Rustic Pear and Apple Wine Pie

This pie was very good, very simple, but had some unique flavor twists that made it different.  It's the first time I've used the spice mace in a recipe, and it is used both in the crust and in the filling.  It's a spice made from the same tree as nutmeg, but smells and tastes very different, and accounts for the rustic part of the name.  I found a recipe for something very similar on www.epicurious.com, added wine, messed with the quantities a bit, and made it my own.

Crust

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tbs sugar
• 2 tsps grated lemon peel
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground mace
• 7 tbs cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tbs ice water

Filling

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 3 large Jonagold apples, peeled, cored, cut into thin 1/2- slices
• 2 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, cut into thin 1/2- slices
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsps grated lemon peel
• 1/4 tsp ground mace
• 1 1/2 tbs butter

Whipped cream

• 1 cup chilled whipping cream
• 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs Applejack Brandy

Preparation

For crust:
Mix flour, sugar, grated lemon peel, salt and ground mace in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix yolk and water in small bowl. Add to processor and mix in using on/off turns until large moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in waxed paper and freeze 10 minutes. 

Butter 9-inch pie plate. Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 13-inch round. Peel off top sheet of paper. Invert dough into prepared pan; peel off paper. Fold in edges to form double thickness. Crimp edges decoratively. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) 

For filling:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Finely chop slivered almonds in processor. Spread almonds on bottom of crust. Combine apples and pears in large bowl. Mix sugar, grated lemon peel and ground mace in small bowl. Toss half of sugar mixture with apples and pears. Pile into crust. Sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over fruit. Dot with 1 1/2 tablespoons butter.

Bake until crust is brown and filling bubbles, about 1 hour. Cool on rack.

For whipped cream:
Beat cream, sugar and brandy in large bowl until medium-stiff peaks form. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

Snickers Icebox Pie

Sophy, the pie winner again, requested a Snickers Pie.  I glanced at and discarded a bunch of recipe options, including one that was voted one of the unhealthiest recipes ever published by the Food Commission.  I finally settled on a promising sounding one that I found on thenibble.com for a Snickers Icebox Pie.  It was good, but very rich.  I changed it minimally, adding a bit here and taking a bit out there, but the essence remains unchanged.

 

Ingredients

Chocolate Crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs

Filling

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1 1/4 cups chopped Snickers candy bars (4 2.07 oz bars)

Topping

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

grated chocolate

Method

Crust

Crumb chocolate wafers in food processor.  Add butter and mix.  Press firmly into a buttered 9 inch pie dish.  Freeze for one hour.

Filling

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Add the sugar and beat well.

in a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Stir whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until evenly mixed.  Cover and refrigerate.

Remove Crust from freezer.  Carefully spread the peanut butter in a thin layer over the bottom and halfway up the sides.  Sprinkle 3/4 of the Snickers evenly on top of peanut butter.

Remove cream cheese filling from refrigerator and spread over the peanut butter layer.  Refrigerate.

Melt chocolate chips in small saucepan on low heat gently, stirring constantly.  Drizzle over pie until even layer forms.

Garnish the rim of the pie with the remaining 1/2 cup of Snickers candy and grated chocolate.  

cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least three hours to set.