It’s Tuesday! Time for another exciting Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. This week’s recipe is Lenox Almond Biscotti. The recipe was selected by Canela and Comino . The full recipe can be found on their site or by purchasing the ever popular book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t thrilled to see this as the recipe this week. I’ve never been a big fan of biscotti. I love coffee but I’ve never seen the appeal of eating a dried piece of dough with it. I decided to make it anyway because I have several friends who do enjoy biscotti so I thought Bo and I could take it to them when we stop by this week. However, after tasting this biscotti, I’ve changed my philosophy. These were easy to make and surprisingly good. This recipe far surpassed my expectations!

The first step is to combine the butter, sugar, and eggs and whip until creamy.

Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients. Yum – cornmeal!

Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and finally mix in the almonds. I threw the biscotti logs in the oven and then let them cool before cutting into individual chunks.

Then you bake the biscotti again.

Beautiful biscotti.

The final stage is to try it with a cup of coffee. And I have to admit, a few less will be delivered to my friends, because they are already mingling in my gullet.

This is the first challenge in Do You Want Pies With That? Click over and visit the others who participated in this months challenge!!

The goal of the club is to create a new and unique pie each month. This month’s theme was “I Love that Movie!”. When I originally told Mike about the theme he came up with my pie idea immediately — Sleepless in Seattle Mocha Pie.

Mike doesn’t like coffee and he only tolerates Sleepless in Seattle, but it is one of my favorite movies of all time. How can you not fall in love with little Jonah? And the flashback with Tom Hanks and his late wife in front of Wrigley Field…. That is what my dreams are made of… Anyway, I digress, can you think of a better pie for a sleepless night than one with a little kick of java to keep you going. 🙂

It was very rainy here yesterday. Maybe I was channeling Seattle…

I took my favorite French Silk Pie and modified the recipe to create my version of:

Sleepless in Seattle Mocha Pie

You will need:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
4 eggs
2 Tbsp. instant coffee
pre-baked pie crust (Dorie’s is always good)
whipped cream (heavy whipping cream and sugar)

Allow the butter to soften slightly. Beat sugar and butter until sugar is not grainy. It is very important that you beat this step long enough – otherwise your pie will not have the silky texture it needs.

While the butter and sugar are mixing, melt 2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave and let it cool. In a small bowl, beat one of the eggs and add the instant coffee to dissolve.

When the butter and sugar are smooth in texture, add the chocolate, then the coffee/egg mixture. Beat for 3 minutes. Then add each additional egg, beating for 3 minutes after each addition.

Pour your filling into a pre-baked pie crust that has cooled. Be sure to scrape the bowl and get all of the mocha goodness. 🙂 Place the pie in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Before serving, whip up a batch of homemade whipped cream. It’s really easy! Just beat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and once it starts to form peaks, add 2 Tbsp. of sugar.

I topped the pie with chocolate chips. Viola! Sleepless in Seattle Mocha Pie!

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Wee Treats by Tammy. The full recipe can be found on her site or by purchasing the ever popular book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

The cake portion was very easy to make and didn’t require any fancy materials. Just a few bowls and a whisk to whip up the cake.

I decided to make two mini-cakes using my two small springform pans. I don’t have a large springform pan anymore. It was stolen when I took a cheesecake to the school’s Christmas party. And I’m still bitter about it…

So I popped the two cakes in the oven and fed Bo some dinner. Then, after Bo went to bed and the cakes were cool, I made my first batch of homemade caramel. And it was yummy!!

The first step is to combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy bottomed pan. Then, let it boil until it starts to turn a deep amber color. Once the color starts to appear add cream and butter. I can feel my arteries clogging…

The next step is to combine the peanuts and the caramel to make the topping and poor it over the cake. Yum!

My caramel slid down the side of my springform pan, so I don’t have any pretty pictures of the finished product. But it does look as good as it tastes — ooey and gooey! I took one of the mini-cakes to school to share with the lunch crew and the yearbook girls and we had the other cake last night for supper.

We had to hack into the cake using the blunt end of a plastic spoon during lunch, but it still tasted good. My mom liked the cake and said that the top tasted like a Pay-Day candy bar. Mike agreed with Mom but felt like it would have been better over a more fudgey brownie. Mike and I both prefer more fudge-like brownies instead of cakey ones. Bo had a few bites of the cake (sans peanuts and caramel) and really loved it. What’s not to love about chocolate cake??

Overall, I probably won’t make the cake again, but the caramel topping is definitely a keeper. Apples dipped in that peanut and caramel topping would be a pretty amazing fall treat!

I don’t own a torch so I decided not to attack the Creme Brulee this week. Instead, I made a rewind from before I joined Tuesdays With Dorie –Snickery Squares. These were originally hosted by Michelle. You can find the full recipe on her site or by purchasing the book, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

The first step was to make a buttery, shortbread crust. I threw all of the ingredients into my Cuisinart (my second favorite kitchen toy — after my KitchenAid) and it turned out lovely.

I pressed the dough into the bottom of an 8×8 pan and began caramelizing peanuts. The first step is to stir water and sugar over medium high heat. Once the mixture starts to darken, toss in the peanuts.
Once the peanuts have reached an amber color, spread them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Viola!!
While my peanuts cooled, I poured the caramel over the top of my crust. Wasn’t it pretty?
Finally, I sprinkled the caramelized peanuts over the caramel sauce, and then finished it all off with a thick layer of melted chocolate.
The end result, while appearing ooey-gooey and good, really wasn’t something to write home about. It was almost too rich. Overall, I was disappointed. I finally had an opportunity to complete a rewind recipe and I didn’t find it wonderful. As Mike said, “it was fine.” And it was. But it wasn’t wonderful….

I took the leftovers to school to share with the lunch crew. Jason thought they were good. Ben thought they would have been better without chocolate. He apparently doesn’t like chocolate that well. And Mandy thought they were way to messy to attempt to eat during class. Hopefully, next week’s chocolate, caramel, and peanut cake will be a bigger hit!

I’m a slacker…
And I don’t really like plums…
So I didn’t make the Tuesday’s With Dorie Plum Cake this week…
But stop over there anyway and see everyone else’s.

Instead, I made a super fast, super easy dessert that Mike loves – Key Lime Pie. This is Mike’s Mom’s recipe — and she stole it off the back of the container of Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice!

You’ll need:
1 premade graham cracker crust
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup lime juice
a few drops of green food coloring

Combine all ingredients and blend well with a hand mixer.

Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes and refridgerate at least 4 hours before serving.

We decided to let Bo try it. He’s sucked on limes and lemons before so we knew he could handle the tart flavor. That didn’t stop some of his expressions from being pretty adorable!

Mike prepares Bo’s first bite. This is the only picture I have of the finished pie!!
Bo waits for the spoon to make it to his mouth.

“Hum. Pie.”

“It’s a bit tart. And why are you taking my picture?”

“Sour pie. Humph.”

This week’s recipe was chosen by Claudia at Fool for Food. It can also be found on pg. 70 of Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Mike, Bo, and I traveled up north this weekend because both Mike and I had dentist appointments. Bo had fun staying with his Grandma and Grandpa while Mike and I had our teeth cleaned!

When I saw this recipe, I knew I would have to wait until after we came back to make these, because the recipe called for “premium” chocolate. When I think of premium chocolate there is only one place I think of — Graham’s. Yumm-o! Besides, there’s nothing more exciting than combine a dentist visit with chocolate! Dentists love it when we eat tons of sweets!

While I worked and Bo napped, Mike made the Graham’s run for all of the chocolate that is needed for these heavy duty cookies.

On Sunday night, Mike and I tackled making the cookies after Bo was in bed. First, I measured out the dry ingredients and melted the chocolate with butter for the dough part of the chunker.

I blended the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Then I added the melted chocolate mixture, and finally, I added the dry ingredients. All in my lovely, KitchenAid. God’s gift — I’m tellin‘ ya.
Mike was a sweetheart and chopped the chocolate and peanuts for me. Since these are chunkers, I needed chunks. Oh, the irony.
Finally, I was able to combine all of the crunchies and the dough to make a very rich looking cookie dough. I scooped heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheets and shoved these bad boys into the oven.
I ended up with some really chocolatey chunkers!! These are RICH!! Definitely a cookie you’ll want a big glass of milk with!! I couldn’t eat more than one. Mike had two and said, “These aren’t a cookie, they’re a meal.” I asked if I could quote him. Of course, he said yes.

This week’s recipe was selected by Rachel at Confessions of a Tangerine Tart. For a copy of the full recipe, click over to Rachel’s blog or buy the book, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

Here’s the dough. Isn’t it beautiful in my Kitchen Aid. (Have I mentioned how much you need a mixer like this? Wow. It’s like heaven for any baker.)

After the dough was ready I scooped it out on to the parchment. I was happy that there was no refridgeration needed for these. Last week’s cookies took patience — which is not a virtue I have!!
Here are the cookies on the cooling rack.
Yum!
As always, these cookies are Bo approved!

Mike wasn’t a big fan of these cookies. He thought they were too cake-like. My mom ate one bite and didn’t want any more… Not her type of cookie either. To avoid the nickname, Thunderina (for my huge thighs after eating an entire batch of cookies myself), I took them to school where they were a hit with teachers and yearbook girls.

Or at least I think they were — I brought home an empty container…

This week’s recipe was chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution. To see the full recipe, click over to her blog or buy the book, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I did all of the first stages — measuring the dry ingredients, adding the wet ingredients, you get the idea. None of it was very pretty. Then I put it all in the Kitchen Aid. (Have I mentioned how much you need a Kitchen Aid mixer? I love it!) It wasn’t very pretty either. 🙂
After chilling the dough for two hours (two hours is a long time when you want cookies!!) I rolled the dough into balls and flattened with my palm. That Dorie, she’s just so descriptive!
Finally, 4 hours after I started, I had cookies. And they were worth it. Definitely a new family favorite! They remind me a lot of monster cookies — only without the M & M’s.
They were pretty. And oh so good!
Bo did not try these cookies — he can’t have peanut butter yet. But he wants to encourage all of you to click over to Tuesday’s with Dorie and see all of the other pretty cookies!

If you’re stopping by to see Granola Grabbers, well… I hate to disappoint, but I didn’t make them this week. 🙁 Mike doesn’t eat a lot of the ingredients in the grabbers and I’ve just had too much on my plate this week to get it done. Please stop over to Tuesdays with Dorie and see the recipes. I’d eat them if someone would make some for me. 🙂

Instead, I present you with a recipe for French Silk Pie. My 7th grade science teacher and now financial planner (funny how that worked out…) brought this pie to my parent’s house when they moved a little over two years ago. Mike inhaled half of the pie in one sitting so I had to ask for the recipe. It’s definitely become a family favorite.

And I will warn you now — if you are on any type of a diet, just click away right now. You don’t want to see this…. 🙂

First, you bake a pie crust. If you have all kinds of time on your hands I highly recommend Dorie’s pie crust. If you’re crunched for time and just trying to make something yummy for your family, you can take the easy way out (like I did this week) and use a Pillsbury ready to bake crust. I know, I know… What kind of a baker am I?

Once your crust is prepared you can start on the filling. The filling is the star of the show.
Throw 2 sticks of butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar into a stand mixer. (Have I mentioned how much I love my Kitchen-Aide. Definitely a wonderful wedding gift!) Let it beat until it is creamy and not grainy. You’ll probably have to scrape the butter off the beaters a few times. Once that is done add 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, melted, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Your filling should then look like the picture above.
The magic of this recipe is eggs. Four of them! Add two of the eggs and blend for 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 minutes your filling should look like this.
Mike grabbed the camera and took this picture of me washing my hands. Make sure you wash your hands. It makes the pie taste better. And it’s a good thing to do to kill time while you wait for those eggs to beat.
Add the other 2 eggs and beat for an additional 5 minutes. When you’re done you should have a rich, creamy, chocolate silk filling. Pour the filling into the pie crust and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving top with whipped cream (or, if you’re in a hurry — Cool Whip) and grated chocolate.
Eat. Enjoy.

As always, this recipe comes with Bo’s seal of approval. 🙂

French Silk Pie

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
Bake a pie crust or use a Pillsbury refrigerated crust and make according to package directions.
Whipped cream or Cool Whip

Beat sugar and butter until sugar is not grainy. Add chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, two at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Pour into cooled pie crust. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Before serving, top with whipped cream and a little grated chocolate.

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream selected by Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. For the full recipe, click over to her blog or buy the book, Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. This recipe is on page 434.

First, I cooked the blueberries and a few other ingredients on the stove and then poured it all into the blender. Didn’t the berries look beautiful in the blender??
I added heavy whipping cream and sour cream and blended. It looked like a big, creamy smoothie. Then I stuck it in the fridge for a few hours so it could chill.
After the base chilled for about 4 hours I poured the contents of the blender into our ice cream maker. The ice cream maker was a wedding gift from Mr. and Mrs. Hunn. We don’t use it often enough! This was the perfect excuse. My ice cream was much more solid on the sides than it was in the middle as you can plainly see in the picture. But it still tasted good…

It even received a special award – Bo’s seal of approval.