4. Add 1–3 tablespoons cold whole milk only if needed to thin to a spreading consistency. (Did you know that skim or low fat milk can make your powdered sugar taste dusty or flat? Use whole milk. I mean, come on, there’s a stick of butter in there and you’re going to skimp on milk?)
Makes about 4 cups.
Mamie Sue’s Peanut Pie
For this recipe, you need 1½ cups shelled, roasted, and partially crushed peanuts. You can use already roasted peanuts, but you know Mamie Sue would have roasted her own. If you’d like to try, the steps are below.
Roasting the Peanuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Place 1½ cups raw peanuts in a single layer in shallow sheet pan.
2. For unshelled peanuts, bake 20 to 25 minutes.
3. For shelled peanuts, bake 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Stir once or twice during cooking time.
5. Cook until slightly underdone. Please note! Peanuts continue to cook when removed from oven.
6. Let cool completely before shelling and using in the pie recipe below.
7. Crush the peanuts in large and chunky pieces, with some halves still almost intact. Put approximately ½ cup in a sealed bag (freezer bags are good) and roll over the bag with a rolling pin. Repeat with the remaining peanuts until all are done.
Making the Pie Shell
Make your own 9-inch pie shell. Sure, you can buy one premade, but do you think Mamie Sue did that? Give this a try:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
cup shortening
4–5 tablespoons cold water
1. Whisk together flour and salt.
2. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size.
3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork until moist. Move that moistened dough to the side and repeat, one tablespoon at a time, until all the dough has been moistened.
4. Work the moistened dough into one ball with your hands.
5. Place ball on a lightly floured surface and use your hands to flatten, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough from center to edges into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter.
6. Wrap the pastry around the rolling pin, then unroll it over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pastry into the pie plate without stretching it.
7. Trim around the pastry to leave approximately a ½-inch ring beyond the edge of the pie plate. Fold the extra pastry under and crimp with your fingers.
Making the Pie Filling
3 eggs ½ cup granulated sugar
1½ cups dark corn syrup ¼ cup butter, melted
¼ teaspoon salt (if you are using already shelled, salted peanuts, eliminate the salt from the recipe or reduce to taste)
½ teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups shelled and roasted peanuts
9-inch unbaked deep-dish pastry shell—use one you made (or a premade shell)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. Beat eggs well, until you see foam. (Yes, foamy eggs are good.)
2. Add in the following one item at a time, mixing each until incorporated, but do not overmix: sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and vanilla.
3. Stir in the peanuts.
4. Pour the peanut mixture into the unbaked pastry shell.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 50–55 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.
Makes one pie.
Lilly’s Ah-mazing Turtle Cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
1. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm, 5–10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated.
6. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.
7. Pour mixture evenly into cupcake papers and bake for 20–25 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely.
8. Note: While oven is still warm, toast the pecans used in the frosting on a cookie sheet. See recipe below.
Cutest Sea Turtle Frosting Ever
Pecans:
7 dozen (approx 3 Cups) pecan halves, toasted
Ganache:
4 ounces dark chocolate
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Caramel Sauce:
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
½ cup heavy cream, heated to lukewarm in microwave (30 seconds)
2 tablespoons butter, cubed or cut up in small pieces
¼ cup heavy cream, heated to lukewarm in microwave (30 seconds)
Making the Ganache:
1. Chop chocolate into small pieces. Set aside.
2. In a small, heavy saucepan over low to medium heat, warm the cream until it begins to steam. Remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Add corn syrup and vanilla, stirring until completely mixed. Let sit and cool to room temperature, stirring as needed.
4. Frost cupcakes, keeping a cup of frosting in reserve.
5. Arrange 5 pecans on the top of each cupcake, to form a turtle head, and four flippers, pressing gently into the frosting. (The flippers will touch in the middle. The head butts up against the top two flippers.)
Making the Caramel Sauce:
1. In a medium saucepan, add sugar and water. Stir.
Cook the ingredients on medium-high heat. Carefully watch the sugar syrup change colors to an amber-brownish color around the outer edge, or if using a candy thermometer, heat to 350 degrees F.
2. Remove from heat immediately and, using a wooden spoon or whisk, quickly stir everything to keep the sugar water from burning. It should be a gold-amber color.
3. Continue stirring, while adding ½ cup of warm heavy cream and butter bits. (NOTE: When the cream comes into contact with the syrup it will start bubbling violently.) Continue to stir until the sugar crystallization dissolves.
4. Add the remaining warm heavy cream (¼ cup) until caramel sauce is nice and smooth.
5. Pour into heat-proof measuring cup and let cool slightly.
Finishing the Cupcakes:
1. Spoon 2 teaspoons soft caramel on top of the center of the pecans. Let the caramel set for a few minutes to firm up.
2. Heat remaining Ganache if necessary to soften. Drop a teaspoon of Ganache on top of the caramel to finish off the turtle shell.
As Miss Lilly would say . . . these are ah-mazing! Enjoy!
Makes 24 cupcakes.
BRAVA BOOKS are published by
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New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2012 Donna Kauffman
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
BRAVA and the B logo are Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8052-7
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Babycakes Page 31