catching up with pie #12; butterscotch baked alaska pie

for all of you who think i may have given up on my 52 week pie challenge-think again.  yes i will admit that this is a couple days late but cut me some slack-i do not have a working oven at the moment and it is making this more of a problem solving challenge than a baking challenge.  that said, let's move on and get to this week's pie...

since i am awaiting the parts to make mr. kenmore whole again (they have shipped and i am waiting eagerly for them to arrive) i have had to change direction a bit.  this week i chose an ice cream pie with a cookie crumb crust so that i wouldn't have to use an oven.  for reasons unknown, i was fixated on butterscotch ice cream.  can't explain it; never had it before and no, i'm not pregnant.  to get started, i made a batch of butterscotch ice cream base and while i attempted to freeze it-wiltons hand crank/frozen gel filled bowl leaves much to be desired, i made the crust.  the result was a very soft ice cream that ultimately ended up being a little harder than i would have liked.  some day, i will get a real ice cream freezer and that will no longer be an issue.

as i worked on freezing/cranking the ice cream, i made a chocolate cookie crumb crust with pecans from  some homemade biscotti that were not dipped in chocolate.  when i filled the crust with the ice cream and set it in the freezer to firm up, i decided to work on the garnish and that is where i completely drew a blank.  how could i make this pie interesting and what would go with butterscotch???  a chocolate sauce would over power it and whipped cream is kind of boring.  fruit, maybe but...then i did the unthinkable-i asked my husband what he would like with it.  his response was a rapid fire marshmallow cream and so, baked alaska it is!  to keep it interesting, i made a caramel sauce with some rum in it to drizzle over it and called it a dessert.

butterscotch baked alaska pie with rum caramel sauce

serves 8-10

butterscotch ice cream

adapted from sunset magazine

1 3/4 cup half and half

1 3/4 cup heavy cream

1" piece of vanilla bean pod

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup dark brown sugar 

6 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the topping)

1 tablespoon dark rum

place the half and half, heavy cream, vanilla pod and salt in a sauce pot and heat over medium low heat. in a skillet over medium low heat, melt the butter and then add the dark brown sugar.  stir to melt the sugar and bring the mixture up to a slow boil and continue to boil for 3-4 minutes.   carefully whisk in about half a cup of the hot cream and stir to dissolve the sugar.   pour the melted sugar into the remaining hot cream and stir to combine.  in a heat proof bowl, whisk the eggs.  carefully whisk some of the hot cream into the egg yolks to temper them.  reduce the heat to low and whisk the hot egg yolks into the cream and cook while stirring until it thickens.  this will not take too long, about 2-3 minutes.  be sure to stir constantly and to check the thickness, dip a spoon in the mixture and then drag your fingertip across the back of the spoon.  if the stripe holds it's shape, it is done.  do not boil the mixture or it will curdle.  pour the base through a strainer and chill completely.  proceed according to the ice cream freezers instructions.  

cookie crumb crust

1 (9") pie shell

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and hot

1 cup cookie crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon chopped pecans

combine the ingredients and press into a  (9") pie plate.  when the ice cream is ready, pour it into the pie shell and smooth it out.  cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. 

meringue topping

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

in a mixing bowl, whip the whites with the cream of tartar until foamy.  gradually add the sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.  spread the mixture over the top of the pie.  to make spikes, tap the meringue with the back of a spoon and pull it away quickly.  to brown the meringue, use a torch or the broiler and keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.   cut the pie and garnish each slice with the caramel sauce if desired.

caramel sauce

about 1 cup

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons corn syrup

2 tablespoons dark rum

place the cream and butter in a heat proof dish and microwave to heat them and melt the butter.  place the    sugar, water and corn syrup in a sauce pot with a lid and over medium heat, allow it to heat while covered.  after 2-3 minutes, remove the lid and swirl the pan to melt the sugar.  cover again and allow the steam to wash down the sides.  after a minute or two, uncover the pot and watch as it slowly begins to turn a light amber.  carefully add the warm cream, stirring to prevent it from boiling over and over low heat, cook until all of the sugar is dissolved.  remove from the heat and add the rum.  serve while still warm but not hot from the stove!

and as always, make one and send me a photo to post here.  go ahead, i dare you, double dog dare you to make this pie!!!  e-mail photos to bakinbabe116@aol.com

murphy's law ko'd pie #11

i'm mourning the loss of a true friend.  we have been through so many triumphs and tragedies together and i am completely lost without him.  poor, poor mr. kenmore; he was my only oven and he died this weekend.  we wrote two books together and in the process tested more recipes than i can recall.  for hours on end, he heated through and through and he did so much more than just baking pies and cakes.  he cooked many, many loaves of bread, meatloaves, lasagnas as well as roasting chickens, turkeys and at least one goose.  how can i go on without my mr. kenmore?  unfortunately, as far as baking goes, i can't go on until i get him replaced.

mr. kenmore's coil exploded

so what exactly happened?  it went like this:  preheat oven to 300.  as i whipped up batch #2 of my chocolate pavlova pie hearts, i saw a bright flash in the room which was followed by a sizzling noise.  i turned to see what caused the flash behind me and saw a bright light coming through the window of the oven door.  it was so bright that it reminded me of a welder's torch!  the coil had a hot spot and it blew and it was in danger of starting a fire.  with a yell of four letter words and cry for help, my husband came running with the fire extinguisher.  luckily, once we turned off the oven and unplugged it from the wall, all danger subsided and reality set in-no pie this week...we made the decision to replace rather than repair because we have already had it repaired once-a stove coil did the same thing not long ago and it also required new wiring where it had blown the connection.  we have had this oven for going on 8 years and decided that with the workout it gets from two professional chefs, we would just replace it and hope for the best.

the dessert that almost wasn't

since it was valentine's day, i decided on a few things; chocolate, hearts and red berries.  with that in mind, i set about making chocolate pavlova.  here is a close up of the unbaked meringue heart-the first batch made it through before mr. kenmore bit the dust.

the meringues after they baked were too thin and a little more dense than i hoped for.  after adjusting the recipe, i was attempting to make the second batch when it all went to hell in a hand basket.

after all, it is a recent tradition to make a dinner for valentine's day and we had three girls to serve so i made lemonade with the lemons or more accurately, pavlova with the meringues.  topped with strawberries and whipped cream, they were tasty.  i am not posting a recipe this week because i am not done with this one.  look for me to post this again as soon as i am back in production.  i wanted to have a sauce ot accompany the dessert and this was not the presentation i hoped for.

so how did i spend the afternoon that i normally use to make a pie?  with the rest of the girls:

believe it or not, we are urban beekeepers and we took advantage of the warm sunny day to go into the hive and check on the rest of our girls.

here is a close up of the activity on the front porch.  they were out foraging for nectar.  believe it or not, there are some flowers out there, mainly what most people call weeds but to us beekeepers, they are beneficial plants since they provide the only nectar at this time of year.  so, before you think about that golf course lawn that you've always wanted, think about the bees and just let the lawn go-you will feed the bees and help save a stream in the process and save yourself a whole lot of money.

look for me to be up and running asap!  i'm going out to look at stoves today!!!

sourdough rye; bread baking day #37

sourdough bread has always been one of my favorites.  as a kid, my grandmother took me to san francisco and i have been in love with the flavor since then.  with a slightly tangy flavor and a thick and chewy crust, authentic san francisco sourdough bread has always been the bread of choice for me.  of course, if you do not live there, you can only savor the memory once you leave because finding the same bread outside of the bay area very rarely compares.  the naturally occurring yeast in the starter has unique qualities much like a new york pizza-nearly impossible to duplicate once you leave the region.

over the years, it has been 16 years since we left san francisco, i have experimented many times with starter but never had much success until one day when our daughter needed to do a project for the science fair at school.  i suggested natural yeasts and several different types of starters and thus began a trial and error project that produced one of the best loaves of sourdough bread we had eaten in years.  we used grapes to make the starter and for several months, the starter lived in our fridge until i neglected it and it died.  years later, i found myself working in a garden as a volunteer for the local master gardeners association and in this garden, grapes were growing.  more importantly, organic grapes that i could use to make a new starter.  using a recipe that has been credited to nancy silverton of la brea bakery, i proceeded to use those grapes to grow the best starter i have ever had and a year and a half later, it is still going strong.  the starter worked out so well that i split it and i now have a jar of white starter and a jar of rye starter.

my fascination with bread also led me to bread baking day.  each month for the last 3+ years, the followers of bread baking day pick a host who choses a theme or a specific recipe and everyone bakes bread and posts the results on blog pages worldwide.  at the end of the month, the host of the month posts a roundup of all of the breads produced by the participants.  over the last year or so, i have sporadically participated in the monthly event.  when i saw that this months theme was a bread that used a sponge or ferment, knowing that my rye starter needed a feeding, i baked a loaf of sourdough rye.

freshly mixed sponge

first i took a cup of the starter and placed it in a bowl with some water and flour.  it makes a soft dough when it is mixed and this is then allowed to sit and age to develop a sour flavor.  on the left is what the sponge looked like in the bowl and the right is a close up view-you can see the caraway seeds and the bits of the rye grains in the flour.

after 24 hours

it has been cold here and as a result, my starter grew very slowly.  so slowly that i decided to let it go an extra day.  here it is before i stirred it(on the left).  after sitting out for 24 hours, it became rather runny but it still had some structure from the plain bread flour that was mixed in.












after 48 hours                                                        

on bake day, i added some salt and bread flour and prepared to knead the dough by hand.  using a spatula, i mixed in as much flour as i could and at this point, the dough had the consistency of a soft biscuit dough.  i turned it out onto the tray and started kneading.








after 3 minutes of kneading
the dough is beginning to show some structure and it is still a bit sticky and soft.












 after 7 minutes kneading
the dough is no longer soft-it has definite structure and is just a little sticky from the friction of kneading.











after 10 minutes kneading
the dough holds its shape and is elastic.  the grains from the stone ground rye prevent it from looking smooth but it is ready to rise in an oiled bowl until about double in size.











remember what i said about the kitchen being cold? well, i do not have a gas range in my kitchen and i cannot use the heat of a pilot light to rise bread.  however, my oven does have a light in it and it is the perfect place to rise a bowl of dough.  since it is in the closed oven, there are no drafts and the light quickly heats up the space.

to give the finished bread a textured surface, i like to do the second rise in a floured basket.  it makes a unique pattern on the surface of the dough during the rising and that pattern is retained after baking.

after the rising, i turn it out onto my peel and slide it into the hot oven where it was baked on a stone.

the finished bread-ready to eat

Sourdough Bread

adapted from How to Bake by Nick Malgieri

sponge

1 cup water

1 cup starter-any kind but preferably a rye sour

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1/2 cup stone ground rye flour

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

combine in a bowl and cover it. allow it to sit and ferment for at least 8 hours and as long as 36 hours at room temperature.

dough

to the sponge, add:

2 teaspoons salt

1-1/2 cups to 1-3/4 cups bread flour

mix together and turn out onto a floured surface. knead the dough by hand adding flour as needed for at least 5 minutes and up to 10 minutes. place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it and allow it to rise until doubled, at least one hour.

preheat the oven and baking stone if you have one to 500 F. at this time, place a baking pan in the bottom oven if you want to have steam during the baking process. turn the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a tight ball. place the dough, seam side up, in a floured basket or a cloth lined bowl that is also floured and allow it to rise until doubled-about an hour. turn the loaf onto a pan or a bread peel that is sprinkled with cornmeal. place the bread in the oven, toss some ice cubes on to the pan, reduce the heat to 450F and bake for 20 minutes. reduce the heat again to 350F and bake until a thermometer reads about 210F, this could take 20 minutes and as long as 35 minutes. the bread will be nicely colored. cool completely on a rack before slicing.

notes:  whole grain flours make dense breads so use them with bread flour to make them a little less work on the jaws.  the recipe is very flexible and it is possible to start the sponge with up to 1 cup of any other flour and 1 cup of bread flour.  in the past, i have used whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn meal and semolina to make tasty loaves.  once, i even made it a little sweet with brown sugar and cinnamon and stirred in some plumped raisins-now that was some awesome cinnamon raisin bread!  if you choose to bake a loaf, follow along and submit your recipe to bread baking day, the deadline is march 1.

Sourdough Rye

maple-pecan pie with butternut squash, #10 of 52 pies in 52 weeks

as a pastry chef, it is always fun to take something considered savory and transform it into a dessert.  coming up with an original idea is often as easy as taking a slow walk through the produce aisle in the supermarket.  during the winter months, the selection of produce can be a bit boring because the variety is not always as abundant.  as i shopped for groceries last week, i started out in the produce section since it is right by the main entrance of the store and one of the  first things that caught my eye was a display of hard winter squashes; spaghetti, acorn-golden and green and butternut.  i like butternut squash and so does the gang at home and i serve it every now and then.  we generally like it baked with a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon and a little butter.  sort of like a dessert that you can eat first and not feel guilty about.  at that moment i wondered, would it make a nice pie?  a nice filling for a pecan pie?  what about a maple pecan pie...

pick a squash that weighs at least a pound-you will lose some of the weight to the skin but should have enough for the pie.  if you chose a larger one, that means the rest is a bonus and i suggest you add a little brown sugar, cinnamon and butter to it and eat it.  to prepare the squash, cut it in half and remove the seeds.  place the squash in an oven proof dish, put a small amount of water in the bottom of the dish, cover it with foil and bake at 350 until it is soft.  the time can vary due to the size and the one i chose weighed just over two pounds and took about an hour.  remove from the oven and scoop the flesh out with a spoon.  allow it to cool before using, you will need 1 1/3 cup for the recipe so anything extra is for snacking.  when it comes to maple syrup-purity matters.  pancake syrup is not maple syrup and it won't give it the same flavor as pure maple syrup.  if you can find grade "b" syrup, it will offer a more intense flavor but grade "a" is fine and that is what i used-no time to make a trip to trader joe's for grade b and i didn't want to buy/spend for just a few ounces.

maple-pecan pie with a butternut squash filling

serves 8-10

something funny happened in the oven-the squash filling rose and the maple custard filling sank!

squash filling
1 (9") prebaked deep dish pie crust-any kind you like, i used a tart dough recipe that has sugar in it but it browned too much so i recommend sticking to pie pastry.
1 1/3 cup baked squash flesh
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) heavy cream
place the squash, sugar, maple syrup and spices in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend.  process the mixture, scraping the bowl occasionally until it is completely and evenly pureed.  add the eggs one at a time and pulse to mix.  scape the bowl, add the cream and combine well.   pour the mixture into the prebaked pie shell and smooth the top.

maple-pecan topping
1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
preheat the oven to 350.  toast the pecans until fragrant, about 7 minutes.  in a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar with the melted butter and the cinnamon.  whisk in the eggs, one at a time and then whisk in the maple syrup.  sprinkle the pecans evenly over the squash filling.  carefully pour the maple filling over the pecans.  ***do this slowly and hold the bowl close to the pie as you pour-the idea is to make layers and if you pour quickly or from a long distance above the surface you will force the pecans down into the squash layer.  bake until the pecan topping puffs up and is firm across the top, 40-45 minutes.
allow to cool before serving and if you like, serve it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

a few more notes about this pie:  the squash could easily be made with any other sweet hard winter squash such as acorn or turban or some other heirloom variety as well as pumpkin.  sweet potatoes can also be used in the filling and if you prefer walnuts, go for it!

as always, if you dare to bake along, send me a photo and i will post it here-bakinbabe116@aol.com

warming up with #9 of 52 pies in 52 weeks

this winter has been colder and snowier than usual.  around here, just about everyone has had their fill of snow and the hassles that come along with it.  today, the temperature broke 50 and it was sunny.  it was a taste of what lies ahead and i can't wait.   the chance to weed the garden and sow seeds.  to watch sleeping plants slowly reappear.  to see the bees flying around in search of blooms.  for the first harvest of fresh greens.  but for now, it is all a lovely vision of what isheaded our way and that means i must content myself in the kitchen.  in honor of the coming season, i have chosen two things that make me think of spring.  easter pie is a popular italian pastry and depending on which version you make, it can either be a ricotta cheese cake studded with candied citrus fruit or a savory pie filled with meats and cheeses.  since spring generally means a new growth of rhubarb in the garden, i chose the cheesecake.  to incorporate the rhubarb, i made a compote to serve over the slice.

lurking in my refrigerator are many different flours and for the crust, i chose semolina-after all, this is inspired by italian cheesecakes and the sandy texture of semolina seemed like a good choice.  the dough is a little sweet due to a generous addition of brown sugar which also helps give the dough some extra color.

many italian style cheesecakes call for candied citron and orange peels.  since they are hard to come by once fruitcake season over, i decided to use the fresh grated zest of an orange and a lemon along with some vanilla bean seeds.

the filling, which was mixed up quickly by hand, was poured into the prebaked tart shell and then topped off with a non-woven lattice top.  the rhubarb compote was served chilled and added to each slice as it was served.  surprisingly enough, everyone has a generous slice with the compote when i serve it-even the kids!  the compote tastes a little like cranberry sauce-the kind made with fresh berries but that could also be because the flavorings added to it can always be found in the cranberries i cook for thanksgiving dinner each year.

lattice topped ricotta cheesecake with rhubarb compote  

makes 1 (9") serving 8-10  

semolina crust

makes enough dough for two 9" tart shells or one tart shell with a lattice top

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup semolina flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup shortening (i used spectrum brand mechanically pressed organic palm oil-non hydrogenated shortening)

4-5 tablespoons cold water

place the flours in a bowl with the brown sugar and the salt.  using your fingers, rub the mixture together to completely incorporate the brown sugar.  using a pastry blender, two forks or your fingers, cut in the shortening until it is in small peas sized pieces.  add the water, first the 4 tablespoons, and mix until it comes together and forms a soft dough.  add the extra tablespoon of water slowly and only if needed.  form the dough into a thick disk, wrap it in plastic and chill for several hours.  can be made 2-3 days ahead.

to make the tart shell, allow the dough to soften a bit at room temperature.  it should be soft enough that it yields to gentle pressure.  grease a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and place it on a sturdy baking sheet.  preheat the oven to 325.  take a piece of dough that is slightly less than half of the disk and form it into a round patty.  on a floured surface, roll out the dough so that it is larger than the pan; it will need about 2 inches of surplus around the entire pan.  carefully place the dough in the pan and referring to the photo above, fold the extra dough in to make the sides a double thickness.  line the tart shell with a piece of parchment or coffee filters and fill it with weights.  prebake the crust until it is no longer shiny and translucent on the bottom but it should not have gained much color, about 20 minutes.  for more hints on prebaking pie shells, refer to this previous post.  while the crust bakes, mix the filling.  pour the filling into the prebaked pie shell and top it with lattice strips if desired.  bake the tart on the sheet pan at 325 for about 325 until it is firm and the top crust has baked, about 50 minutes.  chill the tart before serving.  cut into edges and serve with a dollop of the rhubarb compote.

ricotta cheesecake filling

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon finely grated zest from 1 orange and 1 lemon-2 teaspoons total

seeds from half of a vanilla bean, reserve the pod for the compote

1 (15oz) container of part skim ricotta (i chose this because it was the only one without additives)

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

2/3 cup heavy cream

in a bowl, rub the sugar with the flour, zests and vanilla beans until it is all combined and the vanilla beans are dispersed evenly.  using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix in the ricotta and blend it well.  whisk in the eggs and the yolks, scrape the bowl well and carefully whisk in the cream.  it is a custard filling and is best not to add too much volume so only whisk to combine.  

rhubarb compote

makes about 2 cups 

2 cups rhubarb, sliced 1/2" thick (i used frozen rhubarb which is sold with the frozen fruit in the supermarket where i shop)  if using frozen, allow it to thaw and include the juices that collect.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 star anise pod

1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and slowly simmer until the rhubarb begins to break up and it turns a light rosy shade.  remove the vanilla pod and the star anise pod and chill completely before serving.

mini fried cherry pies, #8 of 52 pies

it seems that winter has decided to stay here for a while.  we have had another round of snow and it gave me a chance to play in my own kitchen for a change.  when i was working on my book last year, i developed this recipe.  since there were more recipes than needed, it was cut from the list of recipes to be included and it has been lurking in the background ever since.  normally, i wouldn't make something like this-i do try to behave on occasion.  but something about cold, snowy days made me think of fried cherry pies.  and as a result, i just had to pull out that recipe and make them.   enough time had passed that i was completely unfamiliar with the recipe and any of it's quirks.  the beauty of it all is that there aren't any quirks and no corrections needed to be made to the recipe meaning that i done good the first time!   tart red cherries can be hard to find.  if you are the sort who doesn't mind buying large quantities, they can be found online in quantities of 5-10 pounds but they are frozen and the extra expense of the shipping made them undesirable to me; i decided to use the canned cherries i found at the supermarket.  honestly, you could use any fruit you like here-just adjust the flavorings and the sugar as needed and if you are short on time, you could use a premade fruit pie filling.

i made my dough the day before and then took it out to soften.  when it was ready to be rolled, i grabbed my high dollar cutter (an empty family size soup can) and the biggin (my favorite big rolling pin) and i rolled out all of the dough circles.  i also made the filling in advance so i was able to then start filling and sealing the pies.  in the mean time, the oil was heating on the stove in my cast iron skillet.







***a note of caution to all who dare to make these pies, never walk away and leave a pan of oil heating on its own!  it is very easy to overheat and a fire could easily be started!!!  if you do not have a fire extinguisher, consider adding one to your kitchen***

use a thermometer and a cast iron skillet for the best heat management-the thermometer will let you know if the oil is too hot or too cold and the skillet holds the heat making regulating the heat easier.  have your pies ready and near by and also have a place to put the cooked pies close by too.  i used a cooling rack on a sheet pan.  a pair of tongs will be very helpful-the ones like they use in restaurants are a good choice and easy to find.






after you have fried all of the pies, make the glaze and drizzle it over the pies with a spoon.   then stand back and watch them disappear!

mini fried cherry pies

makes about 18 small pies

fried pie dough

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

¾ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1/3 cup buttermilk (you may need a little extra)

1 egg yolk

place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk them to combine.  using a dough cutter,  two knives or your hands, cut the butter into the flour mix until you have small pieces and the flour resembles coarse meal.  combine the buttermilk and the egg yolk and pour it over the butter/flour mix.  stir it together to form a firm dough adding additional buttermilk if it is too dry and crumbly.  shape it into a patty, wrap it in plastic and allow it to rest in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 3 days or you can freeze it for as long as a month.

tart red cherry filling 

2 (14.5oz) cans tart cherries in water

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon red food color-optional

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

place the cherries and the juice into a sauté pan with the sugar, extract, cinnamon and the food color if you are using it.  bring it to a gentle boil over medium-low heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by 2/3.  sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stir it in and return it to the boil for at least 1 minute to cook the flour.  place the filling in a heat proof dish, cover and chill completely before using it.

assembling and frying the pies

flour for rolling the dough

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water

enough oil to fill a  10” cast iron skillet 1-1 ½”  deep, (i used 3 cups canola oil)

1 cup powder sugar

2-3 tablespoons water

cut the dough into 2 equal pieces.  roll out the dough a bit thinner than you would for a pie, somewhere between an eighth and a sixteenth of an inch.  using a 4” cutter, cut as many circles as possible by positioning the cuts close together.  do not worry if some of the circles overlap slightly or if you have imperfections, it is not crucial to have perfect circles.  repeat this with the other half of the dough.  there should be about 12 circles at this point.  gather the scraps, pat them together and roll the dough out again.  you should get about 6 more circles.    place the oil in the skillet, attach a thermometer to the side of the  pan and heat to 350 over medium low heat.  while the oil heats, place a few circles of dough onto your work area, brush off the excess flour and place a scant tablespoon(almost a full #50 scoop) of filling in the center of each circle.  brush half of each circles edge with the egg wash.  fold over the dough and seal it shut with your fingertips first and then with the tines of a fork to be certain the seal is firm.  when the oil is at temperature, carefully lower 3 to 4 pies into the oil with out splashing.  allow the pies to fry on each side for 2-3 minutes or until a nice golden brown color is achieved.  turn them carefully so that you do not splash oil.  lift the pies out of the oil and place them on a rack to drain.  fry the remaining pies in the same manner.  to make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and whisk in the water to make a smooth icing.  drizzle the icing over the pies with a spoon.

any of you adventurous sorts out there that want to try this at home, please do and then send me a picture(bakinbabe116@aol.com) and i will post it here, a round up if you will for anyone who dares...

round up #2, chocolate mousse pie with banana caramel sauce

when benni rienzo first tweeted that she would be making this pie, i was excited.  not many of you reading this blog have been adventurous enough to make the pies and send me photos.  needless to say, i have been waiting to see how the pie turned out.  and it looks to me that despite the challenges that having twin boys and a husband out of town can impose on a baker, benni done good!

thanks so much for baking with me benni!!!  hope you can do it again some time, soon.  and to all of you reading this blog, bake along with me, i promise to post the photos if you send them to me!!!