Category: Pie

Made From Scratch Lemon Meringue Pie
dessert · Pie

Made From Scratch Lemon Meringue Pie

RefreshHer9 Comments

Last weekend I got to spend Mother’s Day in Kentucky with my mom. I made her Mother’s Day meal, and when planning the menu, I knew immediately what dessert would be – her favorite – Lemon-y. Tart. Mouth watering. Creamy. Fluffy. Sweet.What is it? Lemon Meringue Pie!

I hadn’t made one in a couple of years, so I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. I have had times that the meringue flopped or crept away from the crust, or wept, leaving little dewy droplets all over, so I could only hope and pray all would go well.

The recipe is from this very old cookbook of my mom’s, printed in the 60’s. I grew up flipping through the pages of this cookbook, ooo-ing and ahhh-ing over the tempting desserts pictured on its pages, this pie being one of them. Now it was time to see if I could make it happen!

Cream pies like this just take patience.

  1. Make the crust
  2. Bake the crust
  3. Make the filling
  4. Let it cool
  5. Make the meringue
  6. Top the pie with the meringue
  7. Bake the meringue until lightly browned

It’s worth every bit of effort to make this delicious pie at home! Just find a day that isn’t rainy and humid, or you might have trouble with the meringue. You’ll be so glad you took the time and effort to make this from scratch. It simply can’t be beat! The meringue in this recipe has a little twist! See if you can catch it.

How about a slice?

My sweet mom slicing up her Mother’s day pie.

A few tips:

My homemade crust is made from – 2 C flour, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 C Crisco, ice water.
Combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut Crisco into flour. Add ice water a little at a time until it holds together without crumbling or being too wet. Makes 2 crusts.

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice, if possible. It makes it extra fresh and tart.

Be sure to cool the pie to room temperature, then refrigerate it a few hours before you attempt to cut it. The filling needs that time to set up.

Did you catch the twist in the recipe for the meringue?

I hope you’ll make someone’s day (and your own!) and bake a lemon pie!

Southern Sunday Dinner
Main dish. · Pie · Sunday Dinner

Southern Sunday Dinner

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Today I’m re-posting an old recipe that somehow never got listed in my Recipe Index.  That’s really sad, because it is simple and delicious and a perfect Sunday meal.  It’s also a typical Southern dish!  Read on to see why!

Posted in 2008

We only had one guest for Sunday dinner,  the visiting missionary we’d had at church. There’s so much to learn when you have someone in your home that’s visited third world countries. He was full of interesting stories of the Lord working in places we’ve barely heard of.

Our guest was born and raised in the south, so I was glad my meal had a very southern flair. My menu was:

Pork Chop Casserole
Mashed potatoes
Butternut Squash Casserole
Green Beans
Biscuits
Apple Pie with Ice Cream

The pork chop casserole is so delicious and typically southern because it makes a nice creamy gravy that’s perfect to serve with mashed potatoes. I did all the prep work on Saturday and slid it into the oven before leaving for church. My oven has a self-timer, so I set it, prayed, then left. My worst fear is coming home to realize I’ve forgotten a step in setting the timer! If you don’t have this feature on your oven, cook this very low so it won’t dry up.

Here the recipe:

Pork Chop Casserole with Cream Gravy

3/4 Cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 pork chops (3/4 to 1-inch thick)
2 Tbl cooking oil
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/ cup sour cream, divided
1 can french fried onions

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper; dredge pork chops. Heat oil in a large skillet; cook pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side or until browned. Place in a single layer in an ungreased 13 in. x 9 in. baking dish. Combine soup, broth, ginger, rosemary and 1/2 cup sour cream; pour over chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees 45-50 minutes. Stir remaining sour cream into sauce. Top chops with onions. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Yield: 6 servings

 

I make up my biscuits the night before, roll them out, put them on the baking sheet, then cover them and refrigerate them overnight. I wait and bake them when I get home from church. There’s nothing like the smell of biscuits baking in the oven!

I cooked my mashed potatoes in the crock pot as I described in this post a while back. My quick fix southern-style green bean were also posted there.

I baked an apple pie on Saturday night and warmed it in the oven while we ate our Sunday dinner. It tasted fresh-baked that way! I added a little warm caramel sauce over the ice cream. Apples, caramel…they just belong together!

 

What did you have for Sunday dinner? I’d love to hear about your menu!
With love from my country kitchen,
denise a
Pie · spring cleaning

Highlights of Recent Refreshments

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We’ve had some gorgeous weather this week, allowing me to walk each morning.  I’m always so happy to step out my front door to views like this one…

cows

I try so hard to get at least a little exercise in each day.  I exercise inside, but being outside is my favorite!  Seeing the scenery, the sky, the birds and cattle are just invigorating to me!  How about you?  Do you need to add a little Continue reading “Highlights of Recent Refreshments” →

baking · dessert · Pie

First Runner-Up Peanut Pie

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Peanut Pie 1a

If you love peanuts, I mean,  if you adore them, then you will love the new recipe I tried from Southern Living’s November issue!  I mentioned last week that I was scouring recipes for a pie fellowship we were having at church.  I finally settled on the Georgia Peanut Pie with Peanut Butter filling and Brown Sugar Whipped Cream.  That’s a mouthful, but just wait until you taste the pie!  It’s a rich, peanut pie that will leave you smacking your lips and glad that you ate only a little slice!  It is quite rich, but hey, isn’t that what dessert is for?

This recipe is easy when it’s done in a couple days.  Do the crust.  Go have lunch with friends, wash up the Thanksgiving linens, take a walk, then come back the next day and make the filling.  Later in the day make the whipped cream.  It’s easy when taken step by step.  Here are some pics of the process for the crust:

peanut crust
Click on picture to enlarge.  To make the scalloped edge, I used the tip of a spoon!

 

Georgia Peanut Pie with Peanut Butter Crust

PEANUT BUTTER CRUST

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cocktail peanuts or dry-roasted salted peanuts
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon cold shortening, cubed
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

  • 1 1/4 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
  • 1/3 cup sorghum syrup, pure cane syrup, or dark corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups cocktail peanuts or dry-roasted salted peanuts

BROWN SUGAR WHIPPED CREAM

  • 1 cup cold whipping cream or heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make It

Step 1

Prepare the Peanut Butter Crust: Combine flour, peanuts, brown sugar, and salt in bowl of a food processor; process until peanuts are ground and mixture is combined. Add butter, peanut butter, and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles small peas, 10 to 12 times. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over top of mixture. Pulse 4 times. Add up to 2 more tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition until dough just begins to clump together. Remove dough from processor; shape and flatten into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap, and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Step 2

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place chilled dough disk on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle dough with flour. Top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Remove and discard top sheet of parchment. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around rolling pin, separating dough from bottom sheet of parchment as you roll. Discard bottom sheet of parchment. Place rolling pin wrapped with dough over a 9-inch (1 1/2-inch-deep) glass pie plate. Unroll dough, and gently press it into pie plate. Trim dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang; fold edges under, and crimp.

Step 3

Prepare Peanut Butter Filling: Stir together brown sugar, flour, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Stir in melted butter. Whisk eggs well in a medium bowl; whisk in milk, sorghum, and vanilla. Add peanut butter; whisk until blended. Spoon filling into prepared piecrust. Sprinkle peanuts over top, and place pie on a rimmed baking sheet.

Step 4

Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F, and bake until puffed and golden brown and until center is set, 45 to 55 minutes, shielding edges with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning, if necessary. Transfer pie to a wire rack, and cool completely, about 2 hours.
Step 5
Prepare the Brown Sugar Whipped Cream: Using chilled beaters and a large chilled bowl, beat whipping cream with an electric mixer on high speed until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat until well combined. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Peanut Pie 1
I wish I had taken a picture of the sliced pie. The inside is creamy and smooth!! It’s a perfect balance with the crunchy peanuts on top!

This is a great pie!  As a matter of fact, it landed the First Runner-Up award at our pie contest at church!  A yummy Apple Crumb pie came in first and deserved it!!

peanut pie 8.jpg

Make this for the peanut lover in your life!!

Did you make any new recipes over Thanksgiving that were “Award-winning” with your family?  They’re the ones who count!!

With love from my country kitchen,

Denise Signature 150 px