Dainty Ruffle Shop

Basic Pie Dough

Making pie dough is not that hard, especially with the right recipe.  Well I found that recipe for you, and I probably use this recipe for all my pies. I included a recipe for both a 9-inch pie shell and for a 9-inch pie shell with a top.

Basic Pie Dough- 9-inch pie shell

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3-4 tablespoons cold water (cold is very important)

Basic Pie Dough - 9-inch two-crust pie

This is for a pie crust with a top
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
6-7 tablespoons cold water


Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl, add the shortening and work it into the flour. I use a pastry blender although you can use two knives or your fingertips and work the shortening into the mixture until it resembles fresh bread crumbs. Sprinkle on the water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring lightly with a fork after each addition. Use enough water so that the dough hold together.

To roll it;  Form the dough into a flattened ball. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (I used a  silicone mat) until it is about 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches larger then your inverted pie pan. You can roll it between to sheets of wax paper and transfer it by peeling back 1 piece of the wax paper and draping it over the pan, and then peeling the other piece of wax paper off. Any way you do it, transfer the dough to the pan (I rolled mine in the silicone mat and unrolled it into the pie pan), then trim and crimp the edge for an unbaked pie shell.

To fully bake the pie shell, preheat the oven to 425°F. Press heavy-duty tin foil snugly to the bottom and sides of the shell to keep the dough from shrinking during baking. Place in the upper third of the over and bake for 6 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 8 - 10 minutes more, until light brown, dry and crisp. Total baking time is 14-16 minutes.

To partially bake it, follow the instruction above, but when you remove the foil only bake it for 4 minutes instead of 8-10.

Simple Cream Pie (Pudding Pie)

This might not be the prettiest pie in all the world, but it sure is yummy! Now the recipe book says it is a cream pie, but everyone kept calling it a pudding pie. It is perfectly smooth,  and almost has a sweet caramel flavor.

Cream Pie
(Adapted from Fannie Farmer Baking Book, pg 112)

Basic Pie Dough (recipe) for a 9-inch pie shell

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups evaporated milk (I added some water to my can of condensed milk to make it 3 cups)

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

4 tablespoons (1/2 a stick or 1/4 cup) butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425°F

Line the pie pan with the rolled-out dough, prick all over with a fork, and press a piece of heavy-duty foil snugly into the pie shell. Bake at 425°F for 6 minutes, remove foil, and continue baking for about 10 minutes, until light brown, dry, and crisp.

 

Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and stir them together with a wire whisk until thoroughly mixed. Continue to whisk as you add the milk by droplets at first, then in a continuous stream. Whisk in the egg yolks, over a medium heat, stirring or whisking constantly, until the mixture boils. Reduce heat and beat in the butter and vanilla. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the filling and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Remove plastic, stir the filling well and pour it into the pie shell.

Serve the pie directly after you fill it, or do not fill the pie until ready to serve (give or take a couple hours).

The pie is best served at room temperature, but any leftovers should be refrigerated.

I decorated it with a dollop of cool whip, although you can cover the whole pie with cool whip or whipped cream before serving.

100% Whole Wheat, Whole Grain Bagel Recipe

It's hard finding 100% Whole Grain recipes, typically it half whole wheat flour, half white flour. It's even harder to find a completely whole grain bagel recipe, but I wouldn't take no for an answer! So I went on a search to find a 100 % Whole Grain Bagel recipe. I have made bagels before, so the process wasn't new for me. Bagels are the one thing that are easy enough to achieve bakery perfection. 

Now this whole grain bagel recipe, doesn't taste completely bakery, but I blame the whole wheat flour. Plus creating a biga and soaker that was left over night gave it a slightly sourdough bread taste. But don't let this discourage you from trying this recipe!

 I did do some variations, which included fresh blueberries and sugar, and cinnamon sugar. 

Now I feel like the recipe is too long to include in here, so I'm going add a link to the recipe. Plus I don't know the blog rules of re-posting a recipe.

100% Whole Wheat Bagel Recipe

http://jugalbandi.info/2008/02/100-whole-wheat-bagels/

Blueberry!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!!!

After my years and years of searching, I found it! The perfect chocolate chip cookie, fluffy, but not overly, chewy, but still crunchy. It even has the uneven texture of a big bakery cookie that we all love so much. Not only can you make these small, but as the bigger they get, the better they look!

I actually researched different recipes, all kind of brands, with different methods. I looked and tried Hershey, nestle,  bakers,  and all others that I forgot their names. Surprisingly they were basically all the same, actually the only difference I saw was the different amount dozens they yield. One Hershey book actually had the same recipe twice, pages apart, with different titles and the instructions slightly mixed up. Talk about the Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Scam. I'm sure you are sick of my ramblings of horrible-OK recipes, and you're just here for the best cookies! Be prepared to be amazed....

Onto the recipe!

I personally weighed the ingredients, use your own judgement.
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Source: Baking Illustrated)

Makes 18 Cookies
(I made some cookies smaller, so I was able to get more out of the recipe)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm (This I believe, is the most important step in the recipe).

1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. (I used parchment paper)

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

 Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart. (This is so important for a great looking cooking. You can even roll 1/2 cup of dough and pull it apart, and use each half as a cookie to make it easier.)

Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes
(You have two options, either let them cool slighter and transfer them to a baking rack. Or you can let them cool completely and then remove. I let them cool slighter, but the recipe says to let cool completely. Once again use your own judgement.)