A Little Hot Apple Love

 

The other day my 5 year old came to me and asked me what we you do on Valentines day.  She wanted to know if we could go out an buy presents for each other like Christmas.  I explained that daddy and I would probably go out but besides that we wouldn't be doing much.  She then requested that we make heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then tacos for dinner.  She then asked what we would have for dessert.  I knew she would love anything that we could make together and so these little heart shaped apple pastries came to be. 

These are so easy and the kiddos can help out.  All you need is an apple some cinnamon and sugar and some biscuit dough.

Heart Shaped Apple Pastries

1 medium golden delicious or granny smith apple, peeled and diced

2 1/2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 can Grands biscuit dough (I used the flaky layers ones)

1 Tbs cream or milk

1 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1.  Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a cookie sheet.  Mix together the apples, sugar and cinnamon.

2.  Separate the biscuits, roll out and cut with a heart shaped cutter.  Place a heaping spoonful of the apples on top the half of the hearts and cover with another heart shaped biscuit.  Crimp the edges with a fork.

3.  Mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon.  Brush the top of the hearts with the cream or milk and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Poke a few slits in the top with a knife.

4.  bake for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are browned and cooked all the way through.  Drizzle with the glaze**.

**To make the powdered sugar glaze, mix together 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 Tbs cream or milk.  Drizzle over hearts with a fork.**

Mini Chocolate Cream Pies

 

Today my kids and I wanted to make a desert for family night but were running low on supplies.  No chocolate chips for cookies, very little brown sugar or nuts.  What we did find on the other hand was some leftover pie dough in the freezer, a package of chocolate pudding (yes a mix), and some whipping cream.

We could have made  regular chocolate cream pie, but I love small treats.  I think that's because I don't feel so guilty eating them.  These were great because they were so easy that the kids could help out but they look so cute too.  After finishing these, my kids were covered with chocolate pudding and whipped cream, it was even in their hair.  It was pretty cute!

Mini Chocolate Cream Pie

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3  Tbs. Sugar

1/2 cup cold butter, cut in to pieces

1/2 cup shortening

about 1/2 cup ice water

1 large pkg. (2.1 oz) Chocolate pudding

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 cup cold whipping cream

Grated Chocolate for garnish (optional)

1.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour salt and sugar.  Cut in the butter an d shortening until the fat has irregular pieces about the size of peas.

2.  Slowly add a tablespoon of water at a time carefully mixing the water into the dough.  Add enough water so that the dough forms  a ball when pressed together.  Do not overmix.  Form the dough into two discs and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour to let the gluten relax.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a mini muffin tin.  Place a tablespoon of dough into each cup.  Using a mini tart shaper press the dough to form a mini pie shell.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until baked through.  Remove baked shells from pan and cool.

4.  Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.  Put the whipped cream into another bowl.  Empty the pudding mix and milk into the mixing bowl, whip together until thickened and well mixed.  Fold in 2/3 of the whipped cream in small batches into the pudding.  Be sure to fold and not mix as you don't want to deflate the whipped cream.

4.  Place the pudding mixture into a ziploc bag and snip the corner.  Pipe the pudding into the premade cooled shells.  Place the remaining whipped cream into another ziploc bag and pie the cream on top of the pies.  Garnish with some grated chocolate if desired.  Store the pies in the fridge to set.

Cartwheels

I hope that everyone has had a great week. I have been baking up a storm, but didn't have a chance to take pictures of much of it. I have so many more things that I need to make for Easter this weekend and hope to take pictures of it if my camera will cooperate.

Today I wanted to share with you something that I have loved eating all of my life. The recipe for these"cartwheels" as my nana would call them, has been passed down for generations. Growing up, I would beg my mom to make them. In fact, I would have her make them every year on my birthday. They were made up I am sure for the sole purpose of using up leftover pie dough. Now though, whenever my family makes a pie they make extra pie dough in order to make cartwheels. So last week when my friend had a "pi" party, I knew that I needed to make a whole batch of extra pie dough in order to make these delightful treats. If you have leftover pie dough, you've gotta try these, they are delicious and disappear right before your eyes.

Sorry there are no particular measurements for the cartwheels. As a family recipe that has been passed down, there have never been any specific measurements and it will vary depending on how much dough you use and how thin you roll it. Nothing needs to be precise, just eyeball it.

Cartwheels

Pie dough:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 heaping cup of shortening
cold water

1. Make the pie dough: Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Using two butter knives, cut in the shortening until it is the size of small peas. Move most of the mixture to one side. Sprinkle a Tablespoon or two of water over the small section of dough and mix with a fork to combine. Don’t over mix though. Pull a little more of the flour mixture over to the side; add another Tablespoon or so of water and mix. The dough should just come together but not be too wet or too dry. Continue this until all of the dough has been mixed with water. The amount of water will vary each time that you make it so don’t rely on any specific measure. I usually start out with a cup of cold water and don’t use all of it.
Shape the dough into 2 discs and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

pie dough
Softened butter
brown sugar
cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the pie dough out into a thin rectangle. Spread lightly with softened butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and rub it all over the surface of the dough lightly covering the whole surface. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon. Roll up like a jelly roll pinching the ends. Place seam side down onto a lightly greased cookie sheet curving the dough into a semi-circle. Make thin slices in the dough making sure not to cut all the way through the dough.

2. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook as they will firm up more when they cool. Let cool and slice into pieces using the slits in teh dough as a guide.

Apple Pie Bites

I never grew up eating apple pie; I know, how unamerican! My mom just never made it. We were a peach pie eating family, and ohh, if I can ever record my mom's peach pie recipe to paper it would be a winner. But lately I have been into all things apple and am discovering that I love apple pie.

A few friends and I got together and had an appetizer party today to say goodbye to our friend Kim who is moving away :( (We'll miss you Kim!).

I still wasn't sure of what I wanted to make while I was perusing the aisles of the grocery store yesterday until I passed the apples. The craving for apple pie hit and thus this recipe was born.

I came home with a bag full of apples and hope that somehow I could make them into little appetizing bites of pie. I found a crust recipe in a pampered chef book which I modified slightly. Then I kind of just guessed with the rest and amazingly they turned out so delicious. If you like more crust than filling, like I do, than you'll love these little apple pie bites.

Apple Pie Bites

crust
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powder sugar
1 cup flour

Filling
3 apples,(I used pink lady apples), peeled, cored and cut into small bite size pieces.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. flour

Crumb topping
1/2 cup flour
1/4 sugar
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature

Crust: beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well incorporated. Add the flour and mix scraping down the sides until just combined. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Scoop and roll into small 1 inch balls and place in the cups of an ungreased mini-muffin tin. Here is the one tool that I recommend to make this easier. Pampered Chef sells a mini-tart shaper which is super cheap that makes this so simple. Using it you can shape the dough balls into mini pie shells by lightly flouring the shaper and pressing down onto the dough. Set aside the shells. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Filling: place the apples in a small saute pan and cover with water. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes. The apples should be slightly softened but still be a little firm as they will finish cooking in the oven. Pour the apples into a collander to drain. With the apples still in the collander, add the sugar, cinnamon and flour and stir to combine. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if necessary depending on the tartness of your apples. Let them sit in the collander to drain any excess liquid while you make the crumb topping.

Crumb topping: Mix the flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl with a fork. Cut the butter in using two butter knives until it resembles small peas.

Place a small scoop of apples into each mini shell, filling to the top. Sprinkle on a good amount of the crumb topping pressing slightly to adhere. Place the apple pie bites in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is slightly broned and the shells are a golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 3 minutes. remove them from the pan and let them cool on a cooling rack.

They are delicious warm but also taste good once they have cooled. You can reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm. Store them in an airtight container.

Makes 24.