Category Archives: Pies and Tarts

Pie Dough “Fries”

Pies and Tarts

Pie Dough Fries

My Thanksgiving weekend was great!  My friends and I all got together to celebrate with a huge pot luck meal.  As always, I brought pies.  A few days later I was stuck with a problem that comes up often.  What should I do with my leftover pie dough?  If you are like me, you wrap up the extra pie dough, stick it in the fridge or freezer for “later use”. Then at some point it gets thrown out.  What a waste!

Perfect Pie Dough Fries

I was determined to find a use for my pie dough scraps.  After a quick google search I found lots of great ideas!  Some involved frying, others involved fillings, but I was looking for something quick and easy.  Pie dough “fries” was the perfect solution!

Pie Dough Fries With Fluted Wheel CutterI took out my refrigerated pie dough, and rolled it out thin.  Using a fluted pastry wheel cutter I cut out strips of dough.  I brushed the dough with melted margarine and sprinkled the dough with lots of cinnamon and sugar.  I spaced them out on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked them at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes.  That’s it!  No more leftover dough!

Pie Dough Fries With Jam Dipping Sauce

 I love how these look like those crimped french fries, how fun!  If you don’t have a fluted cutter, you can just as easily use a knife to make homestyle fries.  The pie dough I used for these (recipe here) is not a sweet dough so I made sure to sprinkle it with lots and lots of sugar, but it was still a little savory.  To sweeten it up a bit more I served the “fries” with a side of cherry jam.  What’s great about this, is that it sort of looks like ketchup!

Pie Dough Fries Served With Jam

I’m sure you could get pretty creative with the dipping sauces.  These would be so cute for a dessert table!  I might have to make a batch of pie dough just for these “fries”!

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Pie Dough "Fries"
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • Pie Dough
  • Margarine, melted
  • sugar
  • cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Roll out chilled pie dough on a lightly floured board.
  4. Cut dough into thin strips.
  5. Brush with melted margarine.
  6. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
  7. Space the dough on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until lightly brown.
  8. Serve with your favorite jam!

Grilled Peach Hand Pies

Pies and Tarts

Grilled Peach Hand Pies

We are having a virtual BBQ!  What I mean is that some Kosher food blogger friends and I are all sharing some delicious grilled recipes to celebrate the last bit of summer.  Most of the other recipes will be main courses, but I’m a crazy cake lady and had to challenge myself to come up with a grilled dessert.  Now I could have grilled some pineapple, served it over some homemade coconut sorbet, and called it a day.  But that was too simple.

Grilled PeachesWhen I couldn’t think up any other exciting ways to use grilled pineapple, I started thinking about grilling other fruit.  First I thought I would grill some peaches and use them in a pie.  Grilled peach pie filling; cute idea, but not cute enough.  What if I form individual pies and then grill the pies themselves…double grilled peach hand pies; bingo!

Grilled Hand Pies

First, mix up some pie dough and allow to chill for at least an hour.  Preheat your grill or indoor grill pan.  Then work on the filling.  Peel and slice the peaches.  Then grill the peaches.  Once grilled, dice them up, toss with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a splash of bourbon.  Now roll out the chilled pie dough, use a large round cutter (mine was 3 1/2 inches in diameter) and cut out circles.  Fill the pie circles with a tablespoon of peach filling, brush water around the edge and carefully fold the circle in half.  Seal the seam with your fingers or with a fork.  Chill the pies for 15-30 minutes and then grill!  I grilled mine on an indoor grill pan for about 3 minutes per side.  The grill pan was extremely hot so the dough didn’t get fully baked.  If you are using a grill pan I recommend finishing them off in the oven.  Immediately transfer the pies to a baking sheet and place in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Glazed Peach Hand Pies

They can be served like that, but I like my pies glazed.  Apparently, grilled pies are not my original idea (oh well), but I didn’t see anyone glaze their pies after grilling (points for originality).  Thin out some confectioners sugar with cold water and brush on the warm pies.  Now enjoy!  These pies are sweet and savory; the dough is flaky but not too light. The grill really adds another layer of depth and flavor; what a great way to finish off any delicious barbecue.  Why shut off your grill once the burgers and hot dogs are ready?  Grill dessert too and be sure to check out the rest of the virtual BBQ at the bottom of this post!

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Grilled Peach Hand Pies
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
Pie Dough
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 2 tsp. margarine
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ¼-1/2 cup ice cold water
Peach Filling
  • 2 large peaches, peeled and cut into chunks
  • ⅛ cup flour
  • ⅛ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. bourbon (optional, but recommended)
Glaze
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 3-5 tsp. water
Instructions
Pie Dough
  1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the flour, shortening, margarine, and salt until sandy.
  2. Slowly stream in the cold water until a dough begins to form.
  3. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap.
  4. Chill until firm, about one hour.
Peach Filling
  1. Peel and cut the peaches into large chunks.
  2. Grill each piece for about 3 minutes per side.
  3. Dice the peaches into small pieces (they need to fit into individual pies.
  4. Toss the grilled peaches with the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and bourbon.
  5. Roll out one half of the chilled pie dough on a floured surface.
  6. Using a large circle cutter (at least 3½ inches) cut out 4 circles.
  7. Fill each circle with 1 Tbs. of the peach filling.
  8. Brush a little water around the edge of the circle, fold the dough over the filling and seal the seam with your fingers.
  9. Repeat with the other half of the dough.
  10. Use the dough scraps to cut 4 more circles and fill.
  11. Chill the formed pies for 15-30 minutes. Meanwhile heat up the grill or grill pan.
  12. Grill the pies for 3 minutes per side.
  13. If using a grill pan, bake the pies at 350 degrees F immediately after grilling for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
Glaze
  1. While the pies are cooling, mix the confectioners sugar with the water until thin.
  2. Brush the glaze on each pie and enjoy!



Non-Dairy Cheesecake

Cakes, Pies and Tarts

Non Dairy Cheesecake

It’s cheesecake time!  I love cheesecake, but not everyone can enjoy this fantastic, rich, and creamy dessert.  I have a great dairy free version that will have you asking for more. This recipe is super easy and great for anyone who can’t tolerate dairy.

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Non-Dairy Cheesecake
Serves: 10-12 slices
 
Ingredients
  • Two 8 ounce containers of non-dairy plain flavored cream cheese. (I use Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese brand)
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 graham cracker pie crust
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
  4. Mix in the lemon juice and vanilla.
  5. Strain the batter into the graham cracker pie crust to make sure there are no lumps.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes until set.
  7. Allow to cool and then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before serving.