Like Buttah

Tonight marks the beginning of my annual Baking Extravaganza.  I'll be sharing the recipes (if not the calories) of this esteemed event here on The Book Pantry.  This evening brings us the Butterball.  This cookie is my Da's favorite (I've only been taunting him about it all week), and I inherited the recipe from his mother.  Since I never got the chance to know my paternal grandmother, I didn't actually learn this one from her.  Instead, I spent several Christmases recreating the cookie from her original, basic recipe (like many cooks, her practice varied from its record).  The result is a tasty, not-too-sweet, slightly crumbly cookie. Best of all, (despite how long it took me to tweak it to perfection) the recipe is probably the easiest of Christmas cookies.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                     Cutting Board

Wooden mixing spoon (well-loved)                              Cookie sheet

Measuring cups and spoons                                        Small bowl

Knife for chopping

Ingredients

1/2 lb butter, very soft                                                1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup powdered sugar + some for rolling               1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour                                               Salt

Now Let's Make Butterballs!

Start (as usual) by preheating your oven to 350F (yes, I forgot. Again.). Plop a 1/2 pound of butter - also known as 2 sticks - into your large mixing bowl.  If your butter is not already soft from being left out, pop it in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds. Watch it carefully!  You do not want to actually melt the butter; we just want it very soft.  If you melt your butter, the recipe will turn wrong . . . very wrong. (Do I hear gasps of horror? Did you melt your butter? You did, didn't you? Don't worry a tiny amount of melt won't hurt). Anyway, soften your butter.  Then, beat the butter with your mixing spoon until it is creamed.

Chop, chop.

On your cutting board, chop your pecans using your knife in a lever motion, moving across the pile of pecans. Stop occasionally to scoop your pecans back into a pile and repeat until all the pecans are chopped finely. Keep chopping pecans until you've filled a 1 cup measuring cup.  I find that two really big handfuls of pecan halves tend to equal out to 1 cup of chopped nuts. (Yay for measuring: like science, but tastier!)

Confusing amount of salt

Add your pecans to the bowl of butter.  Measure out 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, packing it into the measuring cup as you do so (like you would for brown sugar). Add this to the bowl.  Now, measure out 2 cups of all-purpose flour, making sure to level each cup off before adding it to the bowl. (Freak out when you can't find the flour, curse your cousin for using it all in chocolate-chip cookies at Thanksgiving, make boyfriend put on shoes, *oh wait, I found it! heh heh*). Then, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla; measure it over the bowl so that you can allow it to run over a bit as you measure.  Lastly, add enough salt to mostly fill the dip in the palm of your hand when your hand is cupped.  Confusing?  See the picture (click to enlarge).

While safe to eat, this raw dough
tastes not so nice.

Mix all the ingredients together in the bowl.  The batter will be very dry, so it takes some time to get everything mixed thoroughly.  Take your time and patiently mix.  If you wind up with parts of the dough that are softer and more buttery than others, those buttery cookies won't hold their shape! 

Once the dough is sufficiently mixed, begin rolling the dough into balls that are about 1 inch in diameter.  To do so, take a pinch of dough and either form it into a ball-shape with your fingers or roll it between the palms of your hands. If your dough is crumbling and refusing to take shape, squeeze it together in your fist; this will mush the ingredients more and allow you to make a ball.  Place each ball on your cookie sheet.  They shouldn't increase in size much during the cooking process, so you can space them pretty close together, about 1/2 an inch.

Bake the cookies at 350F for about 15 minutes until the bottoms begin to tun a golden brown.  You'll have to watch the very edges of the cookies for signs of this browning. Remove the cookies from oven and begin moving them from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack (also known as paper towels on the counter in my house). You'll know pretty quickly if you didn't mix your butter in thoroughly enough as those cookies will have spread out more, perhaps even running together, as in the second picture here.  Don't worry too much if your Butterballs aren't actually ball shaped anymore, though; they'll be more like mounds than balls.

No deep breaths!

Allow the Butterballs to mostly cool.  Pour some extra powdered sugar into your small bowl. While the cookies are still slightly warm, begin rolling them in the sugar until they are lightly coated (so that little bit of emphasis applies mostly to me). Don't try to roll the balls while they're very warm still or your powered sugar will become gunky, which is gross.

Store in an airtight container.  Or, better yet, serve with a nice glass of milk! Enjoy!

Yay, cookies!

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Gobble Gobble

So what do you do with all those Thanksgiving leftovers (other than gorge yourself, of course)? While most of the leftovers are long gone by now in my family, there always seems to be a disproportionate amount of turkey still laying around.  Thus, every year Thanksgiving is followed by Turkey Pot Pie.  Really, this is a pretty versatile recipe and you can stretch any poultry leftovers this way.  I really think my family looks forward to this dinner almost as much as our Thanksgiving feast. Also, did you know that you can click on the photos in my blog to enlarge them? (Just saying...)

What You'll Need

Supplies

2 glass pie plates                                                          Can opener

Large mixing bowl                                                        Butter knife

Mixing spoon                                                                 Kitchen scale (optional)

Ingredients

4 pie crusts                                                                    1 can green peas

1 can cream of celery soup                                            2 tsp minced garlic

1 lb. leftover turkey                                                       Rosemary

1 can whole-kernel corn                                                Marjoram

1 can french-cut green beans                                        Salt and pepper

Now Let's Make Turkey Pot Pie!

To start, preheat your oven to 375F.  Open all your cans of vegetables and drain them.  (Do not try to drain the cream of celery soup - accidentally or intentionally). Set the cans aside.  If you're using whole garlic, mince two cloves to equal about two teaspoons of garlic.  Set this aside as well.

Put 1 crust in each of your two pie plates (two crusts = two pie plates). Press the crust down into the plate, so that it is fitted to the sides and bottom of the glass.  Trim any excess pie crust from the pie, using your butter knife.  Cut the crust right at the edge of the glass; there should be no crust hanging out of the pie plate by the time your done.  This isn't really a necessary step, if you'd prefer to do a decorative crust, instead, but it does significantly trim the amount of fat and calories in the recipe. (And, let's face it, after Thanksgiving we need all the help we can get). Once you've trimmed both crusts, set them aside.

Veggies!

In your large mixing bowl, combine the drained vegetables, garlic, and cream of celery soup.  Stir it together until the vegetables are well dispersed and thoroughly coated with cream of celery soup. (You can also cut a few calories here if you're really concerned by using Campbell's 98% fat free soup). This will create a fairly thick vegetable mixture. As you're mixing, be careful not to overdo it and squish all the veggies; they should be distinguishable (we're not making a mash here). 

Gobble... gobble?

Take your leftover turkey meat and begin pulling it apart so that it is in large shredded pieces. Measure out 1 pound (16 ounces) of meat. This is where your kitchen scale will come in handy, because 1 lb. really is the perfect amount, but if you don't own a kitchen scale, don't stress it.  Just eyeball it (isn't that a tasty expression; totally appropriate for a cooking blog) and measure as closely as you can.  When you're measuring out your meat, try to get as much white meat as you can, since dark meat will make for a much gamier pie (unless you go for that sort of flavor). Also, do not let any bones or skin get in with the meat you plan to add.  Bones obviously pose a danger, and getting a hunk of turkey skin when you think you're getting meat is nasty (or gag-worthy, as the case was may be). 

Once you've got your meat parceled out, add it to the vegetable mixture and stir it in. Add marjoram, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.  I usually add about 1 1/2 Tbsp marjoram and 3/4 Tbsp rosemary, but I typically just throw it in on instinct, so it's hard to give a precise measurement.  Again, make sure that you thoroughly mix everything together.  Divide the mixture evenly between the two pie shells.  Spread the filling into all corners of the pie crusts, but if it's very full try to pile the larger amount in the center of the pie.

Top each pie with your remaining pie crusts. Firmly press the top crusts against the edges of the bottom crust using your fingers in order to seal the edges together. Work your way around the pie, until the edges are completely sealed.  Trim off all excess pie crust.  To finish the sealing process (and to make it purty) press a fork along the edges, working your way all the way around the pie.

Use your butter knife to poke holes in the top of the pie crust in order to release any steam or air that might build up as the pie cooks.  Try to do this in some pattern to increase the decorative effect.  Bake the pie at 375F for about 35-40 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown with no raw spots (raw spots look a little translucent compared to other areas of the crust). Remove the pies from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes (or as long as you can stand to wait).

Turkey Pot Pie with Gravy

A serving size is about a quarter of a pie. It pairs nicely with salad or other Thanksgiving leftovers.  I like to top mine with a little shredded cheddar cheese, but it's also delicious with a little leftover gravy. (This picture is sponsored by my Da, who had to wait to eat not-so-patiently as I got the shot just right).

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It's the Great Pumpkin . . . Pie, That Is!

Continuing with our Halloween themed posts, this weekend's food post features pumpkin pie. Because any other Halloween themed food post just wouldn't be right without pumpkin pie. Or, you know, pumpkin at the very least. I don't make mine completely from scratch, instead I tend to use Libby's canned pumpkin. But if you want to do yours that way, get 1 sugar pumpkin. Scrape out all the innards (also known as seeds) and set them aside for toasting. Then scrape or cut the flesh of the pumpkin away from the outer shell and cook it until mashable. Voila!

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                          Measuring cups

2 glass pie plates                                                            Measuring spoons

Mixing spoon

Ingredients

2 cans pumpkin pie filling (30 oz)                                  2 tsp cinnamon 

2 cans evaporated milk (24 oz)                                      1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar                                         1/2 tsp ground ginger

4 eggs                                                                              1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 pie shells                                                                      1/4 tsp ground cloves

Now Let's Make Pumpkin Pie

The great thing about this recipe is that it is super easy.  Ridiculously so (this is going to be a really short post, guys. What? Stop cheering!). Start by preheating your oven to 425F; don't forget, cause you definitely have to preheat on this one.

Line your pie plate with the pie crusts. (Again, I harbor a special loathing for doing pie crusts from scratch, so I did Pillsbury). Try to get the crust centered in the plate before you press it down and to the edges.  This will make doing the edges a lot easier.  Fold the excess pie crust into the shell and press into the sides.  This should create a smooth edge right at the rim of the pie plate.  Then, go around the pie plate and pinch the crust between your fingers, forming a small peak.  Repeat this process all around the pie shell, spacing your peaks evenly about a finger width apart.

Set your crusts aside and break out your large mixing bowl.  Now, I like to mix the filling one pie at a time, so that's what the instructions will do here, essentially halving the ingredients listed above. However, you're welcome to try it as is (that ups your chances of unevenly filled pies, though, and who wants that?). Add to your bowl 1 can (15 oz) of pumpkin pie filling and  1 can (12 oz) of evaporated milk (which is never as "evaporated" as I expect). Now measure out 3/4 cup of light brown sugar, making sure it's firmly packed into your measuring cup, and add it to the bowl.  Add two eggs, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, and 1/8 tsp ground cloves.  Mix all this up well, making sure that the spices are thoroughly blended and there are no pumpkin filling lumps.   Pour the filling into one of your pie shells.  Rinse your bowl and repeat for the other shell. (Yes, I know that first picture is less than appetizing).

Bake the pies at 425F for 15 minutes. Go ahead and set a kitchen timer, since this really isn't one you can eyeball. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350F and bake for an additional 40 minutes.  These pies should rise as they bake, so don't worry if the center becomes higher than the level of the pie plate; this is normal.  Remove pies from oven and set aside to cool. The pies may not seem firm when removed, but the center will set as they cool.  Serve warm with whipped cream, or store pies in refrigerator. (But until then, enjoy the before and after shots below)

"I want my pumpkin pie!"

This particular version is a fairly light, very (delightfully) creamy, not overly sweet pumpkin pie. Also, the subtle spicing balance flavors the pie while still allowing the pumpkiny taste to shine. It's the perfect after Thanksgiving dinner dessert.  And also, you have some very easy and yummy pumpkin pies with which to impress your friends!

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How Do You Like Them Apples

Personally, I prefer mine in pie form.  It's certainly the right time of year for it, since seasonal apples abound.  If at all possible, you want to make this from fresh apples when they're in season.  It'll yield a much better flavor that way.  This weekend, my father and I took a trip up to a local orchard to invest in apples, apple cider, and other items of appley goodness.  If you're lucky enough to have a local grower, I strongly encourage you to make a visit: you'll be helping a local business and get fresh produce at good prices to boot!  This particular recipe for a lattice-work apple pie is really easy, but I warn you it's a lot less precise than my previous postings.

What You'll Need

Supplies

2 pie plates                                                                            1 knife for slicing

1 peeler                                                                                  1 large bowl

1 cutting board

Ingredients

6-7 apples                                                                             All-purpose flour

4 pie crusts (that's two boxes of pre-made)                         Brown sugar

Ground cinnamon

Now Let's Make Apple Pie

Neat and trim

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line each pie plate with a crust, making sure that it fits perfectly against the bottom and sides of the dish.  Trim off any excess crust that hangs past the edge of the plate.  You can save this if you have a recipe that enables you to use it immediately (like a fruit turnover if you have extra apple or other fruit), you could save it for a decorative finishing touch, or if there's not very much, you can toss it. Put the crusts into the oven for a about 9 minutes, until they are just barely cooked: no longer raw, but no where near brown. A note about the crusts, for this go round, I used boxed crusts, because I was 1) feeling lazy and 2) didn't have the time to make them from scratch.  You may either make the crusts from scratch or buy them from the grocery, just make sure you have enough for two bottom crusts and two top crusts.  If you choose boxed crusts, get Pillsbury, they're only a few cents more and the off-brand doesn't brown properly. (and we can't have subpar pie floating around)

Golden Delicious and Winesap

Once the crusts are done, set them aside to cool.  Now comes the labor intensive part: prepping all those apples.  The ratio is about 3 to 3.5 apples per pie, and this recipe makes two pies.  You want to choose at least two different apple types that are excellent for baking purposes, so that's about three of each type.  This time I used Golden Delicious and Winesap; these apples are good for both baking and eating (so I know any extras will get nommed instead of wasted).  This combination gets a nice sweet apple pie, if you want a tarter pie I recommend using a Granny Smith as one of your apples.

Peeeeeeeel

Using your peeler, peel each apple thoroughly. I like to do this sitting in front of a good show with a plastic sack for peels in my lap, but that's just me.  I like to do the next steps in the apple prep one apple at a time.  On the cutting board, quarter each apple and then slice off the part of the core that is on each quarter. Then, place each quarter so that it can stably lay on one of its sides and thinly slice up the apple.  Place the sliced apples in your large bowl as necessary to clear room on the cutting board. Repeat this process for each apple, and make sure to fend off any apple-loving cats while you're at it.

Final layer with brown sugar

Fetch your cooled pie crusts.  For each pie, dust the bottom with flour. Add a layer of apples; make sure to cover the entire bottom of the pie, overlapping a little if needed. Follow this with a layer of liberally dashed cinnamon, another dusting of flour, and a slight sprinkle of brown sugar.  Repeat this process once more, starting with the apples, to create a second layer.  For the last layer (it should be the third), do a layer of apples and a layer of cinnamon. Instead of the flour, liberally sprinkle the entire top of the pie with brown sugar; this should be a much more significant amount than the barely noticeable sprinkle of previous layers. (Yes, I know these amounts are incredibly vague)

Now it's time to create the lattice-work top crust; you'll want to do this one pie at a time.  Take the top crust and roll it out over your cutting board.  Slice the crust into long strips that are about 3/4 of an inch wide.  Place strips less than an inch apart going across the pie one way.  Seal the strips along on side of the pie, leaving the other end of the strips unsealed.  Peal them back. One at a time, add strips that travel across the pie perpendicularly to the other strips. Seal the strip to one side and then weave this strip in as you lay it across the pie by alternately laying the peeled back strips either under or over the strip you're working with.  When you reach the other side, seal the strip your working with (both sides should be sealed) and peel back the other strips again.  Repeat, spacing your strips a little less than an inch apart until you reach the other side of the pie.  Seal the pealed back strips to their side of the pie.  Fold any excess crust from the strips along the inner edge of the pie and then seal the entire edge using a fork. (Now would be the time to add any other decorative flourishes you might have planned)

Mmmmm... pie!

Bake the pies at 350F for about 30 - 40 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown.  Let cool a bit, then slice and serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (or both!)

And, just for a little fun (also he's threatened me with claw-filled violence if I don't), here is some photographic evidence of my cat's obsession with apples.

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