Peanut Butter Pie

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This is a recipe that my aunt would always make for family gatherings. It was always a treat because she was the only one who could make it… until now :).

Once she told me how to make it, it was amazing on how EASY this recipe is. There is an even easier way, but of course, I wanted to make the vanilla pudding portion from scratch…

Michigan Ingredient

Michigan Ingredient: Graham Crackers and Sugar

Seriously how great is it that a “generic” brand is Michigan based? Save money and it’s from Michigan…? SIGN ME UP!!

Peanut Butter Pie

First things first, imagine me beating a whole sleeve of graham crackers in a zip-lock bag to crush them. Of course you could use a food processor… but what is the fun in that (plus.. more dishes to clean, yuck).  Take your graham cracker crumbs and combine them with your sugar.

Peanut Butter Pie

Take your melted butter and pour it into your graham cracker and sugar mixture. Use a fork (as the butter might still be hot) and combine. Press into your pie plate.

Peanut Butter Pie

Make sure you press the crust up toward the top for sides, as with any pudding pie, it will help with keep the pie intact. Refrigerate the crust for at least an hour before pouring any filling in.

Peanut Butter Pie

After said hour has passed, combine your sugar, corn starch, and salt in a sauce pan.

Peanut Butter Pie

Combine your milk and two egg yolks in a separate bowl.

Peanut Butter Pie

Pour the milk/egg yolk mixture into your sugar mixture while stirring. You want to try and avoid clumps, so please stir (whisk) constantly.

Peanut Butter Pie

Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Peanut Butter Pie

Add your vanilla and butter and stir.

Peanut Butter Pie

NOW! Add that beautiful peanut butter. It may seem like it is difficult to get it to combine, but be patient as it will combine completely.

Peanut Butter Pie

Doesn’t that just look amazing. It was hard to keep my husband away from just taking spoonfuls (myself included, who am I kidding). You can just eat this as pudding if you want… BUT since we already made the crust, let’s pour it in.

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We like to drizzle chocolate syrup and have some whip cream on top for this pie. I would recommend having the pie chill for at least 2 hours.  I noticed that sometimes 2 hours is enough… but sometimes you need to have it chill  overnight so that the “shape” of the piece of pie stays intact. Of course, the first piece is always a doozy. Either way, this pie is amazing and…. as my father always says… it all eats the same 🙂

Peanut Butter Pie
 
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Serves: 8
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Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
  • 1½ cups of Graham Crackers, crushed (about 1 sleeve)
  • ⅓ cup of Sugar
  • 6 tablespoons of Melted Butter
Peanut Butter Pie Filling
  • ⅓ cup of Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of Corn Starch
  • ⅛ teaspoon of Salt
  • 2 cups of Milk
  • 2 Egg Yolks, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons of Butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons of Vanilla
  • 1 cup Peanut Butter
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
  1. Crush your graham crackers and combine with sugar.
  2. Melt the butter and pour into the graham cracker/sugar mixture. Use a fork and stir to combine.
  3. Press the mixture into your pie plate. Make sure the crust goes up the sides to assist the filling.
Peanut Butter Pie Filling
  1. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt into a 2qt. sauce pan.
  2. In a bowl, combine the milk and egg yolks. Pour the mixture into the sugar/corn starch mixture while whisking to avoid clumps.
  3. Bring mixture to a boil while whisking constantly. Boil for one minute and remove from heat.
  4. Add softened butter and vanilla and stir. Add peanut butter and stir until it is well incorporated into the mixture.
  5. Pour filling into graham cracker crust and chill for at least 2 hours.

 

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Cherry Pie

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Cherry Pie

Michigan is known to have the best cherries in the country. We have tart, we have sweet, we have wine cherries… we have it all! What’s even more great is when you have a sweet grandmother who has a cherry tree in her back yard and she lets you pick as much as you want because the tree is loaded and the birds haven’t gotten to it. Pick cherries and spend time with loved ones; a double whammy!

Cherry Tree

Cherry Tree

There isn’t anything more beautiful and fun than picking cherries with your child. My daughter had so much fun, and even though these were tart cherries; she insisted on eating them (much like the strawberries). Don’t worry, I remembered to pit them before giving them to her. I know that my grandmother doesn’t spray her cherry tree, so it was safe to eat straight from the tree without rinsing.

Cherry Tree

Luckily, my dad was with us and we were able to use a ladder and get as much as 9 cups of cherries, which is more than enough for this pie recipe and some for the freezer.

When I was growing up, my grandmother and grandfather would pick cherries from the trees in their backyard and make the most delicious cherry pies. They would also freeze them so that they could make more than one pie because when you pick fresh cherries, you have to use them right away or freeze them as they can go bad quickly.

Cherries

That is Pure Michigan right there. Good lord… Let’s just stare at the above photo for a moment…

Michigan Ingredient

Michigan Ingredients: Cherries and Sugar

These are tart cherries, which of course need some sugar. The best way to curb the tart flavor is by adding sugar and when you eat your pie make sure you top it with whipped cream or even better, vanilla bean ice cream.

Cherry Pie

Combine your cherries, sugar, tapioca, and pure almond extract in a bowl. The tapioca works as a thickening agent for the juices of the pie. My family has always used tapioca.

Try not to eat too many and save some for the pie.  Let this sit for 15 minutes so that everything can become friends and get really close.

You will want to have your pie crust prepped and ready ahead of time. Please see Classic Pie Crust for instructions 🙂

Cherry Pie

Pour your cherry mixture into the pie shell.

Cherry Pie

Top with your other pie crust. Remember that it’s dark, but it’s ok because this is so simple, you don’t even need to see (HA!). Be sure to trim the edges and crimp/flute the edges to make the pie look pretty. Set the excess pie dough aside and I will show you what to do it with.

Cherry Pie

Cut a few slits so that your pie doesn’t explode in the oven and brush with a well beaten egg to assist the crust in becoming golden. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

IMAG3337_edited

Cherry Pie

With the remaining crust that you set aside…… take brown sugar and cinnamon and create one of the best things about making pie (other than the pie itself of course); DOUGH DODGERS!! Roll up the dough lengthwise. Don’t panic if your dough cracks a little, just squeeze it together as best as you can. That’s the beauty of dough dodgers, they don’t have to be perfect.

When we were growing up, we always looked forward to the dough dodgers because we could snack on them while we waited for the pie to cool (or until we were having said pie). It’s a chance to warm up your taste buds and get mentally prepared to eat pie.

EXPERT TIP!! Place your pie onto  a tinfoil lined cookie sheet to prevent your oven from getting dirty from the juices that will run out of the pie.  Put the pie and dough dodger (which is on a separate cookie sheet) into the oven.  Bake your pie for one hour.

IMAG3342_edited

The dough dodger will probably take anywhere from 20-25 minutes. Just check it out, once it is browned, it is done. It also gives you an opportunity to check on the pie. If for some reason the edges of your pie are starting to brown too fast, take the pie out and wrap tin foil around the edges. Some people do this prior to putting the pie in the oven, as the pie will be hot. BUT! I live on the wild side, and let fate handle that for me 😉

Cherry Pie

It is almost too hard not to want to dig into this pie right now.

Cherry Pie

The first piece is always the hardest piece to get out. But look at how vibrant that filling is. YUM!

Cherry Pie

I always serve pies with vanilla bean ice cream because… it seems more… natural? BUT this time, I did not have ice cream on hand and sometimes just the simplicity of whipped topping can do wonders.  It’s always best to eat pies with loved ones.

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Cherry Pie
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
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A classic tart cherry pie that anyone from Michigan would appreciate!
Ingredients
  • 4 cups Cherries (pitted)
  • 1⅓ cups of Sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of Minute Tapioca
  • ¼ teaspoon Pure Almond Extract
  • 1 Classic Pie Crust recipe
Instructions
  1. Makes 1 Classic Pie recipe. Prep the crust (roll out, etc.), set aside.
  2. Combine your cherries, sugar, tapioca, and pure almond extract. Stir well. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.
  3. Pour the fruit mixture into the pie shell. Top with second pie shell.
  4. Trim the edges and crimp/flute the edges to make the pie look pretty. Brush with one well beaten egg. Cut slits in the pie to allow steam to escape.
  5. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and bake for one hour until the crust is golden brown and juices are starting to escape. Serve with whipped topping or vanilla bean ice cream.
Notes
Recipe courtesy of Minute Tapioca

Note: Use the excess pie dough to make dough dodgers! Simply roll out the dough, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon, roll the dough lengthwise and bake for 20 minutes or so.

 

Classic Pie Crust

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Pie Crust

My family always says that if you are going to be making a pie from scratch, please… for all that is holy… make your crust from scratch. It is amazingly simple and the wait time is minimal. Don’t be intimidated to make your own pie crust.

You don’t necessarily have to have any special tools to make a pie crust, but if you have a pastry cutter, that helps;  however, you can always use the two fork method (or one fork).

This is a recipe that is from the “red book.” My parents have this Betty Crocker book that has amazing and classic recipes. I believed my mom told me that it was a wedding gift; which is a gift that continues to keep on giving, let me tell you. That is one thing that is amazing about cooking; you can share that joy with the ones you love. Have you ever gone to a cook-out that did not have food? NO! Whenever you plan a party, you always think of … food. Food is a conversational piece, an ice breaker, something that we (as human beings) all have in common; I mean you gotta eat right?

So when you are thinking about what to make for this wonderful 4th of July weekend, think of making pie. My family uses this recipe for apple pie, rhubarb pie, cherry pie, etc. In my family, we always do double crusted pies because, I mean come on; it helps keep the deliciousness inside.  I hope this will become your go to recipe as well.

Please note that when I was making this pie crust, I was chasing light as it was starting to storm outside.

Michigan Item

Michigan Ingredient: Meijer Flour

I know, I know… a bit of a stretch, but there are not many ingredients necessary for this crust. It’s usually what’s inside that counts.

In Michigan, there are two types of pie that every woman needs to know how to make: apple  pie and cherry pie. Trust me, I will help you with being able to tackle both… [insert foreshadowing now…]

Pie Crust

First things first, measure out your flour and salt and combine in a bowl.

Pie Crust

EXPERT TIP!! Before you measure your shortening, spray your measuring cups with non-stick spray to assist with stick-age (<– not a word… but how else would you describe it). Yes, there will be a little bit that sticks, BUT not nearly as much if you did not spray your measuring cups with non-stick spray.

Pie Crust

Pie Crust

Drop your shortening in your flour mixture and “cut” the shortening into the flour. You will do this until the mixture looks like pea-sized crumbs (like below)

Pie Crust

You could do this in a food processor; I’ve seen people do it, but the nostalgia of making a pie crust the “old fashioned” way is the way I prefer to do it.

Pie Crust

Add your ice water to the mixture and combine. You can use a spoon, but sometimes you just need to use the tools that god gave ya (your hands) and get in there and get messy. I would recommend that you remove any jewelry.

Pie Crust

Once the dough is combined, divide in half, and shape into round discs. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, put them in a gallon-sized zip-lock bag,  and place them in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

Pie Crust

When you  are ready to use the dough, I would recommend trying to roll the dough while it is wrapped in the clear plastic wrap. It makes it so you don’t have to use flour and then run into the chance of the dough having a slight flour taste. ALSO! Transfer is a snap!

Pie Crust

Try to roll it out into as much of a circle as possible. I would recommend having your pie plate out so that you can eyeball how much you need to roll the dough out.

Pie Crust

Repeat with the second disc of dough of rolling it out.

Fill the pie with your favorite filling and top with the second crust.  Trim and crimp the edges and set aside the excess dough (I’ll tell you what to do with the excess dough on Thursday). Once you are ready to bake, brush the top with a beaten egg to help get that “golden” look.

Classic Pie Crust
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2 crusts
Prep time:
Total time:
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A classic pie crust recipe that you can use for your favorite pie recipes!
Ingredients
  • 3⅓ cups of Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1¼ cups of Shortening
  • 8-9 tablespoons of Ice Water
Instructions
  1. Combine your flour and salt in a bowl.
  2. Spray your measuring cups with cooking spray; measure your shortening and scoop into the flour.
  3. Use either a pastry cutter or two forks and "cut" the shortening into the flour until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
  4. Pour 8 tablespoons of ice water into the mixture. If it combines easy, you do not need more water. If it seems like it is a bit difficult to combine, add the remaining tablespoon of water.
  5. Once the pie dough is combined, cut the dough in half and shape into round discs. Place the dough in the freezer for a couple of hours.
  6. When you are ready to use the dough, take the discs out of the freezer and roll out (as best as you can) into 9 or 10 inch circles and fill with your favorite filling. Trim and crimp the edges. Set aside the excess dough.
  7. When you are ready to bake, you can brush the crust with a beaten egg to help achieve the "golden" look.
Notes
Recipe from Betty Crocker