Turtle Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients

crust

• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves or pieces (6 to 7 ounces), toasted, divided
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 whole graham crackers, finely crushed in resealable plastic bag)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

sauce and filling

• 3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 pints (4 cups) premium vanilla ice cream, divided

ganache topping

• 5 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Preparation

crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Using on/off turns, finely chop 1 cup pecans in processor; transfer to medium bowl. Mix in graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Drizzle butter over; blend until evenly moistened. Press mixture firmly over bottom and up sides of 9-inch glass pie dish (not on rim).
• Bake crust until golden brown, about 12 minutes (if crust puffs, press firmly back into place). Cool crust completely. Wrap in foil and freeze at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen.

sauce and filling

• Bring first 3 ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Boil caramel 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Turn off heat; whisk in butter, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely.
• Slightly soften 1 cup vanilla ice cream in microwave on low in 10-second intervals. Spread ice cream evenly in frozen pie crust; spread 1/4 cup caramel over. Freeze pie until ice cream and caramel are firm, about 1 hour. Repeat with remaining vanilla ice cream in three 1-cup portions and caramel in two 1/4-cup portions. Freeze pie overnight. Cover and reserve remaining caramel at room temperature.

ganache topping

• Combine chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in medium metal bowl. Place over saucepan of simmering water and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Cool ganache at room temperature until thick but still pourable, about 30 minutes.
• Pour ganache evenly over frozen pie. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Freeze until ganache is firm, at least 45 minutes. Drizzle decoratively with 1/4 cup reserved caramel. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen. Cover and chill remaining caramel.
• Let pie stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Rewarm remaining caramel, stirring over low heat. Cut pie into wedges and serve with caramel.

• test-kitchen tip

  To remove the first piece of pie, slide the knife between the crust and the dish all the way around the pie. Then cut out the first slice, being sure to cut through the crust completely.

Apple Pie Bites

Apple Pie
Ingredients:
6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 1/4 pounds)
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Milk (optional)
Sugar (optional) – I used Raw Sugar

Directions:
Prepare and roll-out pastry for Basic Pie Dough. Line a 9-inch pie plate with half of the pastry. (See Basic Pie Dough directions)

If desired, sprinkle apples with lemon juice. In large bowl stir together the 3/4 cup sugar, the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apple slices. Gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate.

To create the woven lattice top, use the longer pastry strips near the center of the pie and the shorter ones near the edges. Cross the two longest strips over the center of the filled pie. Place a second long strip over the top cross strip. Fold back every other strip onto itself and lay a cross strip in place, then return folded-back strips to their original position. Continue weaving in this fashion, working from the center of the pie toward the edges. Trim and flute the edges decoratively with your thumb.

If desired, brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar (Raw sugar). To prevent over-browning, loosely cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 20 minutes more or until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack.

Basic Pie Dough
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp. very cold water

Directions:
To make the dough in a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. (Although many dough recipes call for chilling the dough at this point, this dough should be rolled out immediately for the best results.) Lightly flour the work surface, then flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out into a round at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Makes enough dough for one 9-inch single-crust pie.

To make a lattice top: Double the recipe, cut the dough in half and pat one half into a round, flat disk. Roll out the disk into a 12-inch round as directed and line the pan or dish. Trim the edge of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press any scraps trimmed from the first round into the bottom of the remaining dough half. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into thin strips to weave a lattice top.

Snickers Pie

Snickers Pie
Source: adapted from Alpineberry

Crust: (Source: Simply Gluten Free)
1 ¼ cups dry-roasted, salted peanuts
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Pulse peanuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small food processor until it is the texture of coarse sand. Pulse in the melted butter. Press nut mixture evenly in the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes and cool while making the filling.

For filling:

Fudge Layer
4 ounces (1 stick/ 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces of Snickers candy bars, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
(I weighed the Snickers without wrappers)

Cream Cheese Layer
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Keep the oven temperature at 350 degrees.

For the fudge layer:
Combine butter and bittersweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler; set over simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove top insert and cool slightly.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside dry ingredients.

Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar, egg and egg yolk in a large bowl for 1 minute, until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture and mix until well blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour into crust.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist batter still attached. If crust browns too quickly, cover with foil.

Transfer pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Evenly arrange Snickers bars over the top.

For the cream cheese layer:
Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until smooth. Carefully spread mixture over the Snickers bars. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cream cheese is set. Transfer to a rack to cool.

For topping:

Chocolate Ganache (adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces, at room temperature

Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil, then pour half the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Working with a whisk or rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out in increasingly larger concentric circles. Pour in the remainder of the cream and blend it into the chocolate, using the same circular motions. When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece. Don’t stir the ganache any more than you must to blend the ingredients- the less you work it, the darker, smoother, and shinier it will be.

Pour ganache over cooled pie and refrigerate until set.