I’ve had a breakthrough and I have to share it with you – JUST in time for you to amaze and awe all your family and friends for the holidays.
A little background – every year I participate in the holiday recipe swap hosted by Doree Martin of Top Notch Mom and Susan aka The Foodette. Love them – it’s such a fun idea, especially since I love to try new recipes.
Well this year, I was asked to try a new (or old actually!) pecan pie recipe from Denise Fears at Almasdays.com. Since the recipe was mainly about the filling, I decided to try something different for the crust. Of course, you know the Julia Childs inside me would never allow me to buy a pre-made crust, but making pie dough is a EFFIN PROCESS. Let’s just admit it. Plus, it has to set for a few hours, and that was time I just didn’t have, sooooo….. I have revolutionized the pie baking industry. Ready for it?
I used the ricotta cheese dough recipe instead.
Now, that may sound like mumbo jumbo to you, but let me explain – ricotta cheese dough is IMPOSSIBLE to mess up – even the most rookie chef can attempt it. Usually it is reserved for savory pies like my vegetable tort, but this time, I decided to see how well it would pair with sweet instead – and it was PERFECT. So save and pin this recipe for ricotta cheese pie dough – you’ll seriously thank me so much you might just SEND me a pie.
Pecan Pie Filling
– 8 oz (1 cup) brown sugar
– 8 oz (1 cup) light corn syrup
– 3 eggs
– 1 stick of butter
– 1 t vanilla
– 1 cup pecans (or enough to fill the pie!)
Ricotta Cheese Pie Dough
2. Mix the flour, butter, ricotta cheese and salt in another bowl. I like to mix and knead it together at the same time with my hand. Really put some elbow grease into it and have fun – kids are great for helping with this! Throw it around, punch it – really work those ingredients together.
**Since this recipe is for a full pie (including the top cover), you will have extra dough to either make mini pies or another. You can double the filling recipe if you want.
3. Separate the dough into two halves and roll the one out on the counter.
Rolling dough 101: Place a sprinkle of flour on a clean counter. Smash the dough into a flat circle in your hands. Lay on top of flour and then sprinkle with a little more flour on top (I also like to rub the rolling pin with flour as well). Then roll out the dough by only PUSHING the rolling pin – NEVER pull it back or the dough will roll up onto the pin. The flour will keep it from sticking to the counter when you pick it up to transfer it to the pie pan.
4. Fold the filling into the dough-lined pie pan. Scramble an egg in a small bowl and then brush it onto the exposed crust before popping it in the oven. This will keep the dough from drying out and crumbling in the baking process! Farmer baking tip!
5. Bake at 350 for 45 mins (or until the crust is golden brown – never burn the crust!).
VIOLA! As you can see – Maximo even made his own mini pies, which were a huge hit! Toddlers LOVE to help, so since baking is already messy, why not let them jump in and be a part of the process. It teaches them how to measure, mix, and even patience as it bakes to finally taste the delicious masterpiece they created all by themselves!
