; stir until well combined. Pour into chilled pie crust.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll remaining piece of crust into a 13-inch round. Slice vents liberally into the crust. Place over filling and crimp edges to seal. Brush top of crust with 1 egg white.

Transfer pie to oven and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue until crust is golden brown and shiny, about 30 minutes.


This pie has a lemony custard-like filling that is very powerfully lemon. It's not sour or tart, but simply lemon. And simply delicious to those that are a fan!

Lemonade Stand Pie

3 lemons
3 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
7 eggs
double pie crust

Wash a lemon and cut crosswise into thin slices using a mandoline. Remove any seeds and discard.  Remove peel and pith of 2 more lemons and discard (Reserve 2 tablespoons of zest for crust). Slice lemon flesh crosswise into very thin slices. Remove seeds and discard; add to a bowl with other lemon slices. Add 3 cups sugar and toss well to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let mixture stand overnight, stirring occasionally.

The next day, make a double pie crust recipe of your choice, adding in 2 tablespoons lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 piece of crust into a 13-inch round. Fit dough into a 10-inch pie plate, pressing it into the edges; refrigerate 15 minutes.

Add 1/8 teaspoon salt and 7 whole eggs to lemon mixture; stir until well combined. Pour into chilled pie crust.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll remaining piece of crust into a 13-inch round. Slice vents liberally into the crust. Place over filling and crimp edges to seal. Brush top of crust with 1 egg white.

Transfer pie to oven and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue until crust is golden brown and shiny, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!