Vanilla - Almond Fruit Tart / pie

I adapted this recipe from kraft.com.   Looks impressive, but so easy to make! 

To save time I used a pre-made graham cracker crust, but you could make your own as well!  You can also put the sliced fruits in dishes and let your guests top their own slices of pie. 

Ingredients

• 1 (3.4 ounce) package Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 cup thawed Whipped Topping like Cool Whip
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup mixed fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, halved strawberries, sliced kiwi)

Directions

1. Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 min. Stir in whipped topping and almond extract. Spoon into crust.
2. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Top with fruit and reserved nuts just before serving.

Alternative Pie Crusts (For People Who Hate to Make Pies)

I've decided there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who like to make pies, and those who don't. I fall in the latter category. I make pies twice a year--for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. And I only do it then because I feel obligated out of tradtion. Also because my pumpkin and pecan pies are to-die-for. But otherwise, you can forget it.

The whole crux of the matter is the crust. I hate making pie crusts. Mostly because I think they take too much work and make too much mess and are too temperamental. Therefore, if I'm going to make a pie when it's not Thanksgiving or Christmas, I will opt for one of the two following "crust substitutes," if you will.

Actually, this first one I just barely discovered. It's wonderful if you're a coconut lover. I think it would work with any kind of pudding or custard-type pie. I made it with lemon pudding, and the whole thing just tasted like Spring to me.

I got this recipe from an All You magazine and altered it slightly.

Coconut Crust
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup sugar cookie crumbs (about 12 cookies). I didn't have sugar cookies, so I just used vanilla sandwich cookies with the centers scraped out.
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I just used regular salted butter).

Stir coconut, crumbs and butter until blended. Firmly press onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Chill 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake crust until golden, 15-20 minutes. Let cool on rack. Spread filling in crust and chill until ready to serve.

My second crust goes well with every kind of pie. I prefer it over regular crust, not just for ease of preparation, but also for taste and texture.

Crumble Crust
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work well)

Mix until crumbly (can do this in a food processor--just make sure not to over-mix) and press onto the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. This makes enough to cover the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish.

There you have it! No rolling, no flipping, no peeling off waxed paper, no ripping crust. Easy and yummy!

Swedish Apple Pie

For Christmas, Jacob was given a Harry and David gift package with some lovely pears in it. The only problem was that I knew nobody would eat those pears except for me. So I decided to make this wonderful dessert with them. The recipe calls for apples, but you can substitute pears, and I think the result is divine. Plus, this pie is super easy and has no bottom crust. (Pie crust is my nemesis). This is actually more like a cobbler, but hey--if the Swedish think it's a pie, who am I to argue?

4-6 apples (or pears)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
6 Tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. salt

Place sliced apples or pears in bottom of pie plate. Mix the 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. sugar and sprinkle over apples. Mix remainder of ingredients and pour over apples. (I find this mixture to be very thick and often add a little milk or water. I also find it impossible to pour, and rather scoop and drop spoonfuls on top of the apples). Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

I have also made this with only 1/2 cup of sugar and it still tastes great, especially if you are going to top it with ice cream or whipped cream.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

If you like pecan pie and you like chocolate, this is the perfect marriage of the two. I LOVE this pie and make it every Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

Ingredients: 1 pie crust
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
6 oz. package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Prepare pie crust according to package directions (or make your own). Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, margarine, vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Spread evenly in pie crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until deep golden brown and filling is set. Cover edge of pie crust with strip of foil during last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. (I sometimes put the foil on before putting it into the oven and then take it off toward the end so the crust can get a little brown). Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Classic Thanksgiving pumpkin pie

This is the recipe my mom has always used, and it gets rave reviews (but only if you use REAL pumpkin, as described in the previous post).

Mix two slightly-beaten eggs into  1 1/2 cups pumpkin.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Then add:
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
After blending into pumpkin mixture, add one can (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk. Mix well and pour carefully into a 9-inch pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then another 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until knife inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean. Makes one pie.

Strawberry Fresh Pie

I know Fall is coming on and this is really a summer dessert, but strawberries were a reasonable price here last week, so I got some and made this. It was so delicious and refreshing. I try to avoid making actual pie crusts whenever possible, so I opted for the graham cracker crust. However, I discovered we didn't have any graham crackers, so I used gingersnaps instead. It was super tasty! I just pulverized them and drizzled melted butter over them and baked for 10 minutes.

1 3-oz. package strawberry jello
1 3-oz. package cook-n-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 cups water
8 oz. container whipped topping
pie shell or graham-cracker-crumb-lined dish
1 clam-shell of strawberries, sliced

Mix together first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. When cooled, add all or most of container of whipped topping and sliced strawberries. Mix and pour into pie shell. Refrigerate until ready to serve.