Cherry Pie Bars

Nesting Corral ~ Cherry Pie Bars

Yesterday was incredibly sunny.  It was so nice to see the sun again after a few months of darkness.  The sun got me thinking about summer, which got me thinking about summer fare, which in turn made me want a fruit pie!  I neither had the time or ambition to actually make a fruit pie, so I did the next best thing.  I made these cherry pie bars.  These are super easy to whip up, no peeling or pitting fruit, and no crust to roll out.  And they taste so delicious!  Of course you could make this with real fruit, and any variety of fruit.  But I wanted something quick and easy, so I went for the canned pie filling.  The only canned pie filling I really like is cherry pie filling, so the choice was easy (plus it was in my pantry).  The sugar cookie type crust with the sweet syrupy cherries topped with a cream cheese glaze is summer in a dish, a quick dish.   Here's the scoop on the lazy mans (but oh so good) version of cherry pie...

Nesting Corral ~ Cherry Pie Bars

*I only made a half batch, full recipe will make twice as much as pictured

Ingredients
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1teaspoon baking powder
1 large can (30 oz) cherry pie filling
Cream Cheese Glaze:
     6 ounces cream cheese, softened
     3/4 Cup powdered sugar
     1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Nesting Corral ~ Cherry Pie Bars

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With electric mixer beat butter.  Add sugar and beat until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Mix in vanilla and almond extract.  Add flour, salt and baking powder.  Press dough evenly into greased 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges begin to brown.  Allow to cool completely before adding glaze.

For the glaze beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.  Spoon into piping bag or sandwich bag with a corner cut off.  Pipe glaze in lattice patter on cooled bars.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

Pecan Pie Bars

I haven't posted in a while.  Things have been a little crazy around here.  I have been cooking a lot, just not posting all the yummy recipes.  Now that we are done with a good friends wedding I can come back to the world of blogging.  And I'm coming back with a bang with these amazing, delicious, and delectable Pecan Pie Bars.  Where actual pecan pie can be too rich for me, these bars are the perfect amount of deliciousness  Plus, there's no fussing with a pastry crust.  So the prep time is minimal  I usually have these whipped up in less than 15 minutes.  These bars are perfect for Fall and the crust is to die for!  Whenever I make these bars I devour them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, & late night snack.  Here's the skinny...
Ingredients
Crust~
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Filling~
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted & cooled
pinch of salt
1 cup whole pecans
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
Using electric mixer blend together crust ingredients until smooth.  Evenly press crust dough into prepared baking dish.  Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat eggs until bubbly.  Mix in sugar.  Add corn syrup, salt and vanilla.  Mix in melted butter.  Using a spoon stir in both cups of pecans.  Pour filling over the baked crust.  Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool before cutting into squares.  Enjoy!

Open-face Apple Pear Pie

I love open face pies like this.  So easy to put together without sacrificing on taste & tons of yummy pie crust.  Inspired by the galette, this pie looks pretty & the fruits are sliced thin.  This is a great pie to pull together in a jiffy.  A good Thanksgiving pie, pulling fruits from the current harvest.  Here's the DL...
Ingredients
1 full recipe for  Flaky Pie Crust
3 large pears cored & thinly sliced
2 large Gala apples peeled, cored, & thinly sliced.
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon butter melted

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix sliced pears & apples with the sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.  Roll out cold dough onto lightly floured surface into a circle shape.  Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.  Gently fold dough in half & then in half again.  Transfer to a cookie sheet & unfold into circle shape again.  Pour fruit onto the middle of the dough.  Fold dough over the fruit allowing for the center to remain uncovered.  Brush entire top, including fruit, with melted butter.  Brush the crust with the beaten egg.  Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is brown & flaky.  Slice it up & enjoy!

*The apples I used were very large.  If you have smaller apples you may need to bump up the quantity.
Make the crust a day or two before to save time on Thanksgiving day.

Flaky Pie Crust

I love making pies.  For years I thought I had a pretty good crust going.  But then my mom showed me this recipe & it is by far the best I've ever had, or made.  There are a couple of tricks here:
1) Chilling the dough thoroughly before rolling it out
2) Keeping the butter cold
3) Not working the butter in too much
4) And VODKA
That's right my friends, in today's crust you will be throwing in a quarter cup of vodka.  Now you don't just do this because using vodka is somehow cosmopolitan.  No, no, there is a science behind it.  Alcohol cooks out (so no worries about intoxicating anyone.)  Therefore the vodka has the moisture required to bind your dough together, but when it is baked all that moisture is cooked out (unlike water).  In turn you get the flakiest pie crust ever.  And vodka is mild enough that you don't even taste it.  Here's the skinny...
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold butter cubed (I usually cube the butter & then stick it back in the fridge until I need it)
1/2 cup cold shortening cubed
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup cold vodka

Directions
Mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, salt & sugar until combined.  Add butter & shortening  cut in until crumbly mixture forms.  Scrape bowl & add remaining flour & cut in until mixture is uniform.  Sprinkle vodka & water over mixture & with a rubber spatula use a folding motion to mix the dough until it sticks together.  Divide into 2 even balls & flatten into 2 inch thick discs.  Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (or up to 2 days).  Makes two 9 inch pie crusts.  Fill with your favorite pie filling & cook as directed for the pie you're making.  Enjoy!