Tag Archives: pie

Nov 18

Mini Cannoli Cream Pies

Whenever I find myself in an Italian restaurant or bakery, I’m always tempted to order cannolis. But in reality, I don’t actually love cannolis. What I love is that delicious cannoli cream. As for the shell, I could take it or leave it. And often, when I get a cannoli, I’ll just unroll it and use a spoon to scoop out the cream filling and eat it on its own—a move that ‘s resulted in much staring and mockery over the years.

When I found myself craving that cannoli cream recently, I decided I wasn’t in the mood to drag myself out to a restaurant or bakery. And I certainly wasn’t about to start fiddling with cannoli shells, deep fryers, and the like. So instead, I decided to make these mini cannoli pies. I had some individual premade pie shells lying around, and I had everything else I needed on hand to whip up my version of the cream.

Now I’ll be perfectly honest and say that my cannoli cream was not as good as some of the better cannolis I’ve tasted in the area (and living in New Jersey, there are some establishments around here who do know how to make a mean cannoli). But, it was still pretty darn good.

canpies

Mini Cannoli Pies

Ingredients:
10 premade mini pie shells (or feel free to make your own)
15 ounces of part-skim ricotta cheese, drained
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 and ¼ cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Strain the ricotta cheese to the best of your ability.
3. Using a stand or electric mixer, beat the strained ricotta until it’s nice and creamy.
4. Add in the heavy cream, confectioners sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, orange juice, and cornstarch; beat until the mixture is smooth and somewhat thickened.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Place the mini pie shells on a baking sheet and pour the cannoli cream filling into the pie shells.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops of the pies start to brown just slightly.
8. Remove the pies from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool at room temperate for about 20 minutes.
9. Place the pies in the fridge for two hours to allow them to set. If you’re so inclined, you can drizzle a little chocolate syrup over them right before serving. Or not. They’re certainly sweet enough on their own.

Feb 4

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

It seems like every year around this time, I start to get a little stir crazy…and more than a little tired of winter. I’m just one of those people who really, really doesn’t like being cold. Now I can deal with December. For some reason, I’m a total sucker for all that holiday spirit jazz, and it helps keep my mind off the dropping temps. And I’m usually okay with January, mostly ‘cause at that point we haven’t been dealing with winter for too long. But come February, I’m usually ready to either escape to someplace warm (which is not going to happen with a baby) or otherwise resign myself to hibernation until the cold subsides.

This weekend, I opted for the latter and decided to spend as much time as possible curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and a book. Of course, a night much like the one I had planned for Saturday (when the forecast warned of a winter weather advisory complete with ample amounts of snow) wouldn’t be complete without some killer dessert to accompany the couch-blanket-book extravaganza, and so I decided to make a chocolate chip cookie pie.

Now I’m not usually the biggest fan of chocolate chip cookies. Sure, they’re a classic dessert, but they’re also kind of on the boring side. But take the chocolate chip cookie and serve it up to me in pie form, and I’m golden.

This pie is exceptionally delectable when served warm, though room temperature also works. I especially love the way the chocolate chips form their own gooey layer of deliciousness. For those of you who are just as tired of winter as I am, I recommend baking this super easy pie, carving out a nice, fresh-out-of-the-oven slice, scooping up a generous serving of vanilla ice cream on the side, curling up on the couch with your favorite book/movie/form of entertainment, and letting each sweet bite help whisk away those winter blues.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Slightly adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:

For The Crust:
1 and 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

For The Filling:
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) AP flour
1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 and ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter 9-inch pie or tart plate.
2. Make the crust by combining your flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter until moist crumbs form. Press the mixture into bottom and sides of the pan.
3. Make the filling by whisking together your brown sugar, sugar, salt, and butter. Once combined, whisk in the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda until combined. Then stir the flour mixture into the egg/sugar mixture until well-combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips, and pour the mixture into the crust.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the pie turns a nice golden brown. Cool for 45 minutes on a wire rack before serving—the pie will still be nice and warm, but it’ll be a lot easier to slice. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired, and try not to eat the whole in one sitting.