Raspberry Pie Bars

We made these last week for Kelsey to take to a work potluck. The original recipe calls for blackberries, but the lady that sells the blackberries at the farmer's market forgot them last Saturday, so I picked up some raspberries from her instead.

Raspberry Pie Bars
adapted from Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen from pink-parsley.com

Crust and Topping

•3 cups all-purpose flour
•1 1/2 cups sugar
•1/4 tsp salt
•1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Fruit Filling

•4 large eggs
•2 cups sugar
•1 cup sour cream
•3/4 cup flour
•pinch salt
•zest of 1/2 lemon
•1 tsp almond extract
•2 (16-oz) packages frozen blackberries, thawed and drained (or raspberries or any berry)

To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture. Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and almond extract. Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars, or scoop out of the pan to serve cobbler-style.

Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella, Zucchini Pie

This comes from Martha Stewart and is SO DANG YUMMY!

Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella, Zucchini Pie

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 finely chopped shallot, about 1/4 cup
1 small zucchini, 7 1/2 ounces, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick half moons
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, plus cherry tomatoes on the vine for garnish
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces bocconcini (we used sliced fresh mozzarella)
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Cheese Short Crust, made with Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 large egg yolk

Directions
1.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden and liquid has been released, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.

2.Halve one-third of the tomatoes. Stir halved and whole tomatoes, cheeses, basil, lemon zest, flour, and sugar into shallot-zucchini mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3.Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Make seven 3-inch-long cuts around edge of dough, evenly spacing. Trim to make 7 rounded flaps. Transfer to a 10-inch pie plate. Drizzle crust with remaining tablespoon oil. Spread with filling. Fold in flaps of crust, slightly overlapping. Put tomatoes on the vine in center. Refrigerate until cold, about 20 minutes.

4.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk cream and egg yolk in a small bowl. Brush crust with egg wash. Bake pie on a rimmed baking sheet until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes

Chocolate Eclairs

This is the dessert we have as a family while we watch the Christmas Devotional together. It comes from Landon's kitchen bible, The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook.


Chocolate Eclairs

1 recipe Cream Puff Paste
Pudding
Chocolate Frosting

Cream Puff Paste
1 c water
1/2 c butter or margarine
1 c all-purpose flour
1/8 t salt
4 large eggs
Combine water and butter in medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once, stirring vigorously over medium-high heat until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms a smooth ball. Remove from heat, and cool 4-5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly with a wooden spoon after each addition; then beat until dough is smooth.

Pudding (we've tried it with boxed pudding as well, both are good)
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 c milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 T butter or margarine
1 t vanilla extract
Combine sugar and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan, stirring until blended. Gradually stir in milk, egg, and butter. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, stirring often. Cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool completely. Yield: 2 cups.

Chocolate Frosting
2 T butter or margarine
1/4 c milk
1/2 c (3oz) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2-2 c sifted powdered sugar
Combine butter and milk in a heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add chocolate morsels, and beat until smooth; cool.
Gradually stir in enough powdered sugar for spreading consistency. Yield: 1 cup.

Drop cream puff paste by level one-fourth cupfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets, shaping each portion into a 5- x 1.5-inch rectangle. Bake at 400* for 40 minutes or until golden and puffed. Cool away from drafts.
Cut top off each eclair; pull out and discard soft dough inside (we never do this step). Fill bottom halves with pudding; cover with top halves. Drizzle chocolate frosting over tops. Yield 8 servings.

Pecan Tassies

1 stick butter, room temp

3 0z pkg cream cheese, room temp

1 c. flour

1 egg

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 TBSP melted butter ( I used 1 1/2 TBSP)

2/3 c. coarsely chopped pecans

PASTRY:

beat cream cheese and butter till combined. Stir in flour just until incorporated. Press a rounded tsp size into bottom and up the sides of an UNGREASED (24 ct.) mini muffin pan. *Dip fingers in flour so they don't stick to pastry.

FILLING:

beat egg, brown sugar, and melted butter until combined. Stir in chopped pecans. Spoon 1 heaping tsp of mixture into each pastry cup (*do not over fill...if the filling cooks onto the pan they are hard to remove*).

BAKE @ 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes or till pastry is golden and filling is puffed. Cool 5 min or so in pan, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. I slid a knife between the pastry and pan to help loosen and they popped right out.

These appear crumbly on top, but the centers are gooey and yummy!!