Peach Cobbler

While my mom was in town we were having a girls movie night and decided that we wanted a treat to eat during the movie.  I decided to whip up this quick and easy cobbler that I knew everyone would love and I wouldn't have to spend all night in the kitchen either.  Seriously if you are looking for a quick and easy treat well look no further than this cobbler! 

Recipe:

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)

1 large can of sliced peaches (slightly drained) (If you are using fresh peaches you will need about 2-1/2 cups)

Pour the sliced canned peaches, juice and all, into an 8x8 baking dish.  Sprinkle the unprepared package of cake mix over the peaches.  Next, slice the stick of butter and place thin slices all over the top of the cake mix.  Bake @ *350 for 30-40 minutes or until the top of the cake is lightly golden brown.  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  

Back to Baking... Plum & Raspberry Pie

I have been dying to get back in the kitchen and cook some home cooked food.  If there is one thing that I hate most about moving, it is eating out for most of your meals.

All of your kitchen stuff is packed away into boxes, so your left to the mercy of dining out. Now some may just love that, but me, well not so much. Ya, I love the fact that you don't have any messes to clean up and no dirty dishes, but there is just something about a home cooked meal that feels right.

Maybe it's the fact that you know exactly what your eating... I don't know, I just know I'm happy to be cooking again.

Well, once we arrived in Texas I was overjoyed to find such an amazing produce selection.  I bought a huge case of plums because they looked so yummy and found over the last couple of days that I couldn't eat them fast enough. So what better to do with lots of fresh fruit... Well bake a pie that is!

I must say I was so proud of myself, I have never made a pie (crust and all) ever by myself before so this was definitely a first for me and seriously I may have eaten more than just one slice... in less than an hour... and I am probably not eating a slice as I type this either...

Recipe:
For the Fruit Filling:
3 cups of plums (sliced and pitted) (I didn't peel mine but I just may next time)
1 cup raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (I added this myself because my plums were quite tart, if you have sweeter fruit i would leave this step out)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

1 (9") unbaked pie crust (for the recipe I used click here)

For the Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
4 Tbsp. butter (chilled)

Preheat oven to *375.  Slice and pitt the plums. Put them into a microwave safe bowl and mix in the white sugar. Microwave for 3 minutes. (This just allows the plums to soften a bit before baking and help with the sweetening process)

Next, fold in the remainding ingredients for the filling until well combined. Pour into the unbaked pie crust.

Now in a bowl combine the ingredients for the topping. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the chilled butter till it resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over the filling. Now bake for 50-60 minutes. About 30 minutes into baking, cover the edges of the crust with with either a pie shield or tin foil to prevent crust from over browning. Cool on a wire rack. This pie/tart is best served with ice cream (If you live in Texas I highly suggest blue bell ice cream, which I'm sure all you texans out there already now that!)

(Recipe adapted from all recipes)

My Mom's Famous Peanut Butter Pie

Ok so I'm not really sure why this pie is famous. It's not really. More just famous in our family I guess you could say. This pie, well, its absolutely divine! It's purely a little slice of heaven in my book. Now some of you may say, my goodness its just a pie, but this pie is not just any pie, It's seriously the best Peanut Butter Pie you will ever try! And I bet you will agree with me once you try it! Now go get bakin your pie is awaitin!

Recipe:
For the Peanut Butter Goodness:
3/4 cup Peanut Butter (we prefer creamy but if you like a little crunch then use crunchy P.B.)
1 cup Powdered Sugar

For the Pudding:
3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/8 tsp. Salt
3 cups Milk (whole milk is best)
3 Egg Yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the Meringue:
3 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tarter
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1. To start, mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar till it forms into little balls. (You can add more powdered sugar if needed) Set aside. Now I just use a frozen store bought pie crust because I've actually never made a pie crust from scratch yet. (Its on my to do list) So you just take a fork and poke holes on the bottom and sides of the crust before it bakes so it bakes evenly. Bake defrosted crust @ *400 for 10-12 min. Let crust completely cool then sprinkle 1/3 of Peanut Butter Mixture on to the bottom of the crust.
2.  Now take all the ingredients for the pudding (except for the butter and vanilla) and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. When done boiling remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into the pie crust about 3/4 of the way to the top.(you may have some pudding left over) Now sprinkle another 1/3 of the P.B. mixture on top of the pudding.
3.  In a chilled bowl, beat egg whites till fluffy. Mix in the cream of tarter and sugar and beat till stiff peaks form (about 5-7 minutes) Place meringue on top of pudding and then sprinkle remaining 1/3 of P.B. mixture on top and bake @ *375 till browned on top  (about 8-10 minutes watching closely)
4. Let pie chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Enjoy!!!

S'mores Pies

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! I hope you all have something much more exciting planned than I do! The hubs is gone for 2 weeks and it just happens to fall over Valentines day! Poor me :(  JK I'm really okay, especially since I made these babies last night and they were so yummy!
*Please don't be intimidated by the long recipe because the outcome is so amazing!

Recipe:
Ok I will give you the recipe for the crust but I must tell you that I have tried this crust recipe and also made these in just a store bought graham cracker crust, and honestly, I like the store bought one better and its much easier!
For the Crust:
5 Tbsp. Butter (melted)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker (crushed)
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
Or 12 mini store bought crusts (or 1 large one)

For the Chocolate Filling:
1 (7oz) Symphony Bar (the blue one with nuts and toffee to add a little crunch)
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 large egg

For the Marshmallow Topping:
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water (divided)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Lightly butter pie plate. Mix together all ingredients for the crust and press firmly into the pie dish. Lightly brush the pie with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water) this allows the pie to hold together and brown better. Bake @ *350 for 10-12 minutes. (Now if you used a store bought crust still brush with a little egg wash and follow the steps that are directed for baking on the package. Let crust cool for 15 minutes.
2. Now for the filling chop the the chocolate bar into small pieces and place into a heat safe bowl.  In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Let sit for 1 min. and then stir till all the chocolate is melted. Now whisk in 1 egg. Pour into cooled pie crusts and Bake for 25-30 minutes. (Now for the mini crusts I only baked mine for 20 minutes) (also, make sure to use a pie shield while baking so the crust doesn't burn! If you don't have one then just use tin foil.) When done baking let cool for 1 hour.
3. For the marshmallow, take the gelatin and sprinkle it over 1/4 cup cold water. Let sit. In a saucepan, bring the sugar, syrup, 1/4 cup cold water, and vanilla to a boil. Boil till the mixture reaches *260 and stirring constantly (about 6-7 minutes). Start beating the gelatin mixture and then slowly add in the hot mixture and beat for about 5-6 minutes till it doubles in size. Pour over individual pies (or one large pie) and let cool in the fridge for 2-3 hours. When ready to eat pop them under the broiler (watching carefully) till browned on top. If you have a kitchen torch you can use one of those to brown the marshmallow also.