Time for another English dessert! Banoffee pie. According to the internet, the inspiration for banoffee pie came from an American dessert, but the pie as we know it today was created in Sussex. Apparently when the US heard wind of this incredible pie, we began serving it in our restaurants and selling it in grocery stores, and we said it was an American pie. Hah! Silly, America. We lost that argument, but I can absolutely see why we'd want to take credit for this pie. It's delicious. If banana pudding was made into a pie and doused in caramel, I imagine it would taste something like banoffee pie. (banoffee=banana + toffee)

The recipe I used has a few ingredients that aren't so easy to find in American grocery stores. As I've mentioned, I'm still upset about our lack of "double cream" over here in the US, but heavy whipping cream will work instead. You can tell in the top picture how the double cream produces an almost meringue-like sheen. Amazing. If anyone knows where I can find this in the US please let me know.

Digestives are available at some US grocery stores, but if you can't find them, plain graham crackers will do. Digestives taste to me like a less flavorful mix between Biscoff cookies and graham crackers. I realize that doesn't sound appetizing, but I enjoy them. The use of store-bought dulce de leche instead of homemade will save you time and trouble. I have no idea why it is necessary to add more butter and brown sugar to the dulce de leche (aka caramel) in this recipe, but I don't ask questions when I know the results will be incredibly delicious. Is this pie good for you? No. Is it incredible and simple? Yes. Cheers to you and your delicious Banoffee Pie, Britain!

Banoffee Pie
Recipe from The Guardian (adapted slightly for substitutions)
 

Base
225g (8oz) digestive biscuits
100g (3.5oz) pecans
125g (1 stick/8 tbs) salted butter, melted

Filling
125g (1 stick/8 tbs) salted butter, diced
100g soft brown sugar
400g dulce de leche or caramel
½ tsp salt

Topping
60g (2 oz) pecans*
15g (3tbs) icing sugar or confectioners sugar
4-5 ripe bananas
Squeeze of lemon juice
275ml (1 1/4 cups)  double cream or heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp coffee granules

*Note: I skipped the addition of candied pecans on top for lack of time, but I recommend adding them if you have a few minutes to spare. I think they'd make this recipe even more delicious.

Pulse the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor until finely crumbled. Stir together biscuit crumbs, roughly chopped pecans and melted butter until completely blended. Press the mixture into a 23cm (10-inch) loose-bottomed tart tin/springform pan to line the base and sides. Chill while you make the filling.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a pan, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the dulce de leche and the salt and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour over the base, and chill for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), line a baking tray and rinse and drain the pecans. Put into a bowl and sprinkle with the icing sugar, then spread out on to the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, shaking occasionally. Allow to cool. (The pie can be made up to this point up to 48 hours in advance.)
Thinly slice the bananas and toss with the lemon juice. Arrange on top of the cooled caramel in concentric circles.

Whip the cream and the coffee granules into soft peaks and spread on top of the bananas. Arrange the candied pecans on top and serve.

 

Hold on to your pants, folks. This is a healthy...yes, healthy...cookie pie. I am skeptical of any delicious food that's not completely terrible for me. I have long stood by my theory that to possibly be deemed an amazing food, something has to forfeit its healthful qualifications. It's just a sad truth. Sure, some healthy foods are good, but we all know that at the end of the day cream, butter, sugar, or whatever fits with the dish would bring it up a notch.

My second bit of skepticism towards this recipe was its secret ingredient: beans. I don't want beans in my cookies. That's just that. Alas, I decided I would give it a try because a healthy cookie recipe could be life-changing for me. Results? Bean Cookies-1. Sarah-0. It was great. If I had the metabolism of a 10 year old boy I would still choose a regular cookie any day of the week, but that's not the case.

My roommates thought this was just about the most groundbreaking thing I'd ever made. When college girls can justify a dessert you better watch out. I chose not to mention that there is still a good portion of brown sugar and chocolate chips in here. "Everything in moderation." It's not like we're eating celery, here. It lasted all of 24 hours (which I realize is kind of disturbing considering the blog I found it on said she got 20 servings out of it). My roommate and I decided that you could slightly taste the texture of the beans, but not enough that it was a deterrent. I probably should have processed them up a bit more before throwing them in. Anywho, if you get around to making this let me know your thoughts!

Healthy Deep Dish Cookie Pie
Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie

• 2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) (500g total, once drained)
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 T canola oil
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (Seems like a lot, but this makes a big pie. I think we got like 20 servings from it! You can try adding less, if you’re used to healthy desserts; I chose to use this much because the people to whom I served it are used to “normal” desserts. Also, white sugar will work if you don’t have brown.)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a food processor. Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan (I used a 10-inch springform pan, but you can use a smaller pan if you want a really deep-dish pie.) Cook at 350F for around 35 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

75 percent of the time I'm a very decisive person. I like to call the shots when no one else will, and I almost always have some sort of opinion (bearing in mind that those opinions are not correct all the time). The other 25 percent, I'm exactly the opposite. For example, I will ponder what to order from a restaurant for as long as humanly possible. No, I'm not one of those people who sits and waits to look at a menu until the waitress' third go around. I look at it...and then look at it more...and then pick about four things I'd be happy with. This even happens at restaurants with only a few options (or really at any restaurant that includes mushrooms, feta and avocados on the same menu). I usually just open my mouth and see what comes out to the waiter or waitress. I figure that's probably what I wanted the most anyways. 

This pie is for the indecisive people out there, but it doesn't require you to choose one. Hooray! The bottom layer is cheesecake. The middle layer is pumpkin pie. The top layer is pecan pie. I made this for Thanksgiving dinner #2 with my family. Like with my Thanksgiving dessert #1, I took a shortcut. I used store bought pie crust. My food processor was in Chapel Hill, so I like to say that's why I didn't go through the trouble of making the homemade crust. Truthfully, my family isn't picky when it comes to desserts, so I didn't see a need to spend the extra time (though I'm sure it would be well worth it).

All-in-all this pie came together relatively painlessly. The layers themselves are much simpler than if you made a real cheesecake, pumpkin pie or pecan pie. The best part is that people are beyond impressed with a three layer pie. 

Enjoy!

Cheesecake Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Recipe from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives

Flaky Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, chilled
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks and frozen
1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening, frozen
6 to 8 tablespoons ice-cold water

Cheesecake Layer
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg

Pumpkin Pie Layer
2 cups unsweetened fresh cooked or canned pumpkin (If using canned, strain in a fine mesh sieve for several hours to overnight, covered, in the fridge)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (you can use evaporated milk, if you prefer)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Pecan Pie Crunch Topping
1 1/4 cup mix of whole and coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons light or dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons melted butter

MAKE AND PARBAKE PIE SHELL:
1. Place the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade and pulse on and off until combined. Scatter the butter pieces and the shortening, in large chunks, over the flour mixture. Pulse the machine on and off until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons of the ice water and process until the mixture just starts to come together. If the dough seems dry, add the remaining 2 tablespoons water as necessary. Do not allow the dough to form a ball on the blade, or the resulting crust will be tough!  You want a raggedy mess of crumbly dough, with lumps of butter showing.

2. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide it in half, and shape each half into a disk – gently pressing each raggedy mess together, (DO NOT press into each disk or try to squeeze it together so the dough is uniform – it will come together in the refrigerator). Wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. You will only need one disk for this recipe, so you can freeze the other disk for later use.

3. Lightly flour a large work surface. Allow the dough to soften at room temperature just until it is pliable (about 10 minutes). Place 1 disk on the floured surface and sprinkle some flour over it. Roll the dough from the center out in every direction, flouring the work surface as necessary to prevent sticking. You want a round of dough that’s about 1/4 to 1/8 inch and about 3 inches greater in diameter than the pie pan/plate you are using.

4. Transfer the crust to a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (if you don’t use a deep-dish pan, there will be some filling left over) by rolling it loosely around the rolling pin and unrolling it carefully over the pan. Press the dough first into the bottom of the pan and then against the sides. Patch any holes or cracks with dough scraps. Trim the edges of the dough with scissors, leaving about 3/4 inch of overhang. Fold overhang over and crimp as you please.  Place shell in the freezer and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5. When oven temperature is at 400 F, remove the pie shell from the freezer and line the pie crust with a large sheet of lightly buttered aluminum foil, buttered side down, covering the edge of the crust so that it doesn’t get too brown. Fill the lined crust with pie weights, dried beans, or raw rice. Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and foil. Prick the bottom of the crust well with a fork and bake the crust for another 7 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden, but the crust is not fully baked. Cool the pie crust on a wire rack while you make the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

DIRECTIONS FOR PIE:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar, then add vanilla and 1 egg. Beat mixture until smooth.

2. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the bottom of the par baked pie shell, spread evenly, then freeze for about 15 -20 minutes.

3. In the mean time, in a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, heavy cream, 2 lightly beaten eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and salt. Mix thoroughly until uniform.

4. Remove the pie shell with cream cheese from the freezer and pour the pumpkin mixture on top of it. Cover edges of crust with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.

5. Bake in 350 degree F oven for about 60 to 75 minutes (It really depends on your oven.  In one oven I used, it took 75 minutes, in another, 60 – so keep checking for it to be sturdy, but still a tad jiggly).

6. When pie is in the oven for about 40-45 minutes, combine all the ingredients for the pecan pie topping.  Set aside.

7. After pie has been in oven for 50 – 60 minutes, remove from the oven and remove silver foil around edges of crust. Sprinkle pecan pie topping evenly over top – the pumpkin pie layer will sink a bit because the pecan goo is heavy, do not worry!  Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and the pecan pie topping is bubbly.  Let cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for several hours before serving.

8.  Drizzle with melted chocolate or chocolate ganache for extra decadence!

I love Butterfingers. 

I don't know what they are made from, and couldn't describe the taste if I tried (buttery, maybe), but they are my perfect candy. If someone asked you what's in a Milky Way you'd be able to say chocolate, caramel and nougat (though nougat is an odd component in and of itself). But what on earth is a Butterfinger made of? Bliss, I suppose.

So here it is: world's simplest and quickest pie. In fact, this pie is so easy that I am going to have to physically restrain from purchasing Butterfingers because I would make it every time I had a candy craving. There's no need to make your own crust with a pie like this--just accept it for the ridiculously simple and delicious recipe it is.  I used Light Cool Whip and 1/3 less fat cream cheese, but I'm still under no illusion that this pie is remotely good for me. Oh well. It's incredible.

Butterfinger Pie

Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients

• 6 (2 1/8 ounce) Butterfinger candy bars, crushed *
• 1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) cartons Cool Whip **
• 1 graham cracker crust

Directions

1. Mix first three ingredients together.
2. Put it in pie crust.
3. Chill.

* I used one bag of the smaller bars from the grocery store. It's around 12 oz, cant quite remember. While they were all still in their individual wrappers, I used a garlic press (first mallet-like thing I saw) to crush them. I saved three or four for the topping, and crushed those slightly less.
** I've mentioned this before, but generic brand Cool Whip is one of the few ingredients that I think works just as well when cooking. It'll save you a whopping dollar or so, which you can then use to justify Philadelphia Cream Cheese...because all cream cheeses are not created equal.

I always think of myself as a cake person. Some people order the pie for dessert. I don't give it a second glance. Why chose pie when you can have rich, fluffy, delicious cake and icing? It's taken awhile for me to realize that not only do I like pie, I can't get enough of it. Here's the catch: I don't like warm fruit. 

I had this discussion with some people I worked with this summer. We started off on how disappointing it is to find a "hot raisin" has snuck its way into your bread pudding or cinnamon roll. We all found the term "hot raisin" and our distaste for them hilarious, but really, keep the hot raisins out of my cinnamon bread/buns/carrot cake/etc. However, somehow when you cool a fruit down everything changes for me. I eat Honey Bunches of Oats with Raisins almost daily. One of my all time favorite recipes is for cold blueberry pie. Strawberry shortcake makes me swoon, and suddenly, after 21 years of thinking otherwise (counting since birth for simplicity sake), I now absolutely love apple pie...more specifically this apple pie.

The only remotely difficult part of this recipe is peeling the apples. I'm sure some people know the trick to this, but the only trick I could think of was to purchase one of those apple peelers (a.k.a I have no shortcuts). The apples in the pie are not like spiced apples, they're more comparable to cinnamon sugar apples. The topping is also wonderful. I used a store bought crust, but I'm sure if you have some extra time and want to go the homemade route that would make this even better. This would be a perfect Thanksgiving recipe. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp Pie
Recipe from Beantown Baker

Printable Recipe
1 9-inch Pie Crust

For the Filling:
6 cups apple chunks (I used 3 cortland and 3 granny smith apples here)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the Topping:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Core, peel, and slice apples. Transfer into large bowl with dry ingredients. Top off with vanilla and lemon juice. Toss to coat apples well. Set aside for 10-15 minutes while you prep the dough.

Fit your pie crust into a pie plate. You can even use store bought pie crust if you prefer. Fill pie crust with prepared apple chunks.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry topping ingredients. Pour cooled melted butter into bowl. Toss and cut until small to medium sized chunks form. Break up large chunks as needed. Using a spoon, sprinkle crumb topping over entire pie.

Cover pie loosely with foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and continue baking for an additional 35 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

Well, I'm obviously failing on getting back in the habit of a post a week. It's interesting how living in a different place changes around your schedule entirely. I'm certain that I have much more free time on my hands now than when I'm back at school, yet I can't seem to find the time to post to save my life. I honestly think it's because I'm not doing homework, so I'm not seeking sources of procrastination.


This pie is extremely easy to make, and with a little ice cream or whipped cream will absolutely appeal to any crowd you might be feeding. As you can see, my chocolate chip pie more closely resembles a chocolate pie. I guess that's what happens when you only buy chocolate chips in 72 ounce bags. I think I may have doubled what it asked for. There are certain ingredients I always do this with. Sometimes it backfires, this is not necessarily one of those times since it was still delicious, but it did change up what the pie was intended to be. Next time I'll resist temptation and stick to the recipe.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Recipe Courtesy of A Little Bit Crunchy A Little Bit Rock n Roll


1 unbaked pie shell (*see my no-roll pie crust below)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
small pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels (plus additional chips for drizzle)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.


Beat the eggs, on high, until foamy.  Beat in the flour and then both sugars.  Beat in the butter.  (I usually have a few small specks of butter left in the batter- this is fine and the pie will turn out great.)  Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.  Spoon into the pie crust and bake for 55-60 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.


For the topping:
Melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips.  Add about a 1/2 teaspoon oil.  Stir and pour into a zipper bag.  Cut off a tiny corner and drizzle over the pie.


Optional:
Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Until yesterday I worked at a great Italian restaurant where I live. It is Americanized Italian and absolutely delicious but I decided waitressing just wasn't for me. Though I love meeting people and I like the restaurant environment, I'm not a fan of working nights during the school year. I did take a lot away from working there though, I think working at a restaurant is something that everyone should experience. Overall people were great, as always some people weren't but hey, that's life.
Anywho, the restaurant had a fantastic black bottom peanut butter mousse pie called the "Millionaire Pie" which was a customer (and server) favorite. I couldn't find a good recipe in any of my cookbooks so I checked online and decided there were two that I liked different parts of. So here is my combination of a Black Bottom Peanut Butter Mousse Pie recipe and another Peanut Butter Mousse Cake recipe, both from the Bon Appetit recipes on Epicurious.
It was different than the Millionaire pie, but still delicious. I liked it better after having it chill in the fridge overnight, it gave the chocolate and crust time to harden. The best part about peanut butter mousse is that it takes a thick ingredient, peanut butter, and makes it really light. Granted, a slice of this pie will still fill you up for hours but I love to justify unhealthy foods and the lightness is my justification.


Had I for once in my life been patient, the chocolate on top may have turned
out better. So don't forget to give it time to cool!

Black Bottom Peanut Butter Mousse Pie
Adapted slightly from Bon Appetit

Crust
8 whole graham crackers, coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
Chocolate layer on bottom
1 1/3 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (about 8 ounces)
2/3 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling
1 18-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups chilled whipping cream
Topping
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

(From Recipe #1)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish with nonstick spray. Blend graham crackers, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in processor until moist clumps form. Press crumb mixture over bottom and up sides of prepared pie dish. Bake crust until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine chocolate chips, 2/3 cup cream, corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium heat until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Whisk until melted and smooth. Spread chocolate mixture over bottom of crust. Freeze 10 minutes.
(From recipe #2)

Using electric mixer, beat peanut butter and cream cheese in large bowl to blend. Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons vanilla extract and beat until well blended. Using clean dry beaters, beat 2 cups whipping cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form; fold into peanut butter mixture in 4 additions. Spoon filling into prepared crust.

Combine 1/2 cup cream, 1/4 cup sugar and espresso powder in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until espresso powder and sugar dissolve and mixture comes to simmer. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool topping 5 minutes. Spread topping evenly over filling. Refrigerate cake until cold, about 4 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover cake and keep refrigerated.) Serve cake chilled.

(sorry about the poor quality pictures, I was working with a bad camera here)