Pie in the Face

Happy Wednesday everyone! One of my favorite parts of fall is the idea of making dozens and dozens of pies! I love the endless possibility of fruits now available; unique fall-friendly combos to explore. Here are a few pie recipes that need to be in your repertoire.

Black-Bottom Peanut Pie
Marcus Samuelsson

Ingredients
Crust

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• One 11-ounce box vanilla wafer cookies
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 vanilla beans—split lengthwise, seeds scraped

Filling

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 teaspoons molasses
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts

Directions

1. MAKE THE CRUST Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt the butter in a saucepan over moderately low heat and cook, swirling, until browned, 9 minutes; let cool. Process the cookies, sugar and vanilla seeds in a food processor until finely ground. Add the browned butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened; transfer to a 10-inch glass or ceramic pie plate and press the crumbs over the bottom and up the side to form the crust. Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly browned and set; let cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 375°.
2. MAKE THE FILLING Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until smooth; pour into the cooled crust and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a bowl, whisk the sugar, corn syrup, butter, molasses, salt and eggs, then stir in the peanuts. Pour the filling over the chocolate. Transfer the pie to a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and bake the pie for 50 minutes longer, until the filling is almost set. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely, 4 hours.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Pie

Sarah Patterson Scott

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling:

• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Scotch
• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Whipped cream:

• 1 cup chilled whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Scotch

Directions

For crust:

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until very coarse meal forms. Add 3 tablespoons ice water; using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if too dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap and chill 1 hour.
2. Roll out dough to 12-to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edges under and crimp decoratively. Chill dough until firm, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line crust with sheet of foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil with beans. Bake until just beginning to turn golden brown, piercing with fork if bubbles form, about 15 minutes longer. Cool completely.

For filling:

1. Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter, and salt in medium saucepan; bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until deep brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Scotch, then cream (mixture will bubble vigorously) and whisk until smooth. Return to medium heat and stir until most caramel bits dissolve. Strain butterscotch mixture into small bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
2. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and pumpkin in large bowl. Whisk in eggs, then spices. Add reserved butterscotch mixture; whisk to blend. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk before using.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour filling into crust. Bake until just set, about 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Store at room temperature.

For whipped cream:

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, and Scotch in medium bowl until peaks form. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Rewhisk if necessary before serving.
2. Cut pie into wedges. Serve with dollop of whipped cream.

Spiced Kabocha Squash Pie with Pumpkin-Seed Crumble

Rhoda Boone

Ingredients
For the pie crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 2 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and frozen for 15 minutes
• 1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces and refrigerated for 15 minutes

For the filling:

• One 2 1/2-pound kabocha squash
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 large egg yolks plus 1 whole egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the crumble topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup shelled, roughly chopped, and toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Special equipment:

• 9-inch pie pan

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F with 1 rack on the bottom rung and 1 rack in the center of oven. Place 1 rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack to preheat.

Make the pie dough:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 1 1/4 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and shortening and pulse until coarse, pea-sized crumbs form, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add 2 tablespoons ice water and process until the dough just holds together, about 30 seconds. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers: If it is very crumbly, add pulse in more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time (2 tablespoons maximum). Do not over process.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and push together into a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine, then flatten into a disc with smooth edges (no cracks), cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Roast the squash:

1. Meanwhile, cut the squash in half horizontally. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the squash, cut-side down, on a rimmed baking sheet and add a splash of water to the pan. Bake in center of oven until the squash flesh is easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Reduce the oven to 375°F.

Roll out the dough:

1. Meanwhile, roll out the dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin then unfurl it into the 9-inch pie pan. Lightly press it into the pan. Leave 1 inch of dough hanging over the edge, trimming any excess dough. Tuck the dough under itself, then crimp the edge as desired. Chill at least 30 minutes.

Make the crumble topping:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder to combine. Add the butter and massage with your fingertips until the mixture becomes clumpy and moist. Add the pumpkin seeds and mix until incorporated. Chill at least 30 minutes.

Fill the pie and bake:

1. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out enough flesh to measure 2 1/4 cups and place in a blender. (Discard the skins and reserve extra squash flesh for another use.) Add cream, sugar, molasses, eggs, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to the blender. Puree until filling is smooth and creamy.
2. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell (do not overfill) and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the top with the crumble mixture. Place on preheated rimmed baking sheet on bottom rung of oven. After 30 minutes, rotate baking sheet and move to center rung of oven. Bake until the filling is set and the crumble topping is golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes more. (Cover the crust edge with foil or a pie shield if it starts to brown too much.) Transfer pie to a wire rack and cool completely, about 3 hours. Pie will keep up to 2 days, loosely covered with foil, at room temperature.

Do ahead: The pie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and chilled, or frozen for up to 3 months; thaw before using. The filling can be made up to 1 day ahead; bring to room temperature before baking. The crumble topping can be made up to 3 days in advance and chilled, or frozen for up to 1 month.

Happy baking!