Guilt-Free Pecan Pie Squares

Pecan pie...sigh.

I make one (or two) for every holiday.  Well, I'm back on Weight Watchers (and I've lost 8 pounds in a month, thankyouverymuch).  My usual recipe just won't work for this Fourth of July.

Weight Watchers Annual Recipes for Success 2008 came to my rescue.  Their excellent recipe has all of the decadent ingredients--pecans, brown sugar, corn syrup and butter--but smaller amounts of them.  Plus, it's cut into 16 neat little squares for portion control.  (Each square=5 POINTS.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

Cooking spray

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 large egg

4 large egg whites

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Cut butter into the mixture with a pastry blender until it achieves the texture of coarse meal.

Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.  ( I used a disposable aluminum pan for easy removal after baking.  I'll explain this at the end of the instructions.)  Pour the flour mixture into the pan and press firmly to make a bottom crust.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan.  Heat until boiling over medium heat, stirring gently.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Whisk the eggs together in a small mixing bowl.  Pour one-fourth of the hot syrup into the eggs; whisk while pouring to prevent curdling the mixture.  Add this mixture back into the saucepan.  Stir in pecans and vanilla.  Pour the filling over the crust.

Continue baking for 30 minutes or until set.  Remove the pan from the oven.  Cool thoroughly on a wire cooling rack.  Cut around the sides of the pan to release the pie.

I snipped the corners of the pan with kitchen shears and flattened out the sides of the pan, thus removing the pie in one piece.  

Cut into 16 squares and enjoy!  

Gadget of the Week: Apple Pocket Pie Mold

I love gadgets.

I love anything from Williams-Sonoma.

And this is just too cute.

The mold is a hinged plastic device.  You cut out the shapes with the outside of the mold--one side has a leaf-shaped vent for the baked variety--and crimp the filled pies together with the inside of it.

This is the recipe on the box:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling (if baking pies)

16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" dice

6-8 tablespoons ice water

1/2-1 cup pie filling

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water (for egg wash)

Vegetable oil (if frying pies)

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar until combined (about 5 pulses).    Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses.  Add 6 tablespoons ice water and pulse twice.  The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky.  If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, pulsing twice after each addition.  Divide the dough in half, wrap with plastic wrap and press each into a disk.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

To make the pies:  Let the dough stand at room temperature for five minutes.  On a floured surface, roll out 1 dough disk into a round 1/16-1/8" thick.  Brush off the excess flour.  Using the Pocket Pie Mold, cut out 8 of each shape.  (If you will be baking the pies, cut out 4 of each shape using the decorative cutout; the cutout will serve as a steam vent in the top crust.  If you will be frying the pies, do not use the decorative cutout.)  Re-roll the dough scraps, if necessary, and cut out more shapes.  Repeat with the remaining dough disk.

Place a solid dough shape in the bottom half of the cutter and gently press the dough into the mold.  Fill the center with 1-2 tablespoons of the pie filling and brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash.  Top with a matching shape.  (If you will be baking the pies, use a piece with the decorative cutout.)  Press the top half of the cutter down to seal and crimp the edges of the pie.   Remove the pie from the mold and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Freeze the pies for 20-30 minutes.

To Bake:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Brush the pies with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is gently bubbling, 15-20 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

To Fry:  In a heavy, deep fry pan or wide saucepan over medium-high heat, pour in the vegetable oil to a depth of 2 inches and heat to 350 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer.  Fry the pies in batches until golden, 3-6 minutes,  Drain on paper towels.

Makes about 8 pocket pies.

I know...it seems like a lot of trouble.  These were just adorable, though.  Two thumbs up!!!  I will definitely makes these again.

My tips for success:  

1)  Cold butter and ice water in the dough.  Cold ingredients=flaky dough.

2)  Roll the dough slightly thicker than the recipe states.  The pies will keep their shape better.

3)  You must chill and the dough and freeze the formed pies for the specified time.

4)  Roll and form the dough quickly. 

4)  Do what Alton Brown does and keep cookie sheet in the freezer.  If the dough becomes to warm, place the sheet on top for a few seconds to cool it down.

5) I spooned the pie filling directly out of the can and into the pies.  Next time, I will snip up the apples with kitchen shears first to make the fruit more evenly distributed.  The big pieces of fruit seemed too chunky for pocket pies.

Enjoy with vanilla bean ice cream!

Lemon Icebox Pie

This is creamy, refreshing and easy.

Filling:
1 block cream cheese (8 oz.), at room temperature
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
Grated zest of three lemons
Scant 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 1/2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust:
1 store-bought graham cracker crust

Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling, beat the cream cheese on high speed of your electric mixer for one minute.  (It really has to be at room temperature or the filling will have little chunks running through it.  Not yummy!)  Add the milk, lemon zest and juice and extract.  Beat at high speed until thoroughly combined.  Pour the filling into the crust, scraping the bowl as clean as you can.

For the topping, pour the cream into the unwashed bowl you used for the filling!   Add the sugar, zest and extract.  Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.  (Watch carefully, or you'll wind up with lemon butter!)  Spread the flavored whipped cream on the top of your pie, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Your patience will be rewarded.

Czech Cakes

The geographical name of this yummy bar cookie puzzles me.

Are they really Czech?  I have no idea.  Neither did my Latvian grandmother, who baked them all of her adult life.  (And she lived to be 103!)  Where did the recipe come from?  She didn't know.  It just seems to be a part of the collective consciousness of her culture.  Every Latvian woman I know makes these.

This recipe was one of the first things I learned how to bake, many eons ago.  I'm visiting my brother tomorrow and this batch is for him.  I'm such a considerate little sis.  :)

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons good-quality, potent, ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped pecans
(I suspect the original recipe used a different type of nut.  But she always used pecans.)
Strawberry or raspberry preserves, approximately 1/2 cup

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the butter with the egg yolks and sugar; use medium-high speed setting on your stand mixer (preferable) or electric mixer.  I cream the mixture for five minutes.  This needs to be really light and fluffy.

Combine flour, cinnamon and pecans.  Stir into the creamed mixture until well incorporated.  (This is a very stiff dough!)

Pat half the dough into the prepared pan.  Spread preserves over the surface, leaving a 1/2" border around the pan plain.  Break off pieces of the remaining dough and scatter on top of the preserves.  Spray your hands with cooking spray and spread the dough evenly over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until pale golden.  The dough should be just cooked through.

Right after removing the pan from the oven, I score the the baked loveliness into 16 squares with sharp knife.  Cool completely before removing them from the pan.  Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Rice: Savory and Sweet

I.love.rice.

A buttery pile under a puddle of gravy?  Sign me up.  In a pudding?  You betcha.  The intensely nutty aroma of a perfectly steamed basmati with spicy Indian food?  Heavenly.

How about mixed with cheese and bacon, formed into patties and FRIED.  Oh, yeah.

These are Rachael Ray's fab Cheesy Rice Fritters as mentioned in the previous post.  I made two changes, though.   She called for shredded mozzarella cheese; I used a four-cheese Italian cheese blend to bump up the flavor.  She also called for frying said patties in bacon drippings.  I will try that eventually.  I used olive oil here--a little more heart-friendly, especially since these accompanied the rich beef entree.

The ingredients and equipment (parchment-lined baking sheet, hot skillet) must be assembled before preparing the recipe.  Use a light breadcrumb coating on the patties.  If you really pack on the crumbs, they will just fall off into the oil and burn.   I'm happy to report that they reheat beautifully (midnight snack, wink, wink) and they freeze well.

Rice should be stored in a tightly-capped glass jar or plastic container.  Only wooden utensils should touch cooked rice.  The grains are delicate and easily smashed.  I love my Mario Batali risotto spoon.  I love it even more because Kitchen and Company had it on clearance for $5!

Rice is nice when it's sweet, of course.  My very favorite rice pudding is found at the Norway pavilion at EPCOT (Disney World in Orlando, FL).  For almost twenty years now, it's the first thing I seek out when I get there.

It's made with arborio rice as well.  The dense quality of the rice is lightened with freshly whipped cream, just enough sugar and topped with a tangy sauce made with strawberry preserves and fresh lemon juice.  The rice pudding is served well-chilled in wine glasses and topped with a thick layer of the sauce.  At home, I usually lack the patience for this.  I just scoop it into a bowl and drizzle on the sauce.

Click here for the recipe:  Rice Cream with Strawberry Sauce.  A pinch of nutmeg is delicious in this recipe.