Bon Appetit Desserts (66 page)

Bake pie 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling thickly through slits in crust, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack. Cut into wedges and serve with Lemon Curd.

Lemon Curd

This thick, sweet-tart topping is also superb on scones or whole wheat toast.
Makes about 2 cups

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup fresh lemon juice

4 large eggs

1 large egg, separated

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

Pinch of salt

Combine 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, 4 eggs, egg yolk, and lemon peel in heavy medium saucepan and whisk to blend. Add butter and salt. Whisk constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and coats back of spoon thickly (do not boil), about 12 minutes. Pour mixture through strainer into medium bowl. Place bowl in larger bowl filled with ice water and whisk occasionally until lemon curd is cooled completely, about 15 minutes.

Whisk egg white and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in small metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over small saucepan of barely simmering water and whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture is just warm to touch, about 1 minute (do not overheat or mixture will curdle). Immediately remove bowl from over water. Using electric mixer, beat egg white mixture until thick and glossy (texture will resemble marshmallow crème; volume of beaten egg white will be very small). Gently fold egg white mixture into cooled lemon curd.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Mixed Berry Pie with Pecan-Orange Lattice Crust

This is a wonderful pie to make in the fall, when fresh cranberries are just starting to appear at the market; combined with frozen raspberries and blueberries, they create a pie that’s delightfully sweet and tart. A little grated orange peel adds fresh flavor to the pie crust.
8 servings

½ cup pecans, toasted

2¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

1⅓ cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

¼ cup orange marmalade

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1¾ cups frozen raspberries, thawed, drained

1½ cups frozen blueberries, thawed, drained

1¼ cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries

1 egg, beaten to blend

CRUST:
Finely grind pecans in processor. Add flour, sugar, orange peel, and salt and process until well blended. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Using on/off turns, blend in 4 tablespoons ice water, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls, if needed, until moist clumps form. Gather dough together; divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into disk. Wrap separately in plastic and chill 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

FILLING:
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Combine 1⅓ cups sugar, orange marmalade, cornstarch, orange peel, and allspice in large bowl. Add all berries and toss gently.

Roll out larger dough disk on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer round to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1½ inches.

Roll out smaller dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round; cut into fourteen ½-inch-wide strips.

Mound filling in crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Place remaining 7 dough strips at right angle atop first 7 strips, forming lattice. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal and forming high-standing rim. Brush lattice (not crust edge) with egg and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Line baking sheet with foil; place in bottom of oven under rack to catch any drippings. Place pie on oven rack and bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles thickly, covering crust edge with foil collar if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool at least 1 hour. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Pumpkin-Butterscotch Pie

Brown sugar, butter, salt, and Scotch whisky are quickly simmered into a tasty butterscotch, then pumpkin, cream, eggs, and spices round out the filling in this new take on the Thanksgiving classic. Spiking whipped cream with a little whisky to serve alongside brings out the “spirit” in the pie.
8 servings

1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

¾ cup (packed) golden brown sugar, divided

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup Scotch

1¼ cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup canned pure pumpkin

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon Scotch

CRUST:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until very coarse meal forms. Add 3 tablespoons ice water; using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap and chill 1 hour.

Roll out dough disk on floured surface to 12- to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edges under and crimp decoratively. Chill crust at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake crust until just beginning to turn golden brown, piercing with fork if bubbles form, about 15 minutes longer. Cool crust completely on rack.

FILLING:
Combine ½ cup brown sugar, butter, and salt in medium saucepan; bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until deep brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Scotch, then cream (mixture will bubble vigorously) and whisk until smooth. Return to medium heat and stir until most caramel bits dissolve. Strain butterscotch mixture into small bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Whisk remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and pumpkin in large bowl. Whisk in eggs, then cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Add reserved butterscotch mixture; whisk to blend.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk before using.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie until filling is just set, about 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 3 hours.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store at room temperature.

WHIPPED CREAM:
Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, and Scotch in medium bowl until peaks form.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk if necessary before serving.

Cut pie into wedges. Serve with dollops of whipped cream.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

A bit of sour cream gives the filling of this special pie a subtle tang and a little extra richness. If you’d like to decorate the pie with pastry leaves, prepare and roll out a second pie-crust dough disk; sprinkle the leaf-shaped cutouts with sugar before baking. Serve the pie with whipped cream, if desired.
8 servings

Flaky Pie Crust dough disk (see recipe)

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon (generous) salt

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin