DOUBLE STRAWBERRY MALT SHOP PIE

 

DOUBLE STRAWBERRY MALT SHOP PIE

 

 

I have some pretty fond childhood memories from growing up in the Midwest.  Of many of them, I've got to take you back to the kitchen of a ranch-style house on the North end of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Amongst them, is a pretty simple one to most, but one that still makes me smile.  One man.  Hudsonville ice cream and Hershey's chocolate syrup.  And a 1972 blender.  The challenge:  The Perfect Chocolate Milkshake.  The Contender:  My Father.

 

My dad is a pretty amazing guy, for many different reasons.  However, he wasn't - at his own admission - really very "kitchen friendly".  Don't get me wrong.  He could throw down a decent grilled cheese sandwich, a "Transfusion", and several other things, but he was much better with drywall mud than he was with pie pastry.  My dad inspired me to be good with my hands in my own way.  Where he could knock down, tear out, and rebuild the entire interior of your house with more ease and comfort than he could put together a soufflé or complicated and fussy recipe in the kitchen, I was the opposite.  You put a T-square in my hand and a toolbelt on my waist and I'm....well, I'm more than a little hopeless.  Put either of we Dykstra boys in our natural environment - jobsite or kitchen - we'll throw down with the best of 'em.  Why?  Because we're good at what we do, and we know how to get things done!

 

I may never be able to mitre corners well.  But I CAN tell you where you can get one of THE BEST milkshakes in town.  

 

When I stumbled on this recipe, courtesy of Christine Montalvo in America's Best Pies, the fantastic new cookbook of The American Pie Council, I fully understood that there was NO way I could encapsulate one of Dad's Chocolate Milkshakes into a pie.  No matter how much I doctored the recipe.  I was also reminded of his enjoyment of malt flavored things - particularly Whoppers candy.  Where I'm not exactly a big fan personally, I know a lot of people who are.  So, I gave this one a shot, and was MORE than happy I did.  This was definitely worth a try - even if it isn't exactly one of Dad's milkshakes. 

 

 

DOUBLE STRAWBERRY MALT SHOP PIE:

CRUST:

·         6 Tbs. Unsalted Butter, Softened

·         ¼ Cup Sugar

·         1 Cup Flour

·         2 Packages Shortbread Cookies, Finely Crushed

·         2 – 3 Tbs. Ice Water

 

FILLING:

·         5 Cups Sliced Fresh Strawberries, Divided

·         4 Oz. Bar of White Chocolate

·         1 ¾ tsp. Unflavored Gelatin

·         1 Tbs. Hot Water

·         8 Oz. Bar of Cream Cheese

·         1 tsp. Vanilla

·         1 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar

·         ½ Cup Malted Milk Powder

·         2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream, Whipped

 

TOPPING:

·         2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

·         3 Tbs. Powdered Sugar

·         4 – 5 sliced strawberries

·         1 6 Oz. Bar of White Chocolate

DIRECTIONS:

FOR CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add flour and shortbread cookie crumbs, blending until completely incorporated.  Add enough of the water so the dough comes together.  Mix for 2-3 minutes until ball forms. 

In a baking sprayed pie plate, press the dough mixture to the sides and bottom of the pie plate.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

FOR FILLING:
Rinse thoroughly and cut all strawberries suggested.  Put 2 ½ Cups of strawberries into food processor and puree’.  Set aside mixture.  Put all of the chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and melt in the microwave – BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN!!  White Chocolate will melt faster than milk or dark chocolate.  Allow to cool slightly.

In a mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and vanilla until smooth.  Add white chocolate.  In a small bowl, combine gelatin and hot water, stirring together, and let sit for 3 minutes.  Microwave for 15 seconds.  Beat gelatin mixture into cream cheese mixture until completely mixed in.

Beat in the powdered sugar and malted milk mixture until smooth.  Stir in the 2 ½ Cups of strawberry puree and remaining 2 ½ cups of sliced strawberries.

In a separate bowl, begin whipping your heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Carefully fold into strawberry mixture.  Pour into completely cooled pie crust.

FOR TOPPING:

Whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream with 3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  With a pastry bag, pipe edges of pie with whipped cream, separating segments with a slice of fresh strawberry.  Take additional slices of strawberry and lay out in a star-shaped design in center of pie.  Pipe additional whipped cream in center of star.

Take a vegetable peeler with the white chocolate bar and peel shavings onto pie top to desired amount.

 

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. 

 



 



BACON CHEESEBURGER POT PIE

 

BACON CHEESEBURGER POT PIE

 

I started looking for new and interesting savory pies this week, and found an old favorite in Betty Crocker's Big Book of Pies & Tarts that is certainly one I think we'll be repeating for dinners around here.  It was a fantastic twist on a secret favorite of mine:  Bacon Cheeseburgers.  For those of you who are on specialty diets, you can very easily - and tastefully - swap out the ground beef and bacon for ground turkey & turkey bacon. 

 

 

BACON CHEESEBURGER POT PIE:

·         Pie Crusts for 2-Crust Pie

·         1 Rasher of Bacon

·         1 ½ Ground Beef

·         1 Small Onion, Chopped

·         ½ Cup Catsup

·         2 Tbs. Sweet Pickle Relish

·         1/8 tsp. Black Pepper

·         1 Cup of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

·         1 Egg, Beaten

·         1 Tbs. Milk

·         Sesame Seeds

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  In a large skillet, cook your bacon over high heat until completely crisp, removing cooked strips to a paper towel covered plate to cool and drain.  Once all bacon has been cooked, drain all grease from skillet. 

 

Return skillet to stove, adding chopped onion and ground beef and cook together over a medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes until beef is completely cooked.  Drain excess grease from skillet and return to stove top.

 

Reduce heat to medium.  Crumble bacon strips to smaller pieces, adding to the hamburger and onion mixture.  Stir in pepper, catsup, & pickle relish.  Cook for 2 -3 minutes until heated through.  Remove from heat and allow to sit for 1 minute.  Add bag of shredded cheese, stirring In to ensure all is combined.

 

Spray your pie plate with baking spray and carefully lay in bottom layer of pie crust pastry.  Do not trim edges.  Fill bottom crust with filling mixture.  Place top crust over filling, pressing down lightly on edges.  To seal crust edges, simply roll the edges together towards the center of the pie, creating a rolled edge finish.    Cut slits in center and around the pie to create vents.

 

Beat 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of milk together.  Brush over top crust of the pie with a pastry brush.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cover with foil for last 10 minutes, if necessary, to avoid burning the crust.