Time for Pie

Whatever your flavor, you're going to like one of these pies...



I stopped by Momofuku Milk Bar (http://www.momofuku.com/milkbar/) the other day and bought three of the best cookies I have ever eaten. Go now. I was inspired by everything that I saw, and more than that wanted to eat everything that I saw. They had something called Crack Pie, and my cookies ingredients were things like pretzels, potato chips, and coffee grinds. My head began racing with new ideas for pie.
I was reading Time Out New York and they mentioned donating pies for Thanksgiving, and I decided that that was the perfect way for me to spread some holiday cheer. I have to be honest, I made four different pies in a two day period and didn't make the crust on all of them, but sometimes a store bought crust is necessary. And with a great filling, no one will notice ;)
I decided to stick with traditional apple and pumpkin pies to donate to the Bowery Mission, which is in my neighborhood. For the pumpkin pie, I combined 1 can of pumpkin with 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1tsp vanilla. Mix well and pour into a nine inch pie shell (that you have poked with a fork or knife). Bake at 375 for about 45-50 minutes. *make sure you put a pan under the pie to catch overflow* I set a fire in my oven.
The apple pie was made by reducing apple cider until it became a rich syrup and combining it with sliced apples. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and a little fresh nutmeg, along with a couple tablespoons of brown sugar. Added that to a pie crust and topped with a crumble topping made of 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup oats, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Bake this pie at 375 for about 45-50 minutes.
I made a second apple pie the same way as above, but I also added 1/3 cup chopped candied ginger to the mixture, along with 1/2 tsp vanilla. However, I made this crust. I bought some decadent Pure Irish Butter, cubed 1/4 cup of it and 1/4 cup cream cheese, and cut it into 2 cups of flour, 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, along with as many Tablespoons of cold water it takes to wet the dough. Divide in half, wrap in plastic and chill for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out into a circle and lay inside a greased pie plate, cut slits along the bottom to keep from bubbling up. Fill with the apple mixture and cover with the other rolled crust. I cut a fun turkey in the top of mine. Get creative with different shapes of cookie cutters.
The last pie is the most involved, but my favorite. A real Momofuku inspiration, Peanut Butter Cracker Pie. This pie comes from my favorite childhood snack, peanut butter crackers. My mom used to whip up a plate of saltines slathered in JIF; I used saltines to make the crust, and an all natural peanut butter whipped together with fresh cream and topped with a fresh-made concord grape jelly. This is going to be a new favorite of yours, I'm sure. If you have a peanut allergy, use almond butter, or sunflower seed butter.
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Start by taking one sleeve of saltine crackers and crush them. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and stir. Melt half a stick of butter and stir over the crackers. Press into a pie plate and bake until golden, about 10 min. While that's going, take 4oz cream cheese, and 8 oz peanut butter (however crunchy or smooth you like it) and cream them together. Then add 2/3 cup sugar and combine. Whip a pint of cream to stiff peaks and fold in about a teaspoon of vanilla. Then fold the cream into the peanut butter. Pour this into the golden crust and stick it in the freezer.
Where's the complication? you ask. Here. Home made concord grape jelly! well not real jelly, but something close. For this you will need to put about 2 1/2 cups of concord grapes into a small saucepan. Add only about a tbsp of water and cook them over med-low heat until they turn a bright color and start to break down. Stir occasionally and smash the grapes to dislodge the seeds. After they are bright and smell nice and grape-y, you will need to push them through a wire strainer to remove the seeds and skins. Then return to the saucepan and add 1/ cup of sugar and if you have it, a little orange zest. The jelly will thicken once you've added the sugar, but it shouldn't be too thick. More like a sauce. Let it stand at room temp for 10 or 15 minutes, then spread over the top of the pie. Let stand over night in the freezer. (for this moment i like to make a smaller personal pie, so that i don't have to wait all night to eat it!)
You should take the pie out of the freezer about 20 minutes before serving it, it becomes like a frozen mousse. And just take a look, i don't have to tell you how good this is going to be...