COOKIE PIE CRUST FOR A CREAM PIE

I love to make this crust for a cream pie at Thanksgiving.  It is easier than a graham cracker crust and makes a large 10 inch pie or a deep dish 9 inch.  Finely chopped toasted nuts are good in it about 1/4 cup after chopping.  I expecially like toasted almonds.  The browned butter makes a very nice flavor and worth the effort, then you can just finish making the crust in the pan you browned the butter in.

COOKIE PIE CRUST: Melt 1/2 C. real butter in a large saucepan and cook over med heat until it starts to brown a nice carmel color. (this will go fast and you need to watch it carefully or it will brown too quickly and burn)  Remove from the heat and quickly stir in 1/4 C. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 C Flour. (add nuts here)  Crumble together and press into a 10 inch pie plate making the sides as even as possible around the top. Bake in a 350 oven for 10-12 minutes or until it starts to brown.



FRESH PEACH PIE

Here is a recommendation for my peach pie from my son Beau who lives in LA.
I am good friends with Dr. Phil's personal family chef, and she made your peach pie for him and his wife and they commented how much they loved it. Anyway, thought you might get a kick out of that. Beau 

This pie is a family favorite and I make it every fall when fresh Utah peaches are available.  They can't be beat.  I posted this in 2008 but have made some changes since then and thought it should be reposted.

  

Whip 8 oz. of cream cheese with 1 C. powdered  sugar until creamy.  Whip 1 C. whipping cream until stiff and fold into the cream cheese with 1 tsp. vanilla.  Smooth into the bottom of your 10 inch pie crust.  If you make a smaller pie you might want to halve the cream cheese mixture.  Chill this until ready to eat.

This is an easy Cookie Pie Crust that is very good with this and other cream pies. 
Melt 1/2 C. butter in a saucepan and cook until is has a deep caramel color.  Remove from the heat and add 1/4 C. sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1 1/2 C. flour.   Crumble together and press into the pie pan which has been sprayed with Pam. (This is enough for a 10 inch pie pan)  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Cool before adding the cream cheese.

Sauce:  Mash peaches to make 1 1/2 cups.  I cut up the peaches and chop them in a little food processor.  It should be a little chunky.  Put in a saucepan with 3 T. cornstarch and 1 C. sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute or two until thick and clear.  Chill

To Assemble:  Cut up enough thinly sliced fresh peaches on top of the cream cheese mixture to fill generously.  Cover with the sauce and chill more or eat now.

If the peaches are juicy it is hard to get nice neat slices of pie but no one cares.  It doesn't need whipped cream. 

PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE PIE

We love the peanut butter chocolate combination, and this pie is rich and delicious.  You can't eat a large piece but it is satisfying if you are a PB fan.  This is the crust I use for my Chocolate Mousse Pie  (Mike's favorite)  It is more of a thick cookie than a brownie but is easy to make and I like it better than an Oreo crust.  This is the basis of my recipe but I simplified it some, especially the amounts. It makes a nice 10 inch pie.

For the crust:  Melt ½ C. butter add to 1 devils food cake mix and two lightly beaten eggs.  Stir until blended well.  Make a roll and cut in half.  Spray a 10 inch pie pan and press the half into the bottom and squish up the sides.  Even the edges some.  Bake 350 for 10 minutes…no more.  The dough will slump down from the top some but it won’t affect the pie.  Freeze the other half of the dough for another pie or add some chocolate chips and nuts and bake as cookies (great cookies)

Peanut Butter Layer –

Beat Together until smooth

 4 oz. of cream cheese

¾ C. powdered sugar

½ C. peanut butter

1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. vanilla

Beat 1 ½ C. heavy cream until stiff.  Fold 1 cup of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture.  Pour into the bottom of the cooled crust.

Chocolate Layer –

Heat 4 T.  half and half and stir in 3 T. sugar until dissolved (reheat if cooled).  Add 1 Cup of semisweet chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Cool to lukewarm.  Fold in ¼ C. of the whipped cream until blended then fold in the remaining cream with ½ tsp. vanilla.  Pour over the peanut butter layer.  Chill until firm.

For the Glaze:  Bring 1/3 cup heavy cream to boil add ½ C.  chocolate chips.  (semisweet or milk) add ¼ tsp. vanilla and stir until smooth.  Cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and pour over the pie and chill until solid. 

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE PIE - For Mothers Day

This is cool, creamy, and lovely beyond anything! Try Raspberries this summer.

COOKIE PIE CRUST: Melt 1/2 C. real butter in a saucepan and cook over med heat until it starts to brown (this is optional but I love the flavor it gives the crust) Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 C. sugar 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp. salt  and 1 1/2 C Flour. Crumble together and press into a 10 inch pie plate making the sides as even as possible around the top. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes or until it starts to brown.   This makes a generous 10 inch pie.

Strawberry Mousse:

1.    Blend 1 lb. strawberries until liquified. (blender or food processor.) Press and stir through a sieve to remove as many seeds as possible.  (The finer the sieve the more seeds you can capture.)  You need 1 Cup of puree.

2.   Whip 12 oz. cream cheese with the puree and 1 cup of sugar.

3.   Whip 1 ½ C of cream to stiff .  Add 1 T. Vanilla instant pudding. (I keep a box of instant pudding in a jar to use to stabilize cream when I whip it.  It gives a nice flavor too.) 

4.   Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture until well blended and pour into the cooled pie shell.  Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.  This pie stays good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.  (If you can get it to last that long)  It also freezes well.  I made it early for an event and froze it.  It was perfect after thawing in the refrigerator for a day.

Sauce:  Crush ½ lb. strawberries.  If you have any puree left over use it in the sauce.  Add brown sugar to taste and 1 T. vanilla instant pudding to thicken a little.  Spoon some over the pieces when serving. Makes 8 generous servings.

This is also wonderful with raspberries!