A dear woman in my church recently passed away. Chrystal Fern Hunt lived 96 glorious years on this earth. She was a tireless missionary, a fervent prayer warrior, and a devoted wife and mother. She was a pillar of tradition yet passed no judgment on those who were counter culture. She accepted with kindness all who crossed her path, and strangers and friends alike were blessed by the countless prayers Chrystal prayed on their behalf. To know Chrystal was to know God's love and compassion and grace. Earth has lost a dear soul.
Chrystal was also a marvelous cook. She excelled at baking pies, hundreds and perhaps thousands of them during her near centennial lifespan, and she shared her pie-making expertise at church. Women young and old would flock to her pie-making classes, seasoned cooks and unseasoned novices alike, hoping to glean some pie wisdom from this sweet woman. As I reminisce, I realize what a wonderful gift it was for Chrystal and the elderly women in our church to guide and mentor their younger sisterhood. The older generation has so much to offer and in my opinion, represents what is so honorable and good about tradition. Our society today is so lacking in proper etiquette, modesty, graciousness, and patience and so quick to discount the older generation as stodgy, irrelevant, and behind the times. What if we all sought out godly mentors, soaked in their teachings and skills, then went out into this fallen world to practice what they taught us and to pay it forward? I dare say that this battered world would be a vastly improved place.
It's with great regret I never had a pastry-making lesson with Chrystal. But fortunately her daughter-in-law Jody gifted me with the cherished recipe on my 50th birthday. So although the first 50 years of my life have been sadly lacking in pie-baking ability, I am reassured that with Chrystal's recipe, my next 50 years, God-willing, will abound in glorious pies! It's not merely Chrystal's pie making skills I want to emulate. I can only hope to bear the fruits of the spirit that she embodied and lived out to ripe fullness: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Thank you, Chrystal, for your never fail pie crust recipe. But mostly, thank you for being the beautiful embodiment of God's unfailing love.
Chrystal's Never Fail Pie Crust (Makes 2 2-crust or 4 1-crust pies)
4 cups flour
1 3/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup ice cold water
Chrystal's crust recipe contains an egg. It's an unusual ingredient but I believe it's what makes her recipe truly a never fail one. I chilled the shortening before cutting it into the flour since it was a very hot day when I prepared the crust. Make sure to use ice cold water and handle the dough as sparingly as possible. I was delightfully pleased at the flaky deliciousness of this crust! I imagine Chrystal smiling down from heaven, nodding her head in approval.
Mix flour, shortening, sugar and salt with a fork. Beat egg, vinegar and water together and add a little at a time to flour mixture (you may not use all the liquid). Use a fork or cut in with a wire dough cutter until the right consistency (flour clumps into pieces the size of small peas). Divide dough equally into four sections. Pat 2 sections into 3/4-inch discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze for a future pie. Wrap one of the remaining sections of dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.
Roll out the remaining dough section into a 13-inch circle between sheets of wax paper. Transfer to a 9 1/2 inch pie pan and refrigerate while preparing the filling. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Filling:
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 cups peeled, cored, and sliced Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Egg yolk, beaten, for crust glaze
Coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling
The filling recipe is a hybrid of Martha Stewart's and Ken Haedrich's apple pie renditions. Granny Smith apples were on sale and they indeed are a good type of apple for pie. They are firm and tart, perfect for the extended baking time. Ken's version uses just one crust with a streusel topping, but I preferred Martha's double crust classic version. So I paired Ken's filling with Martha's double crust option and of course opted for Chrystal's crust recipe. I'm happy to admit the end result was near perfect!
Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine the apples and lemon juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the sugar mixture evenly over the chilled pie shell. Arrange a single, compact layer of apples, flat side down, in the shell. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the sugar mixture. Arrange a second layer of apples over the first and sprinkle with another tablespoon of the sugar mixture. Continue until all the apples and sugar mixture have been used.
On a separate sheet of floured waxed paper, roll the other half of the pastry into a 10-inch circle. Lightly moisten the rim of the pie shell. Invert the top pastry over the filling, center, and peel off paper. Press the top and bottom pastries together along the dampened edge and crimp edges together. With a paring knife, cut slits in top of dough. Brush pie with egg yolk and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar.
Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, 60-75 minutes more. If the top crust browns too quickly, tent pie with foil. (The high temperature helps the crust set quickly, keeping it from becoming soggy. Reducing the heat allows the apples to cook through without burning the crust). Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Chrystal Fern Hunt
The paternal side of my husband's family has deep roots in the deep south. Papa Coco grew up in New Iberia, birthplace of the famous Tabasco sauce, and I credit the Coco clan for my love of spicy fare. My relationship with Cajun cuisine has been a sizzling one. I've eaten my way across the New Orleans area a number of times, keeping syncopated step with Dixieland music and jazz while cavorting with po boy sandwiches, dirty rice and gobs of gumbo all doused with that ubiquitous Tabasco. It's a good thing I don't live in the Big Easy for I would surely be as big as a bayou.
The pièce de résistance of Louisiana fare, however, is the dessert. Beignets with chicory café au lait and pralines are the perfect chasers after a spicy meal. I'm not a Starbucks fan, but if Cafe du Monde ever become a franchise chain, I would probably be the first to buy in! With coffee and caramel pecans as my inspiration, I present to you Louisiana Mudslide Pie. It's a frozen ice cream pie, an ideal counterpoint to the peppery fire of a Cajun dinner and the sultry southern summer heat.
Pecans are incorporated into the pie crust and can also be used as a garnish. A premium coffee flavored ice cream is a requirement, and if you can find it studded with chocolate pieces, that's all the better. Purchase a good quality caramel sauce as well as a thick hot fudge sauce. I've included my recipe for fudge sauce which is easy to prepare and can be stored for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. This is the sauce I used in my Love Potion pie, and I'm not so humble to say, this sauce is swoon-worthy!
Bon appétit!
Crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup pecans, finely ground in a coffee mill
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients together and press evenly into a 9 1/2-inch pie pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool.
Filling:
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce (you can use bottled, but recipe is below)
1/2 gallon coffee ice cream, softened
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans for garnish (optional)
Spoon 1/3 cup of caramel topping and into cooled pie crust and freeze for about 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and spread half of ice cream over the caramel sauce. Spread another 1/3 cup of caramel sauce and 2/3 cup of hot fudge sauce over the ice cream. Sprinkle with 1/4 cups chocolate chips and then spread remaining ice cream into the pie pan. Spread remaining 2 tablespoons each of the caramel and hot fudge sauce over top of pie. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and sprinkle with pecans if desired.
Freeze at least 4 hours before serving.
Fudge Sauce:
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat the milk, chocolate chips and sugar to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Reserve 1 cup of sauce for the pie and store the remaining sauce in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for another use.
The mercury has been creeping toward 90 degrees in my neck of the woods. Most of us seasoned Montanans embrace the heat while it lasts because we know winter lurks around the corner, waiting to seize us in its frigid grasp. Others, like my husband, wither and wane in hot weather. With no air conditioning, the last thing I want to inflict upon my Nordic snowman is a hot oven cranking out the heat in an already stuffy house.
An ice cream pie is the perfect dessert to prepare and serve during these hot summer months. I chose a banana split pie with its traditional crowd pleasing flavor combination of chocolate, strawberries and pineapple. Thankfully I had a graham cracker pie shell stored in the freezer and didn't have to bake one up from scratch. A store-bought crust will do, too.
This pie can be made days ahead of time and stored in the freezer. The layered ingredients showcase beautifully once the pie is sliced. Have fun experimenting with various ice cream flavors. Neopolitan ice cream would be especially appropriate with its built in flavor trio of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients together and press evenly into a 9 1/2-inch pie pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Caramel sauce (store bought)
Hot fudge sauce (store bought)
1/2 gallon ice cream (I used a premium vanilla)
2 large ripe bananas
2 cups of strawberries
8 ounce can crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used pecans and peanuts)
Maraschino cherries for garnish
Using a chilled medium-size bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
Without measuring, pour enough butterscotch sauce into the chilled pie shell to cover generously. I used nearly half of a 17 ounce jar. Place the pie in the freezer for 10 minutes. Take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften a bit. Slice bananas and strawberries into 1/4" slices.
Mound half of the ice cream in the pie shell on top of the sauce. Press into crust lightly and then spread sliced strawberries, bananas and crushed pineapple evenly over ice cream layer. Spread fudge sauce over the fruit and mound remaining ice cream over the chocolate sauce. Spread whipped cream over pie and sprinkle with nuts. Freeze for an hour before serving. Garnish with maraschino cherries and serve with additional caramel and chocolate sauce if desired.
It's August in Northwest Montana and we Montanans are basking in the few glorious weeks of our alpine summer. Big Mountain has shed the last remnants of its heavy winter coat and is now blanketed in dainty wildflowers and beargrass. The sun, long hidden under its gray shroud, casts its brilliant countenance to the delight of sun-starved beings below. Out of the monochrome of winter, color bursts forth in a frenzy. Yellows and pinks and lush greens dot the landscape, and to those who choose to trek to higher elevations, a purple treat awaits.
Huckleberries!
Huckleberries thrive in the northwestern mountain regions of the United States. The purplish berry is smaller than a blueberry and has a distinctive piquant flavor. They grow in brambly patches on rugged mountainsides and are rather labor intensive to harvest. Huckleberries are not produced commercially and bears love to eat them which makes them worth their weight in gold.
Whitefish, Montana, my home for the past 17 years, hosts an annual huckleberry festival each August. Huckleberry Days is a celebration of our native purple fruit which draws berry-loving folks far and wide. The three day event features arts, crafts and a bake-off contest of which yours truly won top honors for a huckleberry cake entry. Although I did not enter a huckleberry recipe this year, my pie blog will most definitely feature a huckleberry pie. My dear friend Teresa gifted me with the first fruits of her huckleberry picking foray; her hours of picking yielded three cups of the purple preciousness.
I've chosen an all butter crust to pair with the filling. The recipe is amazingly easy and quick, a welcome change to the tedium of harvesting the berries. If you have access to huckleberries or know of a friend who will share their stash, you indeed are blessed. For those of you not so fortunate, you can order frozen huckleberries online at www.nwwildfoods.com. If you are craving a huckleberry pie NOW and do not want to hassle with baking one, visit www.thehuckleberrypatch.com to order a made from scratch pie. It will cost you a pretty penny, actually 4,895 pretty pennies. But trust me, a taste of fresh huckleberry pie is worth every penny you plunk down.
If patience is one of your virtues and you can endure one of my shameless plugs for the charming town I call home, I recommend saving your pretty pennies for a trip to beautiful Whitefish, Montana next August where you can hike our gorgeous trails in search of the coveted huckleberry!
Crust:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup cold water
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, tossing it with the flour. With electric mixer on low speed, blend butter into the flour until you have what looks like coarse, damp meal. Turning the mixer on and off, add half of the water. Mix briefly on low speed. Add the remaining water, mixing slowly until the dough starts to form large clumps. Do not overmix.
Test the dough by squeezing some of it between your fingers. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, if the dough seems dry and not packable. Using your hands, pack the dough into 2 balls. Make one ball slightly larger than the other; this will become your bottom crust. Knead each ball once or twice, then flatten into 3/4-inch thick disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the larger portion of dough into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert over a 9-inch pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, and let the overhang drape over the edge. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Filling:
3 cups frozen huckleberries, partially thawed
3 1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into 1/4" cubes
Mix first three filling ingredients together and let stand 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
On a separate sheet of floured waxed paper, roll the other half of the pastry into a 10-inch circle. Remove pie shell from refrigerator and pour filling ingredients into shell. Dot filling with butter cubes. Lightly moisten the rim of the pie shell. Invert the top pastry over the filling, center, and peel off paper. Press the top and bottom pastries together along the dampened edge and flute into a decorative edge if desired. Pierce top crust with fork prongs or a knife to allow steam to escape while baking.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Place foil or pie crust guard on crust edge if overbrowning occurs. Remove pie from oven and cool pie on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream, if desired.
When I think of peaches, I think of Georgia. All it takes is one bite of a juicy peach and I've got Georgia on my mind.
I lived in the peach state for about a year. In that short time, I was blessed with all things southern...gracious hospitality, sweet tea, Vidalia onions, fresh roasted peanuts, and of course, luscious peaches. A fragrant magnolia tree graced my front yard. I would sometimes sip mint juleps under it while listening to the cicadas sing. My perfectly coiffed southern belle neighbors addressed me as "Miss Linda". I could almost envision them in hoop skirts a la Scarlett O'Hara, sashaying about while syrupy southern witticisms dripped off their tongues.
If only peach season were as long as a southerner lingers on a vowel. Much like cherry season, peach season is short, so I must seize the opportunity to feature the official fruit of Georgia. However, I'm beginning to wonder if I should stay away from pies made with stone fruit. Last week's cherry pie turned out to be the pits and this week's peach pie was hardly peachy keen. My disastrous pie result made an unwelcome and abrupt entrance into my sweet Georgia reverie. Apparently, I don't know nuthin' 'bout bakin' no peach pies.
Despite my peach pie demise, I will post the recipe. It's one of Ken Haedrich's and I know that a pie master like Mr. Ken creates recipes that results in masterpiece pies. A mere pie novice like me, however, can hardly hope to consistently produce showpiece pies. This recipe is not difficult. Just make sure to avoid doing what I did. Use ripe peaches, make sure to peel all the fuzzy skin off those ripe peaches, do not over bake the pie which will curdle the cream, and make sure to chill the pie thoroughly before serving.
Two botched pies in a row is not enough to deter me. As Scarlett O'Hara once said, "After all. Tomorrow is another day."
Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold water
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Toss well by hand to mix. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and toss to mix. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut or rub the butter into the flour until it is broken into pieces the size of small peas. Add the shortening and continue to cut until all of the fat is cut into small pieces. Sprinkle half of the water over the mixture. Toss well with a fork to dampen the mixture. Add the remaining water, 1 1/2-2 tablespoons at a time, and continue to toss and mix, pulling the mixture up from the bottom of the bowl on the upstroke and gently pressing down on the downstroke. Dough made my hand often needs a bit more water. If necessary, add water 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the pastry can be packed.
Using your hands, pack the pastry into a ball as you would pack a snowball. Knead the ball once or twice, then flatten the ball into a 3/4-inch-thick disk on a floured work surface. Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before rolling.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge so it is flush with the top of the pan. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Filling:
2 1/2 to 3 cups peeled, pitted, and sliced ripe peaches (you can substitute a 1 pound bag of frozen sliced peaches, thawed)
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Big pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Distribute the peach slices evenly in the chilled shell. Combine the cream, confectioner's sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium-size bowl and whisk to blend. Slowly pour the cream over the peaches. Use a fork, if necessary, to rearrange the peach slices evenly in the shell.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the pie, then return it to the oven, placing it so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward. Bake until the filling is bubbly and the top is caramel-colored, 15-20 minutes. The filling will still be liquidy.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly. Cover with loosely tented aluminum foil and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
