Pies

Most of us have favorite foods for the holiday season. This frequently includes pies. Here are six pie recipes to help you through the holidays, including Sweet Potato Pie (this recipe is diabetic approved) and No-Bake Espresso Mud Pie. Enjoy!

Note: If you'd like to check out the recipe for my great grandmother's pie crust recipe, feel free to check it out here.

Photo: On left, two Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pies; Upper right, Apple Pie; Lower right: Cranberry Pie



SWEET POTATO PIE

Yield: 1 pie (8 servings)

Print version: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=805

Online version: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/805.shtml

Source: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons margarine

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large sweet potatoes (1-1/2 pounds total), cooked, peeled, and mashed

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

3 large egg whites

1 prepared 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat together the margarine, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cinnamon; mix well. Stir in the sweet potatoes and milk; mix again.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them into the sweet potato mixture; pour into the pie shell.

Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and cut the pie in 8 equal slices.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 291 ; Protein: 7 g ; Fat: 13 g ; Sodium: 313 mg; Cholesterol: 28 mg; Dietary Fiber: 3 g; Sugars: 17 g; Carbohydrates: 38 g; Exchanges: 2-1/2 Other Carbohydrate, 2 Fat

CRANBERRY PIE

My dad loved to cook, and usually came up with decent recipes. He sent this one in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.” (It can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking.)



2 T cornstarch

1 C sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C hot water

1 C raisins

1 T butter

2 C cranberries

Pie crust

Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)

VARIATION

2 Tbls cornstarch

3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C hot water

1 C raisins

1 T margarine

1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)

Pie crust

Make as above.

NO-BAKE ESPRESSO MUD PIE

This is from Jake Cohen, a food editor on Tasting Table. Jake wrote, “When we venture into dessert territory, summer is all about pies. But when we simply can't handle the heat of turning on our ovens, this no-bake mud pie saves the day. An Oreo® crust holds layers of chocolate ganaches and espresso whipped cream for a decadently sweet pick-me-up.

“This recipe is super simple but requires some wait time while you let the layers firm up in the fridge. It's a great one to make in advance and even keep in the freezer. This way, you can cut perfect slices before the pie tempers.”

To learn more, read ‘No Sweat.’”

This recipe stars off, “Turn your oven off for a slice of heaven.”

Yield: One 9-inch pie; Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling time; Cook Time: N/A; Total Time: 30 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling time

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the Crust:

One 14.3-ounce package Oreos®

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the Dark Chocolate Ganache:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon instant espresso

1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Milk Chocolate Ganache:

12 ounces milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

For the Espresso Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon instant espresso

Pinch kosher salt

For the Garnish:

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso

Chocolate-covered espresso beans

Directions

Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse the Oreos® into fine crumbs. Add the butter and pulse to incorporate. Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a deep 9-inch pie tin. Keep in the refrigerator while you make the dark chocolate ganache.

Make the dark chocolate ganache: In a medium microwavable bowl, combine all the dark chocolate ganache ingredients. Microwave on high until the chips have melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Then whisk until smooth. Pour into the crust and chill until firm, 1 hour.

Make the milk chocolate ganache: In a medium microwavable bowl, combine all the milk chocolate ganache ingredients. Microwave on high until the chips have melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Then whisk until smooth. Pour over the dark chocolate ganache and chill until firm, 2 hours.

Make the espresso whipped cream: In a large bowl, combine all the whipped cream ingredients. Using an electric hand mixer, beat to stiff peaks. Spread over the chilled milk chocolate ganache. Chill the pie for 1 hour more.

For garnish: In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar and instant espresso. Remove the pie from the refrigerator and, using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the top with the sugar mixture. Sprinkle with chocolate-covered espresso beans. Then slice and serve.

LIBBY'S FAMOUS PUMPKIN PIE

I got this from the Libby's brand canned pumpkin label.

3/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) Carnation Evaporated Milk

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Beat eggs in large bowl. Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, & cloves in small bowl. Stir sugar-spice mixture & pumpkin into eggs. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Note: Do not freeze, as this will cause crust to separate from filling.

1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger & cloves; however, the taste will be slightly different.

APPLE PIE

I got the original recipe for this from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook, years ago. I've tweaked the recipe a bit; the original called for butter, which mine doesn't, while I add apple cider or apple juice, which isn't in the original. Here's the semi-tweaked, originally Betty Crocker apple pie.

Crust for a 9-inch two-crust pie

3/4 + 1 tablespoon cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (do not use self-rising flour, but if you must use it, omit salt)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash salt

6 to 7 cups apples (6 to 8 apples), peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup apple cider or apple juice

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare crust and line pie pan with bottom crust.

Placed cut up apples in large bowl. Add sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and (lastly) apple cider or juice. Mix apples and additions with hands, then pour apples and additions into crust-lined pie pan.

Cover with top crust, cut slits into top crust, then seal edges of crusts. (Note: You can replace top crust with a lattice crust.) Cover top of pie with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning; remove foil last 15 minutes of baking.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

SALTED MAPLE CHESS PIE

This comes from The Baker Chick (otherwise known as Audra). If you haven’t signed up for her emails, I highly recommend doing it!

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Single layer Pie Crust*

4 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, cooled

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Flakey sea salt (Like Maldon)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F.

In a large bowl beat the eggs until fluffy and blended. Add in the cream, vanilla, maple syrup and brown sugar, mixing on medium high until smooth. Add butter, cornmeal and vinegar and mix everything until smooth and free of any clumps or streaks.

Roll your pie crust into a 11 inch circle and drape onto your pie plate.crimp or flute the edges with a fork or your fingers. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat to 325F and bake for 40 minutes until the edges are set but the middle is still wobbly. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt.

Allow to cool completely before serving, or chill and serve cold. Serve plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Notes

*If you'd like to add the braided crust like I did, I recommend making 1 1/2 times the regular pie crust recipe. Having a little extra allows you to try a few times and use your favorite braid on the crust. To attach it, brush the edge of your crust with egg wash and then gently press it on. Then brush the whole this with the egg wash and chill for 20 minutes before baking.

**If you like a crisper crust on the bottom, I recommend par baking the crust before adding the filling. Fill with parchment and beans or pie weights and then bake for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and then add your filling.