Lemon Macaroon Pie

There are a few things I like to take advantage of in summer besides frozen margaritas: peaches, corn, and lemons. If I could make a peach corn lemon sugar masterpiece I would, but I haven’t had that many margaritas.

One of my favorite things to eat in the summer is lemon bars, and one of my favorite things I like to listen to lately is reggae. So in the spirit of eating things that will ensure you’ll never actually be able to squeeze your chunk monster body into a swimsuit, I bring you the very tropical-inspired Lemon Macaroon Pie!

Now I know 70% of you are thinking: “Ew. Coconut.” But trust me, you’ll like this coconut, deliciously wrapped up in a creamy lemon pie body with a sugary lemon bar-esque top. This pie has all kinds of little hidden flavor gems-like almond extract, citrus preserves, and vanilla whipped cream-and the crust really does melt in your mouth.

I’m not going to lie. I tried on last summer’s bikini while listening to Bob Marley…then I ate a piece of pie to forget the whole experience.

Bikini: 0. Pie: 1.

[Slightly adapted from Bon Appétit Desserts. Makes a 9-inch pie. *Note: If you want to serve the pie the day of, you'll need to start EARLY in the morning.]

Equipment:

• Dough blender or food processor
• Pie weights or beans
• Electric mixer
• 9-inch pie dish
• Pastry brush [optional]
• Large star piping tip [optional]
• Sifter [optional]

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1/3 cup cake flour
• 1 Tbl. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbl. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 Tbl. CHILLED non-hydrogenated solid veggie shortening, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbl. + more ice water

Filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tbl. finely grated lemon peel
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Topping:

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp. powdered sugar + 1/4 cup
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract [I like to use clear vanilla to keep the whipped cream super white]
• Thin slice of lemon
• 1/4 cup marmalade

Make the crust: Blend both flours, sugar, and salt with fork or food processor. Add butter and shortening and use a dough blender or food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3 Tbl. ice water and blend with disposable glove-covered hands or processor until moist clumps form, adding more water if it’s too dry. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour. [Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at rm. temp. before rolling out.]

Bake the crust: Position oven rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to prepared dish and trim the dough [either you can trim the overhang to 1/2 inch, then fold under and crimp; or you can trim the dough, save the scraps, re-roll out and make little cut-out decorations like I did].

Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake until set and edge is pale golden, about 20 min. Remove foil and weights and cool crust completely in dish on a rack. *Maintain oven temp. and rack position!

Make the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, yolks and salt in a large bowl to blend. Add sugar and beat until mixture is thick and fluffy-about 2 min. Beat in coconut, whipping cream, lemon juice, melted butter, lemon peel, and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour filling into crust.

Bake until filling is golden and set, about 30-40 min. Cool pie completely on rack, then chill until cold, about 3 hours. [Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.]

Make the topping: Melt the marmalade with a little bit of water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once completely melted, use a pastry brush to brush the crust decorations/rim with marmalade.

Sift 1/4 cup powdered sugar [you don't have to use all of it-I didn't] over the center of the pie.

In a large bowl, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until STIFF peaks form. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with whipped cream and pipe around the border of the pie.

Garnish the center with a large lemon slice. Brush slice with marmalade.

Beautiful inside and out

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Gingersnap Mocha Cappuccino Nutella Pumpkin Pie (Whew!)

Mmm fall sleepiness. Whether it’s because of the cooler temps, the fact that I just cleaned my down comforter, or I’m getting older, fall makes me feel snuggly–over-sized sweater wearing, hot mug of cider holding, going to bed at 9:30 p.m. like my grandmother kind of cozy.

Part of this lifestyle changeover involves going to Starbucks on a weekly basis and drinking overpriced, over-sugared, but damn good seasonal drinks, such as “Better-Than-You-Know-What Salted Caramel Mocha,” “I-Just-Cried-From-Happiness Pumpkin Spice Latte,” and “Diabetic-Coma-But-It-Was-Worth-It Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa.” And I suppose it’s this obsession with seasonal rarities that also urged me to buy Jif’s new Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread [There's no peanut butter in it. It's basically just Nutella flavored like chocolate coffee].

But besides slathering my pretzels in it while wrapped in my blanket watching Revolution and yawning because it’s already 8 p.m., I couldn’t really think of how I’d incorporate my find into my baking until I read an amazing post by Sally’s Baking Addiction, a blog from a talented lady who bakes 24/7 and loves fall just as much as I do.

This pie is smooth, creamy, and combines a lot of flavors–like ginger, nutmeg, espresso, hazelnut, chocolate, and pumpkin–together seamlessly, yet the pumpkin taste is still the star of this luscious dessert.

Sally’s recipe has Nutella swirled into the pumpkin pie, but I thought it might be even better to kick that up a bit with some mocha cappuccino…and some quick homemade chocolate whipped cream…with a side of salted caramel hot chocolate from [who else] Starbucks.

Eyes starting to close in bliss in 5…4…3…2…mmmmm

Don’t be afraid to eat pie for breakfast. My dad always said that there has to be some sort of nutrient hiding in there somewhere.

To find Sally’s recipe for Nutella Pumpkin Pie, click here. There are all kinds of new hazelnut spreads on the market, so go crazy and experiment with your favorite.

The lineup

One of my fall favorites is my Emile Henry pie dish. Snooty? Yes. Worth every penny? Yes.

One of Sally’s tips is to make sure you don’t make the crust too high around the rim. This is the height you should aim for, otherwise the cookie crust might burn.

I like to let my pie cool to almost rm. temp., then place in the fridge overnight to let the flavors meld and the pie settle.

Homemade Chocolate Whipped Cream [Makes about 2 cups]

Equipment:

• Electric Mixer
• Sifter

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup dutch process cocoa [I use KAF's Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa] or regular cocoa powder, sifted

Combine powdered sugar and cocoa in a bowl.

In a large bowl, beat cold heavy cream about 1 1/2 min. on medium-high speed until thickened. On low speed, beat in the sugar/cocoa mix 2 Tbl. at a time. *Note: Don’t beat too much, otherwise the cream will be too stiff! If it starts to get stiff while beating with the electric beaters, just mix in the rest of the sugar/cocoa with a spatula.

Keep whipped cream refrigerated and tightly covered. Keeps about 7 days.

My “Book lovers never go to bed alone” mug has been with me since college