Oatmeal Pie Muffins

I first saw these muffins on Southern Plate under the name of Pecan Pie Muffins, and I was planning on making them since they only required 5 ingredients (4 if you subtract the nuts). Then, the other day, I spotted more pecan pie muffins on Bake at 350 and knew that that was a sign to finally make these.

Well, as many of the regulars of my blog know, I abhor nuts of any kind, so I usually solve the problem by making nut desserts without nuts, as I’ve done with my Pecanless Pie Tarts or Cinnamon Swirl Bread.

I thought over and over about making these muffins without nuts, and it seemed like it wouldn’t taste right. So, in order to retain some of that “meatiness” in the muffin, I added oats in place of pecans, and they came out perfectly!
These are so quick to make that I had halved the recipe and then decided to make another half portion, since I wanted a full dozen. You need only one bowl, and you don’t need to use a mixer.
Make these promptly; they will take only a few minutes!

Oatmeal Pie Muffins
(sounds better than Oat Pie Muffins or Oat Muffins)

adapted from Southern Plate and
Bake at 350 (the latter got the recipe from Make Ahead Meals)

2/3 cups melted butter (Southern Plate’s recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Spray the muffin pan with Baker’s Joy (I love this stuff), cooking spray, or butter.

Melt the butter, and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, put in the rest of the ingredients. Add the melted butter. Do not overmix. Spoon the mixture in the muffin pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Store: When the muffins are completely cool, place them in a freezer bag, and freeze them for up to 2 months!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Pecanless Pie Cheesecake

If you’ve seen my pecanless pie tarts, then you already know I’m not a fan of nuts, but I’m addicted to the sugary center and the buttery crust found in pecan pies. So a few weeks ago, I had a hankering for some pie and found this bookmarked recipe for pecan pie cheesecake. Perfect!

Well, I made the cheesecake with very few problems…until…I unhooked the latch on my springform pan. Once I lifted up the sides, all of the pecanless pie “juice” started leaking out!

In an attempt to transfer the pie to another plate, I cracked the top of the pie (now I know how a cracked cheesecake looks in person!) because it was stuck to the sticky syrup on the bottom of the pan. So, I just decided to let it stay where it was – on the springform base.

Despite the problems, the cheesecake was very good, and I’m sure it would have been better with more of the syrupy filling. If I ever make it again, I’m going to double the crust amount so that it can hold in all of the filling.

I topped the cheesecake with homemade caramel (OVERKILL, I KNOW! But I had to make up for the lost syrupy filling 😀 right?!) and whipped cream. Needless to say, it was VERY decadent and so delicious. This recipe came from Bake or Break – one of my favorite blogs for desserts. Her photos are so perfect. She uses macro on many of her drool-worthy shots.

Nilla Crust:
1 & 3/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9″ springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pecan(less) pie filling:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark corn syrup (I used light)
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
(1 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.

Cheesecake portion:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 & 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Pecanless Pie Tarts

Many food bloggers are not fans of repeating recipes. I, however, am a creature of habit and repeat good recipes often (hence the reason I don’t post often). Why change a good thing? If I find a good go-to recipe for whatever I crave, I just make it. If a recipe is not satisfactory or if I find another recipe for the same item that seems more appetizing, then I try something new.
Well, in August, I made a double-crust pecanless pie. This time around, I felt too lazy to make a double-crust pie, and I wanted to save that other crust for something else for whenever I get another hankering for a pie.
Since I live alone, I made small versions of these pies/tarts. They came out great despite the fact that I overcooked two out of the four tarts (Um, where is the fourth pielet, you ask? Um, yeah, in my belly. I ate it last night. :D)
As I stated in the other post about this pie, I abhor any type of nut. However, I love the syrupy part of pecan pies and the buttery, flaky crust that tones down the sweet flavor. Since I knew these tarts were just for me, I just removed the nuts from the recipe.
I’m so glad and thankful I know how to bake (even though my jiggly body would disagree). I no longer have to spend hours removing the deeply embedded nuts from the sticky goodness of the pie. I can go right at it and enjoy. If you, however, prefer that nutty stuff in your pie, feel free to add two cups of it to the recipe. The filling makes five tartlets or pielets, but I made only four because I ran out of pie crust and didn’t want use up the other crust.

Pecanless Pie Filling
adapted from My Home Cooking
(makes enough for 5 small pie/tarts)

1 Cup White Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup minus 1 Tbsp of Melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3 Eggs
(add 2 cups of pecans if you want a traditional pecan pie)

Put the butter in the microwave until it is completely melted. During this step, preheat your regular oven to 350.

In a medium to large bowl, mix or slightly beat eggs with a whisk. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients (if adding pecans, add them after you pour the filling in the pie crust).

Take one portion of the pie dough out of the refrigerator, and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Then, apply more flour to the rolling pin. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin, and unroll it onto your pie pan. Allow the excess crust to hang over the pie plate or 8×8″ pan so that the crust hangs 1 inch.

Place the pie shell (rolled-out dough) and plate/pan in the refrigerator as you roll out the second portion of the dough. Once you roll out the second portion, take out the pie plate/pan, and then pour in the pie filling. Place the second portion of dough on top of the filling and then fold the edges of the bottom pie dough over the second one. Make a few incisions on top of the dough before placing it in the oven.

Now, put your pie in a preheated oven set to 350F for 1 hour (with my hot oven, it took 40 minutes). After the pie has been in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, take it out, and put strips of tinfoil around the edge to keep the pie crust from burning. Be careful not to spill you pie! The filling is runny and quite hot. Then, put the pie back in the oven.

After you put the pie back in the oven, it will need another 20 to 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes (a total of 40 mins to 1 hour in the oven), test the pie to see if it is done. You can test the pie by sticking a knife in the middle. If the knife comes out clean, the pie is done; if it comes out dirty, it needs about 10 more minutes in the oven. It will also no longer jiggle.

Perfect Pie Crust
from Pioneer Woman
(makes 3 pie crusts)

3 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups Crisco (vegetable shortening)
1 egg
5 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp Vinegar
1 tsp salt

Measure 3 cups All-Purpose flour into a mixing bowl; add the Crisco to the flour. Using the pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour (3-4 minutes). Keep working until the mixture resembles “coarse meal,” or until there are no large chunks of shortening left. The flour should be integrated into the shortening.

Next, crack an egg into a bowl, and beat it with a fork. Now pour the egg into the flour/shortening mixture. Add cold water; add the white vinegar. Next, add salt, and stir together gently just until you incorporate the ingredients.

Remove one-third of the dough. Repeat to form three evenly-sized balls of dough (I weighed them out). Now place each dough into a large Ziploc bag and prepare them for freezing. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough to make rolling easier later… seal each Ziploc and place bags in the FREEZER. (If you decide to leave the crust in the freezer, just defrost it for 15 minutes before rolling it out)

Flour the surface. Remove the disc of dough from the Ziploc, and place it on the floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Don’t be afraid to use a little flour to keep it from sticking. With a rolling pin, begin rolling the dough from the center, outward in one stroke. Don’t roll back-and-forth. When the dough begins to crack around the edges, just use your hands to form it back into the shape of a circle. If you feel as though the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, just use a nice, sharp spatula, and flip it over. Be sure to flour the surface again before you flip it.

Continue the rolling process until the rolled dough is about 1/2 inch larger (all the way around) than the diameter of the pie pan (or tartlet pan). With the spatula, if necessary, lift the dough from the surface and gently set it onto the pie pan. Gently adjust the dough so that it’s laying right against the pan. Then tuck the excess dough under the rim.

If you’re using a tart pan, you do not need to tuck in the edges of the crust. Just lay the excess dough over the edges, and press down on the edges of the pan so that the dough cuts off. Pour the filling onto the pie crust, and follow the directions mentioned in the filling section above.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Double-Crust Pecanless Pie

Pecanless Pie? With a double-crust? Yes. And yes. I don’t like nuts. I detest them, but I love Pecan Pie. Whenever I eat it, I have to spend 30 minutes picking all the pecans out of my slice, but it’s all worth it. I love the sugary filling and the flaky crust. YUM! So, I had been craving pecan pie for the longest time and kept putting off making it because there have been too many sweets in this house. Then I saw the Sour Cherry Slab Pie on Smitten Kitchen (SK), and my brain started reeling. I thought of making the exact same thing she made with the same cherry filling, but I wasn’t craving a fruity dessert; I wanted pecan pie sans pecans! So, once I gave away all of the cookies to my friend, I decided to make this pie.

Ahh, the advantage of baking and cooking your own stuff; you can customize your dishes to your liking (even if the rest of the world may disagree with your preferences). 🙂

I made the crust on SK’s site, and then I used the filling posted on this website. Now, pie crusts have never been difficult for me, but I thought I’d try to make it in my stand mixer. Big mistake! I remedied the problem enough to make a flaky crust, but there were big globs of butter in the dough when it was cold, and it kept breaking apart. Also, I forgot to add an egg wash or cream to the top of the pie. So, while the crust didn’t come out looking as good as my crust usually looks, it tasted great.

I really like the idea of doing a double crust with this pecanless pie because it offset the sugary flavor more than the standard type of pie. Without the pecans, one would think that the pie would be cloyingly sweet, but I like my pecanless pies either way. I think I will make my pecanless pies like this from now on, though. YUM!

Butter Pie Dough
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup cold water (you can drop in a few ice cubes or place cold water in the freezer while uou work on the other steps. That way you can avoid bits of ice cubes.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

Two sticks (or 8 ounces or 1 cup) of very cold, unsalted butter cubed into 1/2-inch pieces.

Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with the pastry blender or fork, using it to scoop and redistribute the mixture as needed so all parts are worked evenly. When all of the butter pieces are approximately the size of peas — this won’t take long — stop.

Take the cold water out of the freezer. Start drizzling 1/2 cup of the ice-cold water (not the cubes, if you chose that method) over the butter and flour mixture. Using a rubber or silicon spatula, gather the dough together. You’ll probably need an additional 1/4 cup of cold water to bring it together, but add it a tablespoon as a time. Once you’re pulling large clumps with the spatula, take it out and get your hands in there. Gather the disparate damp clumps together into one mound, patting it together.

Divide the dough in half, and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap (You will use one and a half portions of this dough). I like to use the the plastic wrap to pull in the dough and shape it into a disk. Let the dough chill in the fridge for one to two hours before rolling it out.

Do ahead: Dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from fridge/freezer smells.

Pecanless Pie Filling
adapted from My Home Cooking

1 Cup White Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup minus 1 Tbsp of Melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3 Eggs
(add 2 cups of pecans if you want a traditional pecan pie)

Put the butter in the microwave until it is completely melted. During this step, preheat your regular oven to 350.

In a medium to large bowl, mix or slightly beat eggs with a whisk. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients (if adding pecans, add them after you pour the filling in the pie crust).

Take one portion of the pie dough out of the refrigerator, and roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Then, apply more flour to the rolling pin. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin, and unroll it onto your pie pan. Allow the excess crust to hang over the pie plate or 8×8″ pan so that the crust hangs 1 inch.

Place the pie shell (rolled-out dough) and plate/pan in the refrigerator as you roll out the second portion of the dough. Once you roll out the second portion, take out the pie plate/pan, and then pour in the pie filling. Place the second portion of dough on top of the filling and then fold the edges of the bottom pie dough over the second one. Make a few incisions on top of the dough before placing it in the oven.

Now, put your pie in a preheated oven set to 350F for 1 hour (with my hot oven, it took 40 minutes). After the pie has been in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, take it out, and put strips of tinfoil around the edge to keep the pie crust from burning. Be careful not to spill you pie! The filling is runny and quite hot. Then, put the pie back in the oven.

After you put the pie back in the oven, it will need another 20 to 30 minutes. After about 30 minutes (a total of 40 mins to 1 hour in the oven), test the pie to see if it is done. You can test the pie by sticking a knife in the middle. If the knife comes out clean, the pie is done; if it comes out dirty, it needs about 10 more minutes in the oven. It will also no longer jiggle.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com