Whoopie pies with peanut butter filling

My heart sank when last weekend at the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne I found myself in an abandon unit space which was once the cul-de-sac  of my favorite book store, Reader's Feast. My favourite 20-year old book shop has decided to close shop until further notice. In fact this is not the first time nor the first bookstore to do so in the past  four (4) months in Australia, closing shop, that is. Border's has closed its business due to slow (or poor) sale. I would like to think that this is due to the influx of electronic gadgets these days and therefore books can be read electronically nowadays. I sincerely hope that this generation doesnt forget the culture of book reading; It is also almost inconcievable to think not having book stores around, as Melbourne is known to be UNESCO City of Literature, mind you. My heart throbs just to think of how stories were woven together to fit a 15x22  500-page binder and how writers are awe-inspiring  as they breathe life into the fictional characters. My eyes well up sometimes on how words were beautifully crafted into proses and phrases. And how stories transport me to places I have never been to and how they leave an indelible effect in me. Call me a nerd or a book worm, if you may, but I simply couldnt imagine a life without books to accompany my idle hours, aside having my little boy and family of course.

Reader's Feast holds a special place in my heart as well; the first cookbook that my little boy has bought for me - Silver spoon (famous italian cookbook translated into English) - was from THAT bookstore. I am a privileged reading programme member as well.  All the books I bought and owned since living in Australia were well and truly from THAT bookstore.

I googled and alas Reader's Feast is going to open its door before the year ends....until that time, I shall remain hopeful.

And so here are some just as awe-inspirng and best selling whoopie pies to cave in for while waiting for the Reader's Feast Bookstore to open its doors for me and while you are held captivated by the words woven in and stories coming to life out of your favorite pocket books;

Chocolate Cake-Cookie Rounds;

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350°F (180 C or 160 C fan-forced). Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon  mounds of batter (you can use one rounded tablespoon or pipe them on your baking sheet) about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake 11 to 13 minutes. Cookies will be done when they spring back when gently touched. Be careful not to over-cook. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

For peanut butter filling;

2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softenend

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Beat all ingredients together.

Beef and Red Wine Pies

Tomato sauce/ketchup in an egg cup. Hehehe.

Tomato sauce/ketchup in an egg cup. Hehehe.

I am proud of these babies. Lol. But it would probably take a while for me to bake them again. Not because they were hard to make but just the time  they took from preparation to bake; my little boy said they took 6 hours. I lost track of time. I remember prepping midday and my little boy finally digging in the final product at around 7pm. I supposed its easier to short cut the process by buying ready made short crust and puff pastries, that way the process could have been much easier but as I am a creature of habit and an old school in the kitchen, and so I do everything from scratch; I cooked the filling for 2 hours, after marinating the beef overnight. I mixed, rolled, chilled and blind baked my own short crust pastry and I mixed, rolled, chilled, folded (6 times!) my own puff pastry.  Hence toiling through the best beef pie ever in the kitchen for 6 hours. All the time, my thought bubble was "These (babies) better be good!"

My little boy said they were the best pies he has ever tasted so I reckon all the hard work is worth wait. Those words from my little boy are good enough for me.

He has been urging me to bake meat pies for the longest time, and I have not taken the bait until now. Now I know why; its tough standing, cooking in the kitchen and rolling and folding doughs for 6 hours straight. As I have been whining for some time now about not having much of a challenge in the kitchen, he issued the marching order for me to bake meat pies, I finally took it. Once and for all.

And so my question now is, what's the next challenge.....

Tricks No More:

• Marinate your beef in red wine overnight. This will make your beef so amazingly tender.
• Use the same red wine you marinated your beef in for cooking the filling.
• I suggest you dont use/buy deep dish pie tins ( I did!), trust me it will make your life easier
• When blind baking, use foil instead of baking sheets. I got this trick from Dorie Greenspan. Pie and tarts' base is evenly baked. I couldnt agree more. I only trust the experts.

Make 6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (60 ml/2 fl oz) old

1.5 kg (3 lb) chuck steak, cubed

2 onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup (30 g/l oz) plain flour

1 1/4 cups ( (315 ml/10 fl oz) good-quality dry red wine

2 cups (500 ml/16 fl oz) beef stock

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 carrots, chopped

500 g (1 lb) home-made or bought short crust pastry

500 g ( 1 lb) home-made or bought puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Lightly grease six metal pie tin measuring 9 cm (3 1/2 inches) along the base and 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) deep.

2. Heat 2 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan and brown the meat in batches. Remove from the pan. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan, add the onion and garlic and stir over medium heat until golden brown. Add the flour and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until well browned. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the combined stock.

3. Return to the heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Return the meat to the pan, add the bay leaves and thyme and simmer for 1 hour. Add the carrot and simmer for another 45 minutes, or until the meat and carrot are tender and the sauce has thickened. Season, then remove the bay leaves and thyme. Allow the cool.

4. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200C (400F/Gas 6). Divide the shortcrust into six and roll out each piece between two sheets of baking paper to a 25 cm (10 inch) square, 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick. Cut a circle from each shortcrust sheet big enough to line the base and side of a pie tin. Place in the tins and trim the edges. Line each pastry shell with baking paper and fill with baking beads or uncooked rice. Place on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the paper and beads and bake for another 8 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned. Allow to cool.

5. Divide the puff pastry into six portions and roll each piece between two sheets of baking paper to a square. Cut circles from the squares of a dough, to fit the tops of the pie tins. Spoon some of the filling into each pastry case and brush the edge with some of the beaten egg. Cover with a pastry round and trim any excess pastry, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Cut a slit in the top of each pie. Brush the pie tops with the remaining beaten eggs and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and golden brown.

Note: You can make a family-size pie using the same ingredients, but substituting a 23 cm (9 inch) metal pie tin. Bake in a moderately hot 200C (400F/Gas 6) oven for 30-35 minutes. Any remaining pastry can be rolled and used to decorate the pie or frozen for later use.

The alcohol content of the red wine dissipates on heating. While it adds a distinct flavour, you can use all stock if you don't like to use wine.

Pecan Chocolate Pie

In the book, The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, the protagonist weaves funny anecdotes and sometimes poignant memories of his journey from the quirky and dusky balmy town in India to the snow capped, spring smelling Switzerland and finally to the cosmopolitan, ritzy and shimmering lights of Paris, and from being a small, lanky and hopeful Indian boy with big dreams to becoming a French Chef with 3 michelin stars tucked under his belt. 

And in that book, it is said that a dish is only considered good when it stirs happy childhood memories, extracts sweet tastes of (your) past, reminds you of home, and the very core of who you are.

All of these were reenacted when Dara, a former colleague of my little boy, came running to him, with her eyes welling up with tears and her voice lined with emotions and said, "this pecan pie reminds me so much of the pie that my grandmother used to bake in San Francisco when I was a child".

When something like that truly evokes emotions in different folds, when something like that truly impacts someone's life positively and when something like that reconnects the young and the old then  you know you have done the right thing - baking this beautiful pecan pie for the world to see and enjoy.

For your Base/pie shell: click here for the recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 recipe basic crust

2 tbsp plain flour

170g ( 6 oz) light brown sugar

3 large eggs

340g (12 oz) golden syrup

28g (1 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp vanilla essence

pinch of salt

200g (7 oz) pecan halves and pieces

35g ( 3/4 oz) unsweetened cocoa

Preheat the oven to 220C. Roll out the pastry dough and line a 23-cm (9-in) pie dish. Crimp the end decoratively, Chill in the refrigerator while making the filling.

Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, golden syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix in 10Og (3 1/2 oz) of the pecans.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Arrange or sprinkle the remaining pecans on top. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160C (325F) and bake for another 45 minutes or until set.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for an hour.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Glazed Fruit Tart

"I do not know what it is about you that closes

and opens. Only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses.

Nobody, not even the rain has such small COLD hands.” - E.E.Cummings

I dont know why this poem keeps reverberating throughout the hollow corners of my kitchen every time I do playtimes with pies and tarts. Its not because Im hallucinating or something. I don't intend to bastardise such eloquence that is E.E. Cumming's poem by changing a word or two either.

But this poem reminds me of what Ada told me about my small cold hands, working to my advantage, doing magic on doughs and crusts. My pies and tarts turn out almost perfect in all occasions; and kneading is nothing short of bliss.  

Ada is a former colleague of my little boy from work and she is Italian. I have to put stress on Italian because if you truly knew me, anything Italian is my kryptonite. I go weak at the knees about Italy. I soaked in their culture, people, language, music and especially their food. In my past and next lives, I am an Italian ragazza (woman). Lol! And so anything that Ada says about food is gold. At least to me. She used to say while munching on my food," I can feel the love from those small hands". I always looked forward to my little boy's accounts after a day's worth in the office especially about Ada. Such an animated, quintessential Italian woman she definitely is.

Anyway, going back to my cold hands, Ada said that cold hands keep the dough intact. Thus, making your dough perfectly moulded on your pie/tart tin. You have to work on the dough very quickly lest your dough becomes very sticky and difficult to mould and a pair of cold hands gives you more air time to craft and mould without ruining the intactness of the dough . The trick of the trade is that when the dough gets very sticky, pop it quickly in your freezer for 10 minutes then work on it again. A stone benchtop helps too - since it doesn't trap heat. 

It doesn't mean that you can no longer make pies and tarts if you aint got a pair of cold hands. Run them through cold water or hold a pack of ice, then you are off to a good start.

Ingredients:

1 recipe basic sweet crust

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 recipe basic pastry cream

680g (1 1/2 lb) assorted fresh fruits, such as thinly sliced pears, plums, peaches, kiwis, berries and grapes (you can also use tropical fruits but make sure they are not the soggy type) Stone fruits are still the best.

55g (2 oz) apricot jelly or strained apricot jam

1 tsp water

Preheat the over to 200C (400F/ Gas mark 6). Roll out the pastry and line a 23 cm (9-in) tart tin. Prick the surface with a fork and chill for 10 minutes in the freezer. Bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the base of the tart with lightly beaten egg.

Return to the over for 10 to 5 minutes until the edges are brown and the base of the crust is golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Assemble the tart as close to serving time as possible.

Whisk the cooled pastry cream and fill the tart shell, smoothing the top with a spatula. Carefully arrange the fruit in a decorative pattern over the pastry cream

Warm apricot jelly in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the water and stir until smooth. Using a pastry brush, glaze the fruit.

Basic sweet crust:

140g (5 oz) plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

55g (4 oz) caster sugar

115g (4 oz) unsalted butter

1 large egg yolk

1-2 tbsp ice-cold water

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-crossing motion, blend the butter into the flour mixture until it has the consistency of damp sand, with a few pea-sized pieces remaining.

Using a fork or wire whisk, beat the egg yolk with the cold water. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the flour, stirring only until the mixture has become moistened. The dough should stick together and be able to hold the form of a ball. Cover the ball with plastic wrap. Smooth the ball of the dough with a rolling pin so it forms a flat disc that fills the corners of the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of half an hour. (If it has been chilled for a long time, it may need to soften slightly at room temperature before use.)

To roll out the piecrust, unwrap the disc and place on a lightly floured rolling surface. Roll the dough from the center of the disc to the edge, until the crust is the desired thickness and 2.5 cm (1 in) wider than the pie tin by rolling it onto the rolling pin and then positioning it over the pie tin. Carefully press the dough into the pie tin. If any cracks appear during the transfer, use lightly floured fingers to push the seams back together. If you cannot transfer the entire piece of dough at once, do not panic - this dough patches easily. Simply cover the base of the tart tin with the main portion of the dough, and use the scraps to cover the sides. Trim the excess from the edge of the tart crust.

Basic pastry cream:

This useful pastry cream can be made up to 1 day ahead

115g (4 oz) sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tbsp cornflour

235 ml (8 fl oz) whole milk

120 ml (4 fl oz) whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla essence

Combine the sugar, eggs, egg yolk and cornflour in a medium bowl. Set aside. Place the milk and cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Slowly whisk the hot milk and cream into the sugar mixture. When smooth, return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. Bring the thickened mixture to the boil and cook for 1 minute, still whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Place plastic wrap or parchment paper on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill in the refrigerator until needed, or for a minimum of 3 hours.

All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

I am still riding on the hype about Dorie Greenspan, and since I have already professed my undying adoration about her, here yea is a recipe from her "Baking, From my home to yours" cook book that will bowl you over, All American, All-Delicious Apple Pie.

Truth be told, I am not really big about apple pies. If presented with an array of dessert pieces, a slice of apple pie would be at the bottom of my list. BUT this Dorie Greenspan's apple pie made me see a whole new world. And made me a convert. Big time. 

I can bake this apple pie many times over in a day and I will neither complain nor get tired. The first time I made it, I fell in love. And I couldn't stop eating it either. The only thing that is stopping me from baking this pie right now is the scary thought that I could eat the whole pie all by myself. Hahaha!

That's how good this apple pie is. Very rustic. Very provencal - yet the irony being All-American. Home-made. Very good.

*Recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From my home to yours

Your base - Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough for a double crust, chilled:

Ingredients for your base - 9-inch double crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces) very cold (frozen is fine) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

1/3 cup very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces

About 1/2 cup ice water

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don't overdo the mixing - what you're aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 6 tablespoons of the water if making a double crust - add a little water and pulse once, and some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. The use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl and onto a work surface. Divide the dough in half. Gather each half into a ball, flatten each ball into a disk and wrap each half in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling. (if your ingredients were very  cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge).

To roll out the dough: Have a buttered 9-inch pie plate at hand.

You can roll the dough out on a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in an rolling wrap cover. If you're working on a counter, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured. If you are rolling between paper, plastic or in a slipcover, make sure to turn the dough over often and to lift the paper, plastic or cover frequently so that it doesn't roll into the dough and form creases. If you've got time, slide the rolled-out dough into the fridge for about 20 minutes to rest and firm up.

For A double-crusted pie: Fit one circle of dough into the pie plate, allowing the excess to hang over. Trim to a 1/8 to 1/4-inch overhang. Fill the pie and moisten the edges of the bottom crust with water. Center the second piece of dough over the filling and press it against the bottom crust. Using a pair of scissors, cut the top crust's overhang so that it extends about 1/4 inch over the bottom crust. Tuck the excess top crust under the bottom crust and flute or pinch the crust to make a decorative edge. Alternatively, you can seal the doubled-up crust by pressing it with the tines of a fork. Follow the pie recipe's instruction for baking.

Ingredients:

6 very large apples

3/4 cup sugar

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (or dry bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

For the glaze (optional)

Milk or heavy cream

Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar

Getting Ready: Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.On a well-floured surface (or between wax paper, or plastic wrap), roll out one piece of the dough to a thickness of about ⅛ inch. Fit the dough into the buttered pie plate and trim the edges to a ½ -inch overhang. Roll the other piece of dough into a ⅛-inch-thick and slip it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Cover both the circle and the crust in the pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, while you preheat the oven and prepare the filling. (The crusts can be well covered and kept refrigerated overnight.)

Getting ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel, core and slice the apples into slices about ¼ inch thick. Put the apples into a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest, tapioca (or potato flour), cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Toss everything together really well. Let the mix sit for about 5 minutes, until juice starts to accumulate in the bottom of the bowl.

Remove the pie plate and top crust from the refrigerator and put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the crust and then turn the apples and their juices into the crust. The apples will heap over the top of the crust. Pat them into an even mound. Dot the apples with the bits of cold butter.

Very lightly moisten the rim of the bottom crust with water, then center the top crust over the apples. Either folds the overhang from the top crust under the bottom crust and crimps the crust attractively, or presses the top crust against the bottom crust and trim the overhang from both crusts even with the rim of the pie plate. If you’ve pressed and trimmed the crust, use the tines of a fork to press the two crusts together securely.

Use a sharp paring knife to cut about 6 slits in the top crust. Use the wide end of a piping tip to cut a circle out of the center of the crust as a steam vent. If you’d like, brush the top crust with a little milk or cream and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake the pie for another 50 to 60 minutes (total baking time is between 65 and 75 minutes), or until the crust is gorgeously browned and the juices bubble up through the top crust. After about 40 minutes in the oven, if the top crust looks as if it’s browning too quickly, cover the pie loosely with a foil tent.

Transfer the pie to a rack and let it rest until it is only just warm or until it reaches room temperature.