There is no baking required and therefore no need to turn on your oven, which is nice for me.  It’s been over 100°F most days this summer.

I changed a few things about the assembly of this pie to make it a little simpler.  If you read the recipe from the cookbook you notice that the assembly requires some marbling of the caramel, peanut butter and cream cheese mixture.  I just put a layer of caramel on top of the crust and then mixed the peanut butter in with the cream cheese.  This seemed to be a fine way to assemble the pie, maybe just not as pretty as the marbling would have been.

I highly recommend putting the peanut butter cups in the fridge or freezer prior to chopping.  This makes life, cutting boards, knives and hands, much cleaner.

As you might have noticed, there is not much sugar in the filling.  I was a little worried about this, but it was perfect.  Who am I to doubt Magnolia Bakery?  Combined with the cookie crust, caramel and peanut butter cups it is just wonderful and not overly sweet.

One of my new guilty pleasures are those Reese’s Minis, and I happen to have a stash of them in the fridge (where I must keep any chocolate with it being so hot this time of year.)  I halved the minis and chopped some unsalted peanuts for the topping.  If I were feeling really crazy I might use salted peanuts as a nice salty contrast.  Something else that might be interesting would be using some of the white chocolate Reese’s…I think it could work.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Icebox Pie

From The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

Filling

• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup (1 pint) heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
• 6-8 regular peanut butter cups, chopped
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce

Garnish

• Handful of chopped peanut butter cups
• Handful of chopped peanuts

Directions

Crust

1. Combine butter and cookie crumbs in a bowl until crumbs are evenly coated.
2. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.
3. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Filling

1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy, 2 minutes.  Add sugar gradually, then beat in peanut butter and vanilla.
2. Whip the cream in a separate bowl, then fold gently into the cream cheese mixture.
3. Fold in the peanut butter cups.

Assembly

1. Remove the crust from the freezer.
2. Spread the caramel on the bottom of the crust, then spread the filling over the caramel and smooth the top.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours, or overnight.
4. To serve, garnish with peanut butter cups and peanuts.

The ingredient search on allrecipes.com is nice when you’re trying to find something to make when you’re limited in your resources, or just want to use something specific.  One of the problems I’ve encountered is that when I type in what I want to use I find a recipe that requires something I don’t have.  That wasn’t the case this time!  I found this pie crust recipe using that feature and figured I’d give it a try.

I’ve always made pie crusts using cold fats like butter or shortening, which are cut into the flour, adding cold water to bind the dough, and then refrigerating  the dough before rolling it out, always being careful not to over mix so that a tender flaky crust is achieved.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe like this one for pie crust.  There’s no careful mixing, no chilling time, and canola oil is used instead of butter.  You even mix it all up in the pie plate, so only one dish gets dirty!  I had to give it a try.

This does not yield a traditional flaky crust.  It’s more like a cross between a sugar cookie and a graham cracker crust in texture.  The flavor is similar to a plain pie crust, a tad salty, which went well with the sweet and tart lemon filling.  This lemon meringue recipe (also from allrecipes.com) was pretty good.  My mom has a lemon meringue pie recipe that is more delicious, and a little easier.  I need to get that recipe from her.  This one is quite good though.  I should know, since Ben doesn’t like lemon meringue, I had to eat the entire thing myself…over the course of a week.

If I find myself pressed for time, I would use this crust again.  If I find myself pressed for time and happen to have a Pillsbury refrigerated crust…I would use that instead.

Here are the links to the recipes.  I made no changes.

Cheater Pie Crust

Lemon Meringue Pie

This recipe is from Simply Recipes.  Here is the link. Her picture is so much prettier than what came out of my oven, but it still tasted great.  I will admit to being a little impatient when it comes to eating these days, so maybe if I had let it cool a bit longer I would have had better luck in removing whole pieces instead of chunks of pie.

I get really hungry and excited about eating, and I just cannot wait to eat sometimes!  I’m pregnant, so I’m using that as my excuse.  Only 6 more weeks to use that one.

While Ben was slightly disappointed that there was no meat in our meal, he put on a happy face and eat it anyway.  If you wanted to add meat, I think some crumbled cooked bacon on top of the sautéed onions would be nice.

I will make this simple meal again and I would definitely think about serving it at a ladies lunch or brunch as a whole pie or in little tart shells.

The fresh basil with the tomatoes is a lovely match as always.  I used 2 cups of chopped red tomatoes and 1 cup of chopped yellow tomatoes from the rest of my tomato plant’s crop.  I used a combination of mozzarella and swiss cheese with good results, but some nice sharp cheddar in there would also be tasty.  The Tabasco gives a nice spicy punch, but you could leave it out if you are not a fan of that kick.  Enjoy!

Tomato Pie

Courtesy of Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie shell
• 1 yellow onion, chopped and sautéed in olive oil or butter
• 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced basil
• 2 cups grated cheese (any combination you choose)
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (light or regular)
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank’s Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you’ll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.
3. Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.
5. Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.

This is not, however, just blueberry pie.  The filling is made of sour cream, eggs, sugar, flour and blueberries.  And the fun doesn’t end there.  On top of this pie is a streusel type topping made of butter, sugar and flour.  This pie has no other option than to be delicious.

On allrecipes.com, this pie is called Creamy Blueberry Pie.  Here is the link.  It calls for a 9 inch deep dish pie crust, but I decided to make my own crust.  This is not something I do very often.  I like the convenience of a store bought crust, and they usually taste great.  The Pillsbury kind that you roll out on your own are the best.  I’ve found that the frozen kind already in the pan have a tendency to crack, and the edge of the crust looks like it came out of a machine…because it did.  So, if you do use a store crust, go with the one that at least looks like it’s homemade!

Most pie crust recipes are quite similar.  All use flour, sugar, salt, some kind of fat, and some kind of liquid.  Having your ingredients chilled is considered to be a must in pie crust making.  It is also important not to overwork the dough.  You can mix the dough by hand, or in a food processor.  When you mix the dough, make sure that you can still see bits of the fat in the finished product.  This ensures a tender, flaky crust.

The differences arise when it comes to your choices of fat and liquid.  Fat options include butter, shortening, lard, or a combination.  Liquid options are ice water, vodka, lemon juice, vinegar, and I’m sure others as well that I haven’t seen.

The recipes I have always liked the most have used equal amounts of butter and shortening.  Butter gives a great flavor, and the shortening creates a more stable crust.  Ice cold water has also been my liquid of choice.  It doesn’t alter the flavor, and I always have some in my kitchen!  Here is the recipe I used, Best-Ever Pie Crust from epicurious.com.

Now to the pie.

After putting your pie dough into a deep dish pie pan, in go the lovely blueberries.

On top of the layer of fruit goes the custard mixture.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over all of this and it bakes for about an hour…I baked mine for 55 minutes.

I would have liked a browner crumb topping, but the bottom crust was getting a bit dark.

After taking the pie out of the oven, let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.  You can either serve the pie warm, or chill it in the fridge for another hour or two.  This allows the custard layer to get nice and firm.

When you cut into this pie, you can see the layer of tender, buttery crust on the bottom.  Above the crust is the creamy custard , and the tart blueberries that make this pie so incredibly delicious.  Atop all of this is the sweet, crunchy crumbly topping that balances out everything.

I served the pie with vanilla ice cream, but it would be fine alone.  This is a pie that can definitely be served in the heat of summer and will have a prime spot in my recipe collection as something I will definitely make again.

Creamy Blueberry Crumble Pie

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and salt. Add eggs and sour cream, stirring until blended.
2. Place blueberries in pastry shell, and spoon sour cream mixture over berries.
3. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Cut in butter or margarine with pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal. Sprinkle this mixture over sour cream mixture and berries in the pie shell.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes, or until lightly browned.

This last recipe that I tried from her cookbook was no exception to the rule of deliciousness.  Buttermilk Pecan Pie.  I love pecan pie.  My grandma June’s is by far my favorite.  Grandma June’s pie is a classic pecan pie with the corn syrup and yummy gooey center.  Rather’s buttermilk pie is creamier, with just a bit of gooey going on.  I am one who likes the gooey-ness, but some people are averse to pecan pie goo.  Crazy, I know.  So this would be a good alternative for those crazy goo hating people who like pecans and pie.

I did not make my own pie crust.  I am so very sorry.  I had a Pillsbury one in the freezer and was short on time, so I gave in and took a shortcut.  One day I will have the time to make everything from scratch all the time, but at this point in my life I do not have that kind of time!

Serve this pie with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

Courtesy of The Pastry Queen cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 ½  cup whole pecans or pecan pieces
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 ¼  cups granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons flour
• ¼  teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 un-baked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes or until aromatic. Let cool, then chop if using whole pecans.
2. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and both sugars. Beat in vanilla and then eggs, one at a time.
4. Stir in flour and salt. Add buttermilk and stir until fully incorporated. Stir in pecans.
5. Pour into pie shell.
6. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, then let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  This pie may also be chilled.

Dessert is a favorite part of the meal.  Pies are the traditional Thanksgiving dessert in our family.  This year we had apple streusel, pumpkin, and cinnamon custard pies, a gingerbread pear tart, and a chocolate chip pumpkin bundt cake.  We did not make a pecan pie for Thanksgiving day, but I just couldn’t stand not having a piece this year.  So we made one after Thanksgiving…not that we really needed any more pie, but a little extra pie never really hurt anyone.

This is the recipe that my Grandma June always made, and it is the best pecan pie ever.  I use whole pecans because it looks prettier and I like getting a big pecan in a bite instead of some chopped up pieces.  This does make the pie incredibly difficult to cut a pretty piece from.  But it looks beautiful on a holiday table and by the time people start devouring it, no one cares what it looks like.

Grandma June’s Pecan Pie

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups whole pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 steaspoon vanilla
• 1 unbaked pie shell

1. Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy.
2. Mix in eggs, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.
3. Put pecans into pie shell, then pour filling on top.
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
5. Let cool before cutting.
6. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

I have to admit something.  I don’t like drinking eggnog.  It makes me feel like I’m drinking melted ice cream.  A little too thick for my taste.  However, I do like things that are eggnog flavored.  I like eggnog ice cream.  While visiting my sister in New York one Christmas we went to Jacques Torres shop and I bought a box of holiday truffles.  The white chocolate eggnog truffle was spectacular.  If you’re in NYC this season you should stop by and get one…or more than one.  The gingerbread truffle was also very good.  Oh, and you have to buy the chocolate covered Cherrio’s that they sell!  I’m getting carried away now.

Anyway, I won’t drink a cup of eggnog, but I will eat something that takes like it.  It’s a texture thing I suppose.  I guess I am my mother’s daughter.  I’m not sure if this is acceptable or not, but I felt I should admit this character flaw to you.

I added some rum and nutmeg to the base of this pie.  I contemplated adding cinnamon, but ended up deciding against it.  Maybe I will try it next time.  I used a store bought pie crust to save some time.  I’ve tried my hand at making scratch pie crust before, and I don’t think it’s too terribly hard to make something edible, but achieving a perfect, buttery, flaky crust is no simple task.  It is also a rather time consuming process and makes a mess of your kitchen.  A weeknight dessert should not require a lot of cleaning up.  The refrigerated crusts taste pretty good, so I am OK using them every now and then.

I liked the flavor, and found it pretty similar to eggnog.  The crust had a good crunch, and the filling was smooth and creamy.  I served this with simple sweetened whipped cream (you can use cool whip in a time crunch).  A simple and easy pie.  It may not make you fall over and cry with delight, but it it good.  Try it without the nutmeg and rum for a simple buttermilk pie.

Eggnog Pie

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons rum
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 unbaked pastry shell

1. Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl.
2. Mix in eggs, buttermilk, butter, vanilla, rum and nutmeg.
3. Pour into pie shell.
4. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes.
5. Turn oven temperature down to 350° and bake for 30 minutes more.
6. Let cool; serve with whipped cream.

This budget cookbook has some good tips on freezing cookies and cakes.  There are also some great recipes for meals that use some very budget friendly ingredients.  I cannot wait to try them!

Here is the recipe from the cookbook.  I omitted the dates and added about 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut to the pie.  I topped the cooled pie with whipped cream, toasted coconut and almonds.

This is a rich and sweet pie.  I loved the flavor and texture.  The coconut makes the pie more like a macaroon in flavor.  The texture is already very macaroon-like with a crunchy exterior and almost gooey interior.  This a great use for your broken saltine crackers, leftover nuts and egg whites.

Any nut would work.  I think pecans would be great, but would probably use vanilla extract instead of almond.  I saw another recipe similar to this one on allrecipes.com that uses this pie as a crust and then tops the pie with a fruit filling.  Here is the recipe if you are interested.