pie bake-off Tag

Our sixth annual pie bake-off contest brought in 24 pie entries. Over 100 votes were cast for the people’s choice award, and our panel of three judges deliberated at length to come to a consensus on the top three winners for the judges vote. We were clearly all winners for tasting such an incredible array of beautifully crafted pies, from Maple Walnut, Cherry Berry and Caramel Apple, to Snickerdoodle, Apple Crumb, Peach Ginger, Maple Cream and Harvest Berry to name just a few. This year there was no overlap between the judges and the people’s votes, though clearly rich chocolaty pies (with a few pecans and fruits thrown in for good measure) rose to the top. This year, three of our six winners were under the age of 18. A common theme- have fun baking and don’t be afraid to experiment!

IMG_2537 (2)

Pie judges (left to right): Julia Thomas, Buck Hazzard and Rose Vaeth

Leading this year’s judging panel was Rosemary Vaeth, “veteran of the pastry world, long-time member of the food service industry, and deeply opinionated individual.” Rose is still thrilled that she managed to score a spot on the judging panel two years running.

Julia Thomas, a CSA member and former pie bake-off winner with her Banoffi Pie Recipe, joined us for the first time as a judge. She brings a background as a private chef to famous rock bands, having travelled extensively over the years cooking and baking for the likes of ZZ Top, Queen, Aerosmith and Elton John. Julia remembers one particularly daunting task in the early 90s of arriving in a communist Russia and bartering for food and buying provisions on the black market to feed 400 band and crew that same day. “It was quite the challenge! Forget menu planning! Arriving in Rome at 5am and being met by 16 scooters to take me grocery shopping was also another fond memory. I love the unexpected, that’s why I always enjoy the unusual veg we get at Blooming Glen!”

Buck Hazzard, baker at Crossroads Bakery in Doylestown for the past 8 years, just returned from a motorcycle road trip out west that included a stop over in Pie Town, New Mexico. Reflecting on the pie bake-off experience, Buck says “having community support for our local farmers is the tie that keeps us grounded, and holding a pie contest allows us to celebrate together the love of the simplest things in life: food and friends.”

IMG_2547 (2)-001

S’mores Pie
by Emily Williams
Judges Votes: First Place

Emily Williams- “My name is Emily and I am 10 years old. I have been baking pies for 2 years now, but I have been baking for 4 years.  I decided to make a s’mores pie because I love making (and eating) s’mores.  I was signed up for the contest at first just because my friend signed me up. My quote is, “Thank you Dakota for signing me up. You’re a great friend.”

FullSizeRender

Emily Williams, and friends, with her award for winning Judges first place.

Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1/2 cups white sugar
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
7 ounces, weight container of  marshmallow crème
8 whole (1.55 Oz bars) Hershey chocolate bars, unwrapped
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a 9″ pie pan with baking spray. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar together until they are well combined, then add the egg and vanilla and stir them in.  Stir in the flour, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder.

Divide the dough in half. Press half the dough in the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. Then spread the marshmallow creme over the bottom crust. Separate the chocolate bars into rectangles and place them over the creme.  Then put the marshmallows on top.

With the remaining crust pat sections of the dough onto the top and around the marshmallows. Make sure some of the marshmallows are showing.  Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips. Bake your pie 20 minutes until lightly brown.

Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire rack.  Cool the pie completely before cutting.

The winning Ground Cherry Pie is the first pie in the foreground.

The judges tasted first. Scott Brown’s award winning Ground Cherry Pie is the first pie in the foreground.

Ground Cherry Pie
by Scott Brown
Judges Vote: Second Place

Scott has been baking as a hobby for over 25 years. He started out making cookies and in the past few years he has been making amazing muffins and breads for the gang at the office (his wife owns local business, Harmony Clean). At the holidays, he and his wife Vicki make 15 different cookies for family members. Vicki Brown- “I think it is the best part of the holidays! Scott loves to find new recipes and we are hoping when he retires from his job as a union concrete guy that he starts a bakery!”

Crust Ingredients
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups flour
1 stick of butter cold
1/4 cup oil (veggie)
1/2 cup milk

In a food processor mix sugar, salt, flour. Add butter and oil until crumbly, drizzle milk in processor until combined. Divide into two 1-inch round discs and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Pie Filling Ingredients
4 cups ground cherries (Bakers Note: we bought these at Bolton’s Farm market-you have to peel away the outer layer)
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all together and add to pie crust, place top crust on, bake at 350 until top is golden brown and juices are bubbling.

IMG_2548

Pumpkin Chocolate Mousse Pie
By Josie Gilmore
Judge’s Vote: Third Place

Josie, last season’s winner of the people’s choice award with her Chocolate Caramel Pie, is a senior at Council Rock H.S. You’ll see her every Saturday slinging veggies behind the Blooming Glen Farm booth at the Wrightstown Farmers Market. Josie was inspired by her famous chocolate mousse recipe to find a pie that would pair chocolate mousse with the seasonally appropriate pumpkin.  Josie is currently applying to colleges where she can pursue her love for science.  “I love chemistry and baking is similar to it in a lot of ways. Maybe that’s why I’m good at baking!”

Ingredients
1 (8.8-ounce) pkg. Biscoff cookies, crushed
5 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
4 egg yolks (well beaten)
2 heaping tablespoons flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1½ cups canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
6 tablespoons water
1½ cups cold whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1¼ cups powdered sugar
sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings for garnish

Instructions to Make Crust: Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a 9-inch diameter springform pan with 2¾-inch sides. Mix cookie crumbs, melted butter and nuts in a medium bowl until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up 1 inch of the sides of the pan. Bake at 325 F for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To Make Filling: Make a paste of the egg yolks, flour, sugars and small amount of the milk in a heavy medium saucepan. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat remaining milk 1 minute. Slowly add milk to the egg mixture and, stirring constantly, cook over medium low heat 7-10 minutes or until thickened (mixture will thicken more as it cools). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.

Measure out 1 cup of the filling and put into a separate bowl. Add chocolate to the remaining filling and stir to melt. In reserved bowl, add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Pour chocolate filling into a medium bowl, then press plastic wrap onto the surface of both of the fillings, to eliminate a skin. Refrigerate about 30 minutes. Soften the gelatin in the water for about 5 minutes in a microwave-safe dish.

In a medium chilled bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Microwave gelatin until it dissolves and starts to bubble around the edges, around 30 seconds. In a small bowl, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Stir in 1/3 of the dissolved gelatin into each of the 3 filling bowls (about 2½ tablespoons each–however, I only used 1 Tbsp) and combine well. Fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream into each of the 3 fillings.

Spread chocolate pudding onto cooled crust. Place in freezer for 10 minutes to become firmer. Layer with the cream cheese filling, then place into the freezer for another 10 minutes. Top with the pumpkin layer.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings before serving.

People's Choice winners, left to right: Rose Vaeth, Chloe Nazemi, Allison Seelaus

People’s Choice winners, left to right: Lori Guerin, Chloe Nazemi and Allison Seelaus with the trophy.

Maple Brown Butter Rum Peach Pie
by Allison Seelaus
People’s Choice: First Place

Allison Seelaus- “A little bit about myself, baking is my passion. I graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in New York City and hold a Baking and Pastry degree. Ever since I was two years old, mixing cookie dough with my family, I knew I was going to be a Baker/Pastry Chef. Baking is my life. Currently, I am a Pastry Chef at Normandy Farm Estates producing desserts and bread for over 400 residents daily.

Why I chose this pie:  I love everything about this pie from the bubbly caramel filling to the crispy crunchy streusel. Having ripe peaches is key because it makes the pie so sweet and just perfect! I knew this pie would please many taste buds because it includes flavors like cinnamon, allspice, spiced rum and maple syrup which are known flavors of fall.”

Pie Filling Ingredients
3 pounds ripe peaches (about 6 peaches)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch of allspice
½ cup sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons spiced rum
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons butter

Streusel Ingredients
1/3 cup pecans
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch cinnamon

Crust Ingredients (from Smitten Kitchen):
2½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, to serve

If making homemade crust (you can also use frozen or refrigerated pie crust), start with that. Pour one cup of cold water into a bowl and add in a few ice cubes. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk 2½ cups flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt until well-combined. Take out your butter. It needs to be very cold, so you may want to put it in the freezer for a few minutes to really get it solid. Cut the 2 sticks of butter into ½” pieces Use a pastry blender or food processor to combine the flour mixture and butter pieces until the butter is broken up into pea-sized pieces. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Drizzle half of the ice cold water over the mixture (making sure not to accidentally pour in any ice cubes). Using a rubber spatula, mix together the dough until large lumps form. Use your hands to knead it all into one smooth ball. Divide the dough in half, shape into disks (balls first, then flatten a bit), and wrap in plastic wrap. Let chill in the fridge for at least an hour and a half before rolling out. Stays good in fridge for one week, longer in freezer.

When your dough is ready, flour everything. Your counter, your rolling pin, the dough itself. You want a lot of flour. Press your rolling pin down in the center of the dough disk and push outward. Roll in that direction a few times, then lift and do a quarter turn and roll that direction a few times. Continue rolling, turning the dough, and rolling again until the entire crust is rolled out into a 12″ circle. Work quickly, you don’t want the dough to warm up.

Place the pie crust in your pie pan and fold the excess, overhanging dough underneath, so the pie is now the size of the pan. Crimp the pie crust by making a “V” or pinching shape with your thumb and forefinger on the outside of the crust. Then, using your other pointer finger, push the crust from the inside to fit in between the V-shaped fingers. Continue all around the crust. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.

As you wait for your crust to cool, make the filling. Peel and slice the peaches, and then toss in a large bowl with the cornstarch, flour, cinnamon, salt, and allspice. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, maple syrup, rum, and water. Stir JUST UNTIL the sugar dissolves and then let come to a boil. Resist the urge to stir while it boils. Swirl the pan occasionally to make sure the caramel is browning evenly, but DO NOT STIR. Once the caramel turns a deep amber brown, remove from heat and add in the butter, swirling the pan until the butter completely melts.

Pour the caramel over the peaches and mix well. Pour the peach-caramel filling into the prepared pie shell and place in the refrigerator once more.

Sprinkle the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle, then chop.

In the same small, heavy-bottomed saucepan you used for the caramel, melt a stick of butter over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook until the butter turns golden-brown. Set aside.

Whisk together the 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, ½ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pinch of cinnamon. Mix in the pecans. Drizzle over the browned butter (which now should be slightly cooled) and mix until crumbs form. Crumble the streusel mixture on top of a rimmed baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the filled pie pan and the streusel from the refrigerator. Sprinkle and crumble the streusel over the pie filling until the pie filling is completely covered. Cover the pie crust with foil and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Make sure to put a baking sheet or pie drip catcher underneath, as it WILL bubble over and make a mess! Remove the foil, reduce heat to 350 degrees F, and cook for an additional 30-40 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the caramel should bubble when the pie is ready.

Texas Caramel Pecan Pie first pie in foreground.

Lori Guerin’s winning Texas Caramel Pecan Pie is the first pie in the foreground.

Texas Caramel Pecan Pie
Lori Guerin
People’s Choice: Second Place

When she heard about the Blooming Glen Pie Bake-off returning for another year, Lori decided to do something she hadn’t since she moved back to Pennsylvania from Texas more than twenty years ago: bake a pecan pie.  Although a former Houston resident, the inspiration for her submission came from much closer to her Pennsylvania home.  “When I was an undergrad at La Salle, I would meet my friend Doreen after a long week to share coffee, stories, and a slice of pecan pie at the Howard Johnson on the Boulevard; I enjoyed recreating that.”

Crust Ingredients
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
3 tablespoons cold water

Mix the flour and the salt together, add shortening and cut into flour mixture. Add water and mix gently with a fork. Gather pastry into a ball and spread along the bottom and sides of pie tin.

Optional: add 2 teaspoons (about) flaxseed meal, pinch each of cardamom and nutmeg to the flour and salt before adding the shortening. Bakers Note: “I am an Irish cook…so I tweak every recipe, every time. In this case a bit of flax meal, cardamom and nutmeg mixed in the flour for a little pop for the crust.”

Pie Filling Ingredients
1 ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
½ cup evaporated milk
1 ½ cup pecan pieces
¾ teaspoon vanilla

Combine first five ingredients and mix well. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in milk, pecans and vanilla and mix very well. Pour into pie shell.

Bake 10 minutes at 400, reduce heat to 350 and bake 35-40 minutes, until center barely jiggles. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

IMG_2546

Chocolate Mousse Pie
by Chloe Nazemi
People’s Choice: Third Place

Chloe Nazemi, age 9- “I picked the recipe because I thought it would be different because not a lot of people probably make a mousse pie with lavender crust and lavender whip cream. I’ve always loved experimenting with baking without recipes. Sometimes the baked goods turn out great, sometimes terrible. I used a recipe for the mousse pie because I’ve never made one before and I had no idea how to do it.” What do you enjoy most about baking? “I think it’s fun because I get to use different ingredients to make new things. I like it because the end result is always a surprise!”

Crust
Make your crust (any recipe will do, or a frozen dough store bought one also works). Lay crust into pie plate. Sprinkle a large pinch of culinary lavender over the surface and press into the crust. Bake according to recipe, set aside.

Chocolate mousse Ingredients (Ina Garten recipe)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate (chopped)
1/4 cup brewed coffee (freshly)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (diced, at room temperature)
8 extra large eggs (separated, at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar (plus)
2 tablespoons sugar (divided)
kosher salt
1/2 cup heavy cream (cold

In a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the two chocolates, coffee, and vanilla extract. Cool to room temperature. Beat in the softened butter.

Meanwhile, place the egg yolks and the 1/2 cup of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes, until pale yellow; when you lift the beater, the mixture will fall back on itself in a ribbon. With the mixer on low speed, blend in the chocolate mixture. Transfer to a larger mixing bowl.

Measure 1 cup of egg whites and freeze or discard the rest. Combine the cup of egg whites with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff but not dry. Mix half of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture; then fold the rest in carefully with a rubber spatula.

In the same bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the heavy cream and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar until firm. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mousse into the pie crust plate and spread out evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight and up to a week.

Chloe’s addition to the recipe: Make lavender whipped cream to decorate just before serving. Make this whipped cream as stated above and ADD a good pinch of culinary lavender before whipping. Watch as the whip turns lavender in color. It’s delicious!

Post and photos by Tricia Borneman, Blooming Glen farmer and co-owner.  Tricia and her husband Tom have been farming together since 2000. Blooming Glen Farm is celebrating its 10th season bringing high quality certified organic vegetables, herbs, fruits and cut flowers to our local community.

The real winners of Blooming Glen Farm’s third annual pie bake-off contest were all of us tasters who had the chance to sample the 15 mouth-watering pie entries, including “Green Tomato Cranberry Maple”, “Wild Foraged Paw-Paw”, “Asian Pear and Ginger”, “Butternut Squash and Pecan”, “Chocolate Almond Custard Pear” and “Crab Apple”. With almost 100 people tasting and voting, the following three pies were the top winners.

Maple Custard Pie with Candied Bacon, by Michelle Guerriero, First Place and the trophy winner!

First place winner Michelle with the trophy, to be held for one year and passed on to next year's winner

“I love cooking, but have less of a passion for baking. As I pondered the type of pie I was going to bake for the contest, I decided to join my two favorite flavor profiles in cooking: sweet and savory. Somehow candied bacon came to mind. Slowly, the creation started coming together. I thought, ‘what goes better with bacon than maple?’ Voila: Maple Custard Pie with Candied Bacon was conceived. I didn’t plan to put the whipped cream on, but I had extra heavy cream, so I whipped it up with some maple syrup and nutmeg. I’m glad I did, as I think it made a ‘light’ (not ‘lite!’) element to the pie. I will admit, I played a little dirty including bacon in my pie. I mean, who can lose with bacon?! In any case, I’m glad people liked it. It gives me some motivation to cultivate my baking skills!”- Michelle Guerriero

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups organic flour
1/2 cup lard (I used Ledamete Grass Farm’s lard)
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons ice cold water

Add flour and salt in food processor, pulse. Add lard, pulse until blended. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until pearl-size beads form. Dump on lightly floured surface, roll into ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Take out, roll, then mold into pie pan.

Filling (from smittenkitchen.com):
3/4 cup maple syrup (organic)
2 1/4 cup heavy cream (organic)
4 egg yolks (organic)
1 whole egg (organic)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (organic)

In a medium saucepan, bring maple syrup to a low boil. Stir in cream and bring to simmer, making small bubbles form on side, but do not bring to a full rolling boil. Remove from heat.

In a standing mixer (or by hand, if you choose), whisk together egg yolks and egg. Add vanilla extract, salt and nutmeg. Keeping the whisk at a medium-high speed, slowly add the cream mixture to the eggs. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and pour the hot mixture into your pie crust.

Bake at 325 degrees until firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 30-45 minutes (depending on the depth of pie it could be longer). Let cool to room temperature.

Whipped cream:
heavy cream (organic)
maple syrup (to taste)
grated nutmeg (to taste)

Whip until soft peaks form.

Candied bacon:
8 pieces of thinly sliced bacon or pancetta (I used all-natural pancetta from Whole Foods)
maple syrup (organic)
brown sugar (organic)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In one bowl, pour about 1 cup maple syrup. In a separate bowl, add approximately 1 cup brown sugar. One at a time, dip the bacon in the maple syrup, removing excess syrup from bacon with your fingers, then dip in the brown sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Repeat with all pieces (doing two batches if there’s not enough room on the pan). Place parchment paper over top of the bacon and top with another cookie sheet. This will help keep the bacon flat while baking.

Place in oven for about 20 minutes. Check under top layer of parchment paper for doneness. They should be golden and done (not fatty). If they still look “fatty,” just give them more time. Remove and place on a separate piece of parchment paper. They will firm up more as they dry and the maple/brown sugar hardens.

To assemble:
When pie is cooled to room temperature, add whipped cream on top in a layer. Then add crumbled bacon over whipped cream (you could even place one piece of bacon per slice for presentation).

Almond Pear Pie with Raspberry Glaze by Bernadette Rodrigo, Second Place.

“I developed this recipe by mixing components from various sources. I chose to use pears because they are a wonderful seasonal fruit and often over shadowed by apples. I wanted to duplicate the rich almond filling found in European pastries and the raspberry glaze gives this pie an extra burst of fruit flavor.”- Bernadette Rodrigo

The pie tasting line.

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 sticks chilled butter
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons ice water

Combine flour and sugar. Chop butter into 1/2-inch squares and add to flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, blend until it resembles course meal. In a small bowl lightly beat egg yolks and water. Add liquid to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork, until evenly distributes. Mixture will be crumbly. Use hands to press the dough into a ball. Turn out onto counter top and kneed a few times, smearing the butter forming the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disc. Wrap and refrigerate.

Poached Pears:
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
4 pears, peeled, halved and cored

Combine first four ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a slow simmer. Add pears and simmer 10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow pears to soak 10 more minutes. Then remove pears from pot and allow them to cool. Reserve poaching liquid.

Filling:
1/2 cup blanched almonds, finely ground
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix all ingredient until well combined.

To assemble:
Roll out pastry dough into pie pan. Cover with almond filling. Slice pears and arrange on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Crust and filling will brown. While pie bakes make glaze.

Raspberry Glaze:
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
2 tablespoon poaching liquid

Combine in sauce pan over low heat. Stir to incorporate ingredients. When mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat. Use a pastry brush to gently paint glaze over hot pie. Allow pie to cool completely. Enjoy!

Pecan Pie, by Corbin Williams, Third Place.

A classic, Corbin’s pecan pie comes from his mother’s recipe. It arrived at the contest still warm and gooey from the oven.

Apple Caramel Pie with Pecans by Meredith Stone

Pastry for one 9-inch pie crust
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup dark or light corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves or broken pecans

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pastry. Combine eggs, sugar, salt, butter and syrup; beat thoroughly. Stir in nuts. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake 40-50 minutes or until filling is set and pastry is nicely browned. Cool and enjoy.

At the Fall Fest on October 8th, over 80 CSA members and friends cast their vote for their favorite pie. Out of 10 delicious creative choices the voting was very close. The recipes for the top three pies are listed below, but other favorite entries included Rosemary Scented Caramel Apple Pie, Cinnamon Pumpkin Walnut Pie, Ginger Pecan Snap Pie, Buttermilk Pie and Peach Creme Fraiche.

Brian Smyth wins the 2011 Pie Bake-off Trophy

Almond, Walnut and Cashew Pie, 1st place, Brian Smyth, modified version of Joy of Cooking’s Pecan Pie.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Spread on a baking sheet:
2 cups mixed almonds, walnuts, cashews, coarsely chopped.
Toast the nuts in the oven, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, 6 to 10 minutes.

Whisk until blended:
3 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir in the toasted nuts.

Warm the pie crust in the oven until it is hot to the the touch, then pour in the filling. (The crust recipe: Pat-in-the-pan butter crust, Joy of Cooking.) Bake until the edges are firm and the center seems set but quivery, like gelatin, when the pan is nudged, 36 to 45 minutes. Let cool on a rack for at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Orange Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie, 2nd place, Michelle Guerriero.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a 10-in pie pan, stir together 2 cups finely crushed gingersnap crumbs (about 32-40 gingersnaps) with 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and press into a crust. Bake until set, about 6 minutes. Set aside. Increase heat to 350 degrees.

Beat 4 oz. room temperature cream cheese, 8 oz. mascarpone cheese and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl until smooth.
Add 3 eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each egg.

Add the following and mix until smooth:
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liquer
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pour filling into crust and bake until edges are firm but center still jiggles a bit, 45-50 minutes (bake any extra filling in ramekins). Cool to room temperature, then chill at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

When ready to serve, beat 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup creme fraiche, remaining 2 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest* in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream on pie.
*Could also use 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier instead of orange zest in whipped cream.
Top with any extra gingersnap crumbs and/or freshly grated orange zest for garnish.

Tasting the pies!


Hickory Chickory Pie
, 3rd place, Cindy Myers-Long, modified recipe from Fine Cooking, 9/1/11.

Use your favorite pie dough recipe.
Make the pie dough. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Line the piecrust with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until the bottom looks dry and the edges are golden, 5 to 7 minutes more. Cool on a rack while you prepare the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and put a large, rimmed baking sheet on the oven rack.

Make the filling:
-Combine 1/4 cup Dandy Blend Instant Herbal Beverage with Dandelion purchased at Queen’s Health Food store (or other brand ground chickory coffee) and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream in a 1-quart saucepan and heat over medium heat just until small bubbles form at the edge of the cream, 3 minutes.
-Stir, remove from the heat, and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and reserve.
-Put 8 large egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl set on a kitchen towel and add 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
-Combine 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, coffee and cream mixture, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a 1-quart saucepan.
-Heat over medium heat just until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling, 3 to 5 minutes.
-Whisking vigorously and constantly, very slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the yolks.
-Strain through a fine strainer set over a 1-quart measuring cup.

Fill and bake the pie:
-Spread 1 1/2 cups hickory nuts (or pecans) evenly in the piecrust. Slowly pour the filling over the pecans. Tip: Pour the filling over the nuts in a slow, spiral motion; if you go too fast, the nuts may move, leaving gaps in the finished pie.
-Put the pie on the baking sheet and bake until the center of the pie is slightly firm to the touch and the filling doesn’t wobble when the pie is nudged, 35 to 40 minutes.
-Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with chickory (or coffee) flavored whipped cream.