Tag Archives: white sugar

Nutty Cornmeal Pie

One reason I love old country recipes is because the ingredients I need are already on the pantry shelves and in the refrigerator. It’s a comforting thing knowing you don’t have to run out to the store for that one ingredient which places this pie, and comfort food in general, so high on my list. There’s was hardly a minute’s thought between the “I want pie” idea and the doing of it on Saturday.  When you want something quick, but special, this is a great pie and you’ll find preparing it on the same happy continuum as the act of easing into your most comfortable clothes.  Prepping comfort food is as close as it gets to putting your feet up the entire time you’re in the kitchen and there is nothing easier.

The recipe is as listed in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook.  I found it in a favorite recipe collection of mine called “Heartland Cooking” by Marcia Adams. Just reading the recipe you know its origin is from slower days when cooks turned again and again to preparing food from what was “on hand”; perhaps that is why there are so many variations to this pie, all of them sweet and filling.

Do this pie justice and roll out a flaky and tender pastry shell for this one. You’ll be glad you did.  The filling will remind you of a pecan pie as well of buttermilk and chess pies.  The flaked coconut topping suggests a french coconut pie so obviously this is a pie with many first cousins in its family tree!  The cornmeal adds just enough texture to justify the pie’s name and supplies the slight graininess in the filling.  Every one of the pies mentioned above are comforting and satisfying.  And every one of them the perfect accompaniment to a good cup of coffee and a long conversation with a friend.  This pie longs for company so do give it a chance to show its stuff.

Prep time is minimal once you roll out the pastry (I am repeating myself, I know, but I am also assuming you committed to making your pie crust when I mentioned it above). That accomplished, simply stir the dry ingredients, and, in a separate bowl, with your hand mixer, blend the liquid ingredients and combine all. Scrape the filling into that great crust and add your choice of chopped nuts; I used pecans today but my favorite with this pie is the tang of hickory nuts.  Just a light sprinkling of flaked coconut and your pie is in the oven and you are doing your its-all-done-happy-dance in your most comfortable clothes in no time!

Nutty Cornmeal Pie

Ingredients

1-9” unbaked pastry shell
1 cup brown sugar minus 2. T.
1 cup granulated sugar minus 2 T.
2 T. flour
1 T. yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup hickory nuts, walnuts, or pecans, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, flour, cornmeal, and salt; sift with fork and set aside; in a second large bowl, combine the eggs, butter, milk, and vanilla and beat with electric mixer on low-speed until just blended; don’t let too many air bubbles form. Combine this with the dry ingredients and stir to blend until smooth. Pour into your pastry shell and sprinkle the top of the pie with the chopped nuts and shredded coconut. Bake 35 minutes or until lightly puffed and golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack before serving. A dollop of whipped cream on each piece adds a nice touch.

Toffee Chip Cookies

Oh, how I have missed blogging! A family situation found me away from my computer, and my kitchen, for the past two weeks, but hopefully we are on a good track again health-wise, and today I couldn’t resist some much longed-for kitchen time! This recipe for Toffee Chip Cookies is a real winner; if you are also desirous of some upcoming kitchen time, do bake up a batch of these fabulous cookies!

The recipe, from HersheysKitchen.com is for a basic sugar cookie with the addition of the toffee bits and, for me, some chopped pecans for even more crunch. Soften your butter before beginning and then cream the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla and add the dry ingredients. The cookies are chewy inside with crisp outer edges with the buttery-toffee flavor that is so perfect with coffee or a tall glass of milk when you want something sweet and chewy.

If you’re a cookie fan, this one will put a smile on your face! Enjoy!

Toffee Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH English Toffee Bits
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in toffee bits.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies. Store airtight.

The BEST Raspberry Bread

 

 

I wanted “something raspberry” with the small pack of berries I bought Thursday, and a quick late night Google search brought this recipe up immediately. I used it exactly as I found it on Averiecooks.com blog page except using less raspberries than called for and adding chopped pecans to the batter. Moist and dense, this sweet bread is just Plain ‘Ole Raspberry Perfection! Right here! Make it early in the day and let it mellow before slicing if you can wait. It’s only going to taste even better!

I used fresh berries as recommended; they are available now in my local market and frozen berries do produce extra juice, not needed here. It’s always so exciting spotting those first shelves of fresh berries in the produce aisle, and if I had 12-oz of berries I would definitely use them. Omit the nuts if you wish; I like them for the texture they bring and they make up for using less fruit. The batter is rich with buttermilk, oil, and melted butter; don’t over stir it; it is lumpy and shouldn’t be smooth. The fats added lightness to the batter and it slid right from the bowl under its own steam into the loaf pan. Those fats also guarantee a dense moist bread, bursting with flavorful tang of buttermilk and melted butter. The brown sugar casts a lovely golden color and adds sweetness.

I did bake the bread for 55 minutes today as it was still wet at 45 minutes. I turned the oven off then and let the bread sit in the oven 5 more minutes. It browned nicely and dropped easily from the pan after it cooling 20 minutes. A small knife run around the sides of the pan will loosen the bread perfectly and it drops right from the pan. Cool completely on wire rack with bread wrapped in lightly in foil. A dollop of Cool Whip on each slice will be extra good tonight!

I followed the directions as given but rewrote them using my words and my results today. I couldn’t agree more with Averie that this is the BEST raspberry bread around! At my house, today, at least! It won’t last until tomorrow because it was made for sharing, but if there are leftovers, wrap slices in foil and store in an airtight bag. This will be even better the next day, guaranteed! I have no idea what’s for supper but, with a glass of cold milk, following half a day of water sloshing all-out cleaning on the front porch, i found that two slices of this raspberry bread made a wonderful late lunch. Hey, now, it’s Spring! Get Raspberries! Be Delighted!

The BEST Raspberry Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 to 12 ounces raspberries, about 2 cups (today, 6 oz.)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, add the flour, the brown and white sugars, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine; set aside.

Melt the butter. Allow butter to cool slightly then add the egg, buttermilk, oil, vanilla. Whisk well.

Pour wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined; don’t over mix. Batter will be somewhat lumpy; don’t try to stir the lumps smooth or bread will be tough; set aside.

In a medium bowl, add raspberries and 2 tablespoons flour; toss lightly to combine. Add the floured raspberries to the batter nad fold in, along with the pecans, if using, very lightly to combine. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and distributing batter well in pan.

NOTE: Recipe recommends if using frozen berries, bake for 1 hr 17 minutes. Tent foil over the pan after 30 minutes. Today, using fresh berries, I baked it for 55 minutes, with foil tented over it at 30 minutes) then turned the oven off and let it sit for five more minutes. Test the batter after 45 minutes and adjust. Bread is done when the top springs back and a tooth pick inserted has no batter on it. Allow bread to cool in pan for 20 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.