Category: Desserts

From The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book

I did the math tonight and realized I’ve been making lemon meringue pie for 20 years. Since I’m not yet 30, that’s saying something. I’ve used at least a dozen different recipies but have finally settled down with this one. Each time I make it I look aghast at the lack of zest and consider throwing some in, but it really doesn’t need it and it’s nice to have the pudding layer chunk-free.

Every recipe has a different opinion about what needs to cool (crust, filling) and for how long. I’m impatient and throw everything together hot. One of these days I’ll nail down the perfect combo and again, I’ll report back.

1 blind baked 9″ pie crust
4 eggs, separated
1.5 c sugar
60 g cornstarch (6 tbs)
.25 tsp salt
.5 c cold water
.5 c fresh lemon juice
1.5 c boiling water
2 tbs butter
.5 c sugar

Preheat oven to 425F

In a large saucepain (I prefer a saucier) stir together 1.5 c sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in cold water and lemon juice, then egg yolks. Next stir in the boiling water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble. Continue to cook, stirring briskly, until thick and bubbly, about 1 minute longer. Remove from heat. Gently stir in butter until melted.

Pour filling into crust. Whip egg whites to soft peaks then gradually add remaining .5 c sugar while whipping to stiff peaks. Spread meringue over filling, bake for 4 to 6 minutes until nicely colored. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Best eaten cold.

Another favorite Christmas cookie. This recipe leaves a lot of edge trimmings which are unsuitable for company and must be disposed of…somehow.

1 recipe Sugar Cookie dough
12.5 oz (1.75 c.) sugar
1.5 oz (2 Tbs) corn syrup
.75 c water
7 oz. (14 Tbs) unsalted butter
8.5 oz (0.75) cup honey
1 cup heavy cream
17 oz. toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350F

Roll out dough, line half sheet pan, chill until firm. Bake with foil & pie weights 20 min., remove foil & weights, bake an additional 10 minutes until completely set. Cool completely.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water and bring to a boil. Cook until the mixture becomes amber, 350F, remove from heat. Carefully add butter and honey, return to heat, stir until dissolved. Bring the mixture back to a boil and carefully add cream. Boil the mixture until it reaches 250F. Quickly combine nuts & caramel, spread in cookie crust. Bake 20 min. or until the topping begins to bubble.

Once cool, cut by turning upside down onto cutting board, scoring through the crust, then cutting through the caramel with a chef’s knife.

These are my favorite Christmas cookie. They don’t ship as well as some of the others but I love them so my cookie recipients get a ziplock of crumbs every year. 🙂

2 cups whole pecans or walnuts, 1 cup chopped fine, one cup ground until the texture of coarse cornmeal
2 cups flour
.75 tsp salt
16 Tbs (8 oz) softened unsalted butter
.33 cup superfine sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat oven to 325F

Mix nuts, flour, and salt, set aside.

Beat butter and sugar on medium until light and creamy, about 1.5 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and bat at low speed until dough just comes together. Working with one tablespoon (I use a #70 disher) at a time, form dough into rounds.

Bake 17 to 19 minutes until the tops are pale golden

Once cool, roll in confectioners’ sugar.

This is my most-coveted Christmas cookie. Amounts following ingredients are for a double batch, which is all I make.

1.75 cups (8 3/4 oz) flour (1 lb 1 1/2 oz)
.25 cups (1 3/8 oz) rice flour (2 5/8 oz)
.67 cups (4 3/4 oz) superfine sugar (9 1/2 oz)
.25 t. salt (1/5 tsp)
16 Tbs (8 oz) cold, unsalted butter (16 oz)

1 tsp sugar for sprinkling (2 tsp)

Preheat oven to 425F. Line ungreased 9-inch round cake pan with parchment of wax paper; set aside

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flours, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. Cut butter into .5″ cubes with .25 cup flour mixture on a sheet of parchment paper. Add butter and any remaining flour on parchment to bowl with dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until dough is pale yellow and resembles damp crumbs, about 4 minutes.

Press dough into pan. (With my pans, a single batch is 2 lb 3 oz–useful info for splitting the double batch.) Unmold onto cookie sheet, use 2″ cookie cutter to remove center and set aside on cookie sheet. Replace cookie cutter. Place shortbread in oven, immediately reducing temperature to 300F.

Bake 20 minutes, remove from oven, score into 16 wedges and poke design with skewer. Bake an additional 40 minutes until pale golden. Cut on score marks, slide shortbread onto rack and cool thoroughly.

3 medium ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into ½ inch pieces.
½ tsp lemon juice
pinch salt
1 c plus 6 tbs sugar, divided
1 ¼ c whole milk
1 1/3 c heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs vodka

Stir peaches, lemon juice, salt, and ½ c sugar in non-reactive saucepan to combine; let stand until a pool of syrupy liquid accumulates and peaches soften slightly, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Position sieve over medium bowl set in an ice water bath; set aside

Heat milk, cream, and ½ c sugar in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until steam appears, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off heat.

Whisk yolks and remaining 6 tbs sugar until pale yellow. Stir half the warmed milk mixture into the yolk mixture until just blended. Return milk-yolk mixture to saucepan of remaining milk,. Heat milk-yolk mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon unti steam appears foam subsides, and mixture just begins to thicken, 180F. Do not boil or eggs will curdle. Remove from heat and immediately strain custard into prepared bowl. Cool custard to room temperature, stir in vanilla, then cover and refrigerate to 40F, at least 2 and up to 24 hours.

Meanwhile, heat softened peaches and their liquid, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until peaches are tender and flesh has broken down, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl, stir in vodka, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 and up to 24 hours. Strain chilled peaches, reserving liquid. Stir reserved liquid into chilled custard; pour into ice cream machine and churn, 25 to 30 minutes. Add peaches; continue to churn until combined, about 30 seconds.

From The Joy of Cooking

To reduce WW points use low-fat cream cheese and 2 oz of butter.

8 oz philadelphia brand cream cheese, cold
2.5 oz (5 tbs) butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
9.5 oz (approx 2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

Combine all ingredients in food processor, pulse to combine. Do not overprocess.

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (about 4 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and softened to cool room temperature
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces), light or dark
1/2 cup rolled oats (1 1/2 ounces), old-fashioned
1/2 cup pecans (2 ounces), chopped fine
3/4 cup rasberry preserves (8 1/2 ounces)
1 cup fresh raspberries (5 ounces)
1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 9×13 pan with nonstick tin foil. If ou do not have nonstick tin foil, go buy some then report back. Seriously, I think the raspberry would stick something fierce. Line or not as you wish, but don’t come crying to me.

In food processor, process flour, granulated sugar, and salt until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter 16 tablespoons butter pieces over flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles damp sand, about twenty 1-second pulses.

Measure 1 1/4 cups (6.5 oz) flour mixture into medium bowl and set aside; distribute remaining flour mixture evenly in bottom of prepared baking pan. Using hands or flat-bottomed measuring cup, firmly press mixture into even layer to form bottom crust. Bake until edges begin to brown, 14 to 18 minutes.

While crust is baking, add brown sugar, oats, and nuts to reserved flour mixture; toss to combine. Work in remaining 2 tablespoons butter by rubbing mixture between fingers until butter is fully incorporated. Pinch mixture with fingers to create hazelnut-sized clumps; set streusel aside.

Combine preserves, raspberries, and lemon juice in small bowl; mash with fork until combined but some berry pieces remain.

Spread filling evenly over hot crust; sprinkle streusel topping evenly over filling (do not press streusel into filling). Return pan to oven and bake until topping is deep golden brown and filling is bubbling, 22 to 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature on wire rack, 1 to 2 hours; remove from baking pan by lifting foil extensions. Using chef’s knife, cut into squares and serve.

Strawberry Rhubarb variation:

Make strawberry rhubarb jam by combining 1 cup each sliced strawberries and diced rhubarb in a saucepan with 1/3 c sugar. Cook until soft and well combined. Use this in place of the jam and a cup of sliced strawberries in place of the raspberries.

I love the lattice top on this pie. I make several of these each year when peaches are in season.

Pie dough

Peach filling
6 – 7 medium peaches (ripe, about 6 cups), peeled, cut into 3/8″ slices
1 tbs lemon juice from 1 lemon
1 cup sugar
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
pinch table salt
3 – 4 tablespoons potato starch

1 tbs sugar

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade until combined. Add shortening and process until mixture has texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; cut butter into flour until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about ten 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle 5 tablespoons ice water over mixture; with rubber spatula, use folding motion to evenly combine water and flour mixture. Sprinkle remaining 5 tablespoons ice water over mixture and continue using folding motion to combine until small portion of dough holds together when squeezed in palm of hand; add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water if necessary. (Dough should feel quite moist.) Turn dough onto clean, dry work surface; gather and gently press together in cohesive ball, then divide into 2 pieces. Flatten each piece into a 1″ thick disc; wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour, or up to 2 days, before rolling.

Remove dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Roll each piece to about 1/8-inch thick; transfer smaller round to cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. With pizza wheel, fluted pastry wheel, cut into eight one-inch-wide strips. Freeze strips on cookie sheet until firm, about 30 minutes.

Transfer remaining round to pie plate. Leave dough that overhangs lip of pie plate in place; refrigerate dough-lined pie plate.

Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss peach slices, lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and potato starch or Minute tapioca (3 tablespoons for moderately juicy peaches, 4 tablespoons for very juicy ones) in medium bowl.

Turn mixture into dough-lined pie plate. Remove dough strips from freezer; if too stiff to be workable, let stand at room temperature until malleable and softened slightly but still very cold. Form lattice top and place on top of peaches. Lightly brush lattice top with 1 tablespoon water and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Place pie on baking sheet and bake until crust is set and begins to brown, about 25 minutes. Rotate pie and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees; continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown and filling is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Cool on wire rack 2 hours before serving.

These are delicious on their own, even better as the crust for caramel nut bars.

14 oz. (28 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1.5 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
5 3/4 oz (.75 cup) sugar
.5 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
21 oz (1 lb 5 oz, 4.67 cups) flour

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter, zest, sugar, and salt, beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat it in well. Add vanilla. Stir in the flour until blended. Spread the dough out, about an inch thick, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm.

Roll dough, cut with cookie cutters, and bake for 15 to 20 min until the edges turn golden.

4 cups strawberries or raspberries, pureed (should result in about 3.5 cups of puree)
1 1/4 cup water
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 TBS lemon juice

Make a simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, then simmer for a few minutes until all the sugar is dissolved. Cool.

Combine strawberry puree, simple syrup, and lemon juice.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process ’til done. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour into a shallow tray or baking dish (like a 13X9) and freeze ’til solid. Once frozen, chunk it up and run it through the food processor to get the right texture. Eat, or return to freezer.