Chronicles from a Vermont foodie: Perfect Pie Dough. Is it bad that it's only Tuesday and I am wishing it was Friday???
This week my son's school decided to hold "pre-season" soccer practices from 6:30AM to 10:30AM EVERYDAY! Now for those of you city people that may not seem like a big deal, however for those of us that live out in the country it really makes for a ruff morning. See his school is 20 minutes away (with no traffic and if road conditions are OK) and they have to be there at 6:20am AND I stop to pick up one of his friends on the way....oh wait, I left out the part where I have to get up at 5:20am to hop in the shower! We leave at 5:45am to pick up his friend, and after I drop them off I have to go all the way back home to get ready for work, THEN drive another half hour to work........ummmmm, I think someone forgot to tell the coaches that a lot of these kids don't drive yet!!!! OK, I'm done complaining. Well, as much as it pains me to say it, they were right.
DIY TUTORIAL: Mini Lemon Tartlets. Nicole W doesn't just throw incredible parties, she also makes incredible desserts.
When Nicole offered to put together a tutorial on how she made the mini lemon tartlets from her Secret Garden Baby Shower, I got very excited. Take a look at this photo and you will see why... just gorgeous! Pin It Here's how Nicole did her magic... You will need: Prepared pie crust dough Lemon Curd (either bought or homemade). Pin It Place the crusts gently in a lightly greased mini-muffin tin Pin It Fill halfway with lemon curd, being careful not to overfill Pin It Bake at 375 for 18 minutes, or until the pastry starts to turn a golden color A special note on pie crust...
This is the recipe I always use for my pie crust: Single Crust Pie Crust 2 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup butter-flavored shortening 1 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon sugar Approximately 7 Tablespoons ice-cold water/vodka mixturePie crust is fussy stuff. The magic bullet, however, came courtesy of Cooks Illustrated. Good eats / Mini Apple Pie. Triple Berry Pie (It's diVine!) This recipe is for one double-crust 9" pie.
To get a flaky crust, the key is COLD. I refrigerate all of my ingredients about 30 minutes prior. At the very least, make sure the butter and water are both cold. Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces 1/4 - 1/2 cup ice water Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor (or bowl, if that is what you have to work with). Turn the dough out onto your work surface and divide in half. Take one disc and roll it out onto your floured work surface until about 12" in diameter. Take the second disc, and roll it out as above. In the meantime, continue on to the berry filling. Bite size apple pies from Taste of Home. These little pies were so much fun to make.. so EASY...and so delicious.
They went together in minutes and before long... we had fresh hot apple pie for dessert! Start to finish was maybe 20-25 minutes. I wasn't sure if I should peel the apple or leave the skin on, as the recipe didn't specify. So I left them on...I liked the texture and color it added. Next time I'll try without so I can compare the taste, though. I served them warm with ice cream....2 little pies a piece was just a perfect size dessert. I still don't know...... as they were gone in a flash. But my kitchen smelled great all day.... apples and cinnamon...making me wish I had made the full batch!
Bite Size Apple Pies Taste of Home 1/2 c. sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 pkg. (14.1 oz..} refrigerated pie crust 3 tbsp. melted butter, divided 2 medium tart apples, each cut into 8 wedges In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, set aside 1 Tbsp. Cut each sheet into 8 one inch strips, about 8 in. long.