Summer Staples : Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream Sandwiches with Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies + Lemon Curd Center

Summer Staples : Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream Sandwiches with
Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies + Lemon Curd Center

I've been on a really big ice cream sandwich kick as of this summer. It's really the perfect cool treat during a hot day. Especially when you have a homemade cookie and a killer creamy-icy filling... it can't be beat! These summer treats start with Momofuku's famous sweet corn cookie that has been dialed up a notch with some vanilla bean rum rehydrated summer berries. The chilled cookie dough is then rolled in raw bourbon vanilla sugar, which gives it the perfect crackly-crunchy exterior. These cookies are truly fabulous on their own and I can guarantee you'll want to make them over and over again like I have in the last month. They taste like a mixture between cornbread + yellow cake. It's divine and you just have to make them! Better yet, make them with ice cream stuffed in between the middle. This ice cream is Southern to its core because it has the ever-so-popular buttermilk as the base. It's perfectly tangy and is balanced amazingly with the swirls of sweet berry preserves. But what I'm most excited about is the lemon curd center. With the use of my handy-dandy doughnut cutter, I was able to cut out perfectly round ice cream fillings, and then pop our the center and fill it with creamy lemon curd. It's the  best little surprise when you bite into the ice cream sandwiches and get a lemony burst of flavor! All of these components work together brilliantly and quite frankly, I can't wait to use this doughnut-ice cream filling technique for sandwiches in the future!! Enjoy :)

For the Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Melted & Cooled Slightly

2C Heavy Cream

1C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

6 Egg Yolks

1C Sugar

½t Salt

2T Buttermilk Powder, Sifted

1t Vanilla

2T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum (or any kind of infused booze that is clear)

1 Whole Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

Homemade Roasted Summer Berry Jam (or any other kind of preserves may be used)

Homemade or Store-Bought Lemon Curd, For the Center Filling

For the Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies:

2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1 ½C Sugar

1 Egg

1 1/3C AP Flour

¼C Corn Flour

2/3C Freeze Dried Corn Powder

¾t Baking Powder

¼t Baking Soda

1 ½t Salt

½C Each of Dehydrated or Freeze Dried Berries (blueberries, raspberries, & strawberries)

2-3T Vanilla Bean Infused Rum (or just enough to barely rehydrate the berries until soft)

Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar, For Rolling the Cookies in

Directions:

1. For the Roasted Summer Berry Swirled Buttermilk Ice Cream: In a saucepan, bring the cream, buttermilk, sifted buttermilk powder, vanilla bean pods, and vanilla bean seeds to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until fluffy. Slowly whisk in the melted butter. Once combined, gradually and slowly into the simmering milk. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon). Strain the custard into a bowl that is placed into an ice bath. Stir in the vanilla bean infused rum and vanilla. Cool the custard base until completely chilled. Once the mixture is chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As soon as the mixture is done churning, pour or scoop in one-third of the ice cream into a large container, and then spoon some of the summer berry preserves on top of the ice cream. Using the spoon, smooth it out into any even layer and swirl it some for a pretty marbling effect. Repeat this process until all of the ice cream and preserves have been use. Once it has been assembled, store in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

2. For the Rehydrated Berry-Sweet Corn Cookies:In a small bowl combine the dried summer fruit with the vanilla bean infused rum. Using a spoon, toss the berries and liquid together until they are completely coated. Let them sit and plump up while you make the cookie dough batter. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream together on medium-high for about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, corn flour, corn powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, beat no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the rehydrated berries and gently beat them in until they are just incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, portion out the cookie dough onto a Silpat-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough balls until they are flat on top. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 12-24 hours. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature or they will not bake up properly.

3. Baking the Cookies:Remove the chilled cookie dough balls from the refrigerator and immediately roll them in the raw sugar (this will give them a crackly crust, yet chewy interior). Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center; give them an extra minute if not. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or to an airtight container for storage. At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days.

4. Preparing the Ice Cream Center:Using a doughnut cookie cutter, cut out rounds of the buttermilk ice cream. And then using a knife or spoon, push or scoop out the center of the ice cream. Place the hollowed out rounds onto parchment paper and freeze them again to re-harden or re-firm the texture of the ice cream. Once it has frozen again, place the ice cream rounds onto a cookie and spoon some lemon curd into the hollowed out center. Top with another cookie and enjoy before it melts!

Revamped: Gourmet Twix Bars with Brown Butter Shortbread, Salted Caramel, & Dark Chocolate

I've made homemade twix bars before, almost exactly a year ago, and I knew I could put my own spin on them to make them just a little bit fancier (and a whole lot better). I used my first recipe as the base, but made a slightly different variation. Instead of the softer shortbread, I substituted it with a crisp, brown butter shortbread. I still stand firm on the fact that brown butter makes every meal better, both savory & sweet. I liked the caramel recipe from last year, so all I added was vanilla bean and fleur de sel. But I knew that there had to be more chocolate. I put a layer of soft chocolate, and then I decided to make a go at tempering bittersweet chocolate and lightly coating the candy like a traditional Twix bar. I honestly thought that the process of tempering would be way harder, but I found an easy, instructional step-by-step here. It might sound intimidating, but I pulled it off, and now I am so glad that I have this in my repertoire for future recipes. Lastly, I sprinkled the chocolate-coated bars with some fleur de sel because that's just my thang, yo. Yeah, I don't know why I just said that, but oh well. These revamped Twix bars are great and have a deep complexity of flavors that I love. They might be too fancy shmancy for some of y'all, and I get that, so if that's the case, make the first recipe for that classic taste. But give these a try for somethin' a little different and unique!! Enjoy :)

Gourmet Twix Bars

Layers of Brown Butter Shortbread, Salted Carmel, Dark Chocolate

Coated Twix Bars in Tempered Dark Chocolate

A Sprinkle of Fleur de Sel

For the Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies:

1 ½ Sticks of Unsalted Butter

½C Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly Packed

1t Vanilla

½t Fleur de Sel

1 ½C AP Flour

Gourmet Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar, For Sprinkling

For the Salted Caramel Layer:

2C Sugar

¾C Light Corn Syrup

½C Water

1t Lemon Juice

1C Heavy Cream

1C Sweetened, Condensed Milk

1 Vanilla Bean, Scraped for Seeds

¼t Salt

Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

For the Dark Chocolate Layer:

1 ½C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

4T Unsalted Butter

For the Dark Chocolate Coating:

10oz 70% Bittersweet Chocolate, Coarsely Chopped

Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

Directions:

1. To Make the Browned Butter Shortbread Cookies: Line an 11x7-inch square pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang of foil on two sides so you can easily lift the shortbread out of the pan, and then lightly spray with Pam. Set the pan aside while you make the shortbread. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and continue to cook until it lightly browns and emits a nutty aroma. Remove the browned butter from heat. In a medium bowl, combine the browned butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir to combine. Add in the flour and mix until incorporated. Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan, and then let the dough stand for at least 2 hours (do not refrigerate). After resting, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly sprinkle the surface with the vanilla sugar. Bake the shortbread for 20-30 minutes and remove them from the oven and let it cool.
2. To Make the Salted Caramel Layer:  Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and lemon juice in a sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil (do not whisk). Once this mixture begins to turn caramel brown, insert a candy thermometer and when the mixture reaches 300 degrees F, remove from heat and let it sit for 1 minute. Whisk in the heavy cream, then the condensed milk, then salt until smooth. Return the pan back to the heat, and cook until the caramel reaches 240 degrees F. Remove from heat and pour over the shortbread. Let it set at room temperature for 2 hours.
3. For the Dark Chocolate Topping & Coating: Heat the chocolate chips and butter in a bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is just melted, then whisk until incorporated. Spread this chocolate mixture over the caramel layer until an even, thick layer of chocolate covers the caramel. Cool in the refrigerator until you are ready to cut. Cut into small rectangles and prepare the chocolate coating. Melt ¾ of the chopped chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove the bowl from the pan and add the remaining chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool the chocolate until a thermometer inserted at least ½inch into the chocolate registers 80 degrees. Return the water in the pan to a boil and remove it from heat. Set the bowl with cooled chocolate over the pan and reheat, stirring, until the thermometer registers 88-91 degrees as necessary. Remove the bowl from the pan. Balance one Twix bar on a fork and submerge in the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off and scraping the back of the fork against the rim of the bowl if necessary.  Place the coated caramel-cookie stacks onto a parchment lined baking sheet to stand until the chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Sprinkle the tops with fleur de sel while the chocolate is still soft. Repeat with the remaining stacks until all of them have been coated with chocolate.
4. Wrap the finished candy bars in parchment paper and keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Bring to room temperature before enjoying.

Mini Brown Butter-Flat Apple Pies

I recently saw an episode of Pioneer Woman on the Food Network, and she was making flat apple pies for her family. It looked delicious, and I knew that I wanted to make it. However, I adapted the recipe slightly for what I wanted to bake. I decided on making mini flat apple pies versus that big pies she made because I think everything is way cuter when they are tiny. So true, right?! I used my favorite crust recipe and also doused the warm pies with yummy brown butter to give it a deeper, richer flavor. And it definitely paid off. Brown butter makes everything better. Story of my life. I served them with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce and a big ole' scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. That's just how it has to be done. No if's, and's, or but's. Honestly these were good hot, right out of the oven, and room temperature the next day for breakfast (shhh... don't tell anyone). I think these would be great for a party or BBQ in the summer too!! Enjoy :)

Mini Brown Butter-Flat Apple Pies with Salted Caramel Sauce & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 

Here are the mini pie's without all the toppings

For the Homemade Crust:

1 ¼C AP Flour (plus extra for rolling)

½t Salt

1 ½t Sugar

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Very Cold

3-4T Ice Water

For the Brown Butter-Apple Pie Filling:

2 Large Granny Smith Apples, Peeled & Roughly Diced into Medium Cubes

1T AP Flour & Cornstarch

1T Fresh Lemon Juice

¼C Sugar

¼C Brown Sugar, Packed

1t Cinnamon

Pinch of Allspice, Cloves, & Salt

For the Mini Brown Butter-Flat Apple Pies:

4 Mini Dough Discs, Rolled Thin

Prepared Apple Pie Filling

Bourbon Raw Vanilla Sugar & Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

2T Unsalted Butter, Cut into Small Cubes

4T Brown Butter

Directions:

1. To Make the Pâte Brisée: Start by cutting the sticks of butter into ½inch cubes and placing in the freezer bag, along with the flour, salt, and sugar. Place the bag of flour into the freezer and chill for at least 1-2 hours. In a food processor, pour the frozen flour bag in and pulse 6-8 times until the mixture resembles a course meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1T at a time, pulsing until the mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch of some of the crumbly dough and it holds together then it’s ready. Remove the dough from the machine and place on a clean surface. Shape the dough into a disc. Do not over knead the dough. You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. Cut the dough into 4 small balls and sprinkle the discs with a little flour on all sides and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour. Remove the discs from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disc. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to 4 small circles (1/8inch thick). Place rolled out discs on to a large baking sheet.
2. To Make the Mini Brown Butter-Flat Apple Pies: Preheat the oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, toss together the apple cubes, flour, lemon, sugar, brown sugar, spices, and salt until well combined. Place ¼ of the apple mixture on each mini crust. Fold over the edges of each crust, so that it covers some of the apple mixture (the more rustic the better). Dot the tops of the pies evenly with the small cubes of butter. Bake the mini pies for 20-30 minutes or until the filling is golden and bubbly.
3. Allow the pies to cool slightly and brush each pie heavily with 1T of brown butter just before serving. Serve with ice cream and caramel sauce. 

source: flat apple pie.

Gourmet Gingerbread Men "Oreos" with Eggnog Ganache

Here's another Christmas cookie recipe for your enjoyment... my Gingerbread Men "Oreos" with Eggnog Ganache. Honestly, when I think of Christmas, the first things that pop into my head are gingerbread cookies & drinking eggnog. The funny coincidence is that I really dislike eggnog, like I absolutely can not drink the stuff. The thick texture just really puts me off; however, I love the flavor and the idea of using it in Christmas baking. And one of my all-time favorites during the holidays are gingerbread cookies. I love their spicy flavor, deep molasses sweetness, and crispy texture. So, I knew that I just had to "spice" up these cookies at little bit more, and I immediately thought about making gingerbread men into Oreo-type cookies with some kind of velvety filling. The gingerbread cookies are similar in texture to the chocolate wafer that is popular in Oreos, so I knew that it would work out perfectly. As for the filling, I had to make an Eggnog Ganache with some gourmet eggnog, white chocolate, and a little nutmeg. Because the ganache can be somewhat temperamental, it is a little difficult to pipe or spread onto the many edges of the gingerbread men cutouts (as opposed to a simple round disc, like an Oreo), so if you would prefer to make square or circular cookie sandwiches, it would probably be easier, but not as visually appealing. But, just work with it, take your time, and spread it on as best as you can, following the lines of the men. Also, keep the cookies refrigerated, so that the filling will stay firm & not spill over the edges. Lastly, make sure to use a mini gingerbread men cookie cutter because two large cookies sandwiched together would be huge and not as cute, which is veryyyyy important... right?! Anyway, enjoy this taste of the season because Christmas is close to being over, and it will be another whole year before we can make them again!!

All of the Gingerbread Men "Oreos" Lined Up

Sprinkle them with a little bourbon vanilla sugar for presentation 

Close Up of the Gingerbread Men "Oreos" with Eggnog Ganache

For the Gingerbread Men:

2C AP Flour (plus more for rolling)

2t Ground Ginger

1t Ground Cinnamon

½t Ground Nutmeg

¼t Ground Cloves

¼t Baking Soda

¼t Salt

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

1/3C Dark Brown Sugar, Packed

1/3C Molasses, Unsulfured

1 Large Egg

For the Eggnog Ganache:

16oz White Chocolate, Finely Chopped

1C Eggnog

Ground Nutmeg

Directions:

1. To Make the Eggnog Ganache: Place the chopped white chocolate in a bowl. Put the eggnog in a small saucepan and heat until it just begins to bubble around the edges. Pour the hot eggnog over the white chocolate and let it melt for a few minutes. Whisk the mixture carefully until it is smooth and mixed. Sprinkle the nutmeg over the mixture and stir until mixed. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once it is lukewarm, place it in the refrigerator to firm up for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
2. To Make the Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; mix just until the dough forms. Place dough on floured plastic wrap; pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap well; chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Working with one half at a time (rewrap and refrigerate other half), place dough on floured parchment or waxed paper; roll out 1/8 inch thick, turning, lifting, and flouring dough (and rolling pin) as needed. Freeze dough (on paper) until firm, about 20 minutes. Loosen dough from paper. Cut out mini-gingerbread men shapes (or an easier shape if preferred), and transfer to baking sheets. Decorate with vanilla sugar or fleur de sel, as desired.
4. Bake the cookies until firm and the edges are just beginning to darken, about 10-18 minutes, depending on their size. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
5. To Assemble the Gingerbread Men Oreos: Once the cookies have cooled completely and the eggnog ganache has chilled, using a small hand-held mixer, whip the ganache until firm peaks form. Fill a pastry bag with a ½inch round tip with the whipped eggnog ganache or simply use a knife or spoon to spread it on. Pipe or spoon small dollops of the filling into the center of one cookie (or in the shape of the cookie) and sprinkle with a little extra nutmeg. Place another cookie on top of the ganache. Lightly press down to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with ganache.
6. Refrigerate the Oreos for about an hour or longer (I like them best cold, so I kept mine in the refrigerator) and serve with a large glass of milk!

source: gingerbread cookies. thomas keller's white chocolate ganache. 

Grown-Up Gourmet Monster Cookies

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas y'all. Except for it's like sunny & about 70 degrees here in Savannah. We probably should just decorate palm trees here, it seems more fitting. But unfortunately, I've been hit with a bug and haven't been feeling very festive. Finally though, we got around to buying a christmas tree, hanging ornaments, and putting up other holiday decorations. What are some of your Christmas traditions? We have a few. I always have to bake cookies & make apple cider to enjoy while we are doing the heavy labor, and after the decorations are finished, we enjoy a large pizza and just stare at the lights while listening to Christmas music.

Also, the man of the house always has to put the angel on top of the tree when it is all dressed up. So, here are some action shots of my Mountain Man doing his manly duty (even though it's not so manly).

We took a few family portraits with our baby, Eloise. Taz wasn't been too cooperative because he's a cat.   I wish we would take a really tacky Christmas picture like the ones I've seen floating around the internet. Maybe like the one below? I mean how hilarious is that picture. I want to meet these people either because they aren't being serious, which is brilliant. Or they are being serious... and I will love them even more. Do you realize she is holding a goat? Yes, a goat. I can't even make this up. So, put this on the to-do list for our Christmas card next year. Classic.

The Mountain Man is really enjoying pizza, can't you tell? And if you're wondering, which you probably are... it's a pizza with pesto, sundried tomatoes, italian sausage, and pineapple with NO CHEESE. We realize it is the weirdest combination ever, but it is our favorite and that's why were probably dating, haha.

Don't you love our little Christmas apartment? I do. I never want to leave because it's just so festive & cozy. Anyway, the rest of this week I will be featuring some Christmas cookie recipes that I made while we were decorating. The first cookie that I will be posting are my Grown-Up Gourmet Monster cookies. As a kid, Peej and I always made monster cookies during the holidays. You know the ones with oatmeal, peanut butter, m&m's, and lots of other things. So I thought why not make an adult version of the monster cookie with gourmet and trendy ingredients, instead of the gimmicky ones. There's definitely nothin' wrong with the original recipe because they truly are delicious. I browned the butter, and then added in biscoff spread (instead of peanut butter), toffee bits, milk chocolate truffles, bittersweet chocolate, chocolate covered espresso beans, potato chips, and pretzels. I especially love the chocolate covered espresso beans. It made the cookies taste exactly like Java Chip Ice Cream. I think I'm going to add the espresso beans into my chocolate cookie recipe next, but that's for a different day. Make these cookies for yourself, or they would be great to give out as gifts to friends & neighbors!! Enjoy :)

Grown-Up Gourmet Monster Cookies

For the Cookies:

2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter

1 Stick of Melted, Browned Butter

¼C Gourmet Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar

¼C Granulated Sugar

1 ¾C Light Brown Sugar

2 Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk

1C Biscoff Spread

2t Vanilla

1t Sea Salt

2C Cake Flour

1C Bread Flour

½C AP Flour

1 ½t Baking Soda

3C Gourmet Baking Ingredients: (1C Toffee Bits, 3.5oz Chopped Milk Chocolate Truffles, 4oz Chopped 70% Chocolate, and 1C Roughly Chopped Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans)

2C Gourmet Snack Foods: (1C Cape Cod Plain Potato Chips and 1C Chopped Pretzels)

Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling     

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with Pam, then set aside.
2. To Brown the Butter: Heat a thick-bottomed skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced butter, whisking it frequently. Continue to cook the butter. Once the butter has melted, it will foam up a bit, and then subside. Watch it carefully as lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. You should smell a nutty aroma and it should be golden-brown in color. Remove from heat and let it completely cool before adding it to the cookie dough.
3. Cream the 2 sticks of butter and browned butter with the gourmet vanilla sugar, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the mixer then add the two eggs and egg yolk one at a time, incorporating each one completely before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl. Mix in the Biscoff spread, vanilla and sea salt.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, bread flour, AP flour, and baking soda.
5. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just incorporated (don’t over mix).
6. Fold or beat in your choices of the gourmet baking ingredients until it’s completely incorporated and the ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the dough. Lastly, lightly beat in cape cod potato chips and chopped pretzels until just combined (don’t beat it too much or your won’t have chunks of snacks). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours, but preferably 24-48 hours. Once chilled, scoop the dough into roughly ¼C balls (or I used a large ice cream scoop), and then using your fingers crimp the tops of the cookies to make them more jagged (this will make them look more homemade). Because the cookies are quite large, I only put 6 cookies per sheet tray, so that when they cook & spread, they will not touch each other.
7. Sprinkle the fleur de sel on top of the cookie dough balls, then bake the for 12-14 minutes (cook them for 6-7 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees, and cook for another 6-7 minutes), until it is slightly golden brown on the edges, but still soft (slightly undercooked) on the inside. Leave the cookies on the sheet tray for 10 minutes, so that the cookies will finish baking.
8. Once the cookies have rested on the sheet tray, move the finished cookies to a cooling rack, and let them completely cool completely before eating.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie with Vanilla Bean Pâte Brisée

Apple pie is just the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert in my opinion, over pecan pie or anything else for that matter. There is just something so comforting about the cinnamon-y apples that are baked until tender and then surrounded by a beautiful pastry crust. Well, even though classic apple pie is always a hit, I thought that for such an important family holiday that we should do a different spin to make it that much better. To start with the filling, I tossed a variety of my favorite apples in lemon juices and seasonings, and then layered them into a pie dish with a homemade salted caramel sauce. But the most important part of any pie to me is the beautiful pastry crust (it is obviously the best part to me). I made a traditional Pâte Brisée, which is a French all-butter dough that yields the most flaky layers. But for my own little twist, I added about 4 vanilla beans into the dough, so that when it baked, the essence of vanilla bean would perfume the rest of the pie. However, what I was most excited for was the pattern that I turned out as decoration for the recipe. I topped it with the ever-popular lattice crust, and then I used dough to form braids that I laid along the rim of the pie dish. And, make sure that you brush it with egg wash, drizzle with a little more caramel, and sprinkle it with raw bourbon vanilla sugar & fleur de sel. This pie was amazing, I honestly can't think about anything else. Actually, it was so popular that my family & friends ate the whole damn thing before I could even take a picture of a slice (bummer). I know this recipe seems like so much work, but oh man will you devour it!! Enjoy :)

The Apple Pie Before Being Baked

See those tiny black specks... those are vanilla beans (delicious)

Salted Caramel Apple Pie with Vanilla Bean Pâte Brisée 

Up Close & Personal of the Beautiful Golden-Brown Topping

For the Vanilla Bean Pâte Brisée:

3 ¾C AP Flour (plus extra for rolling)

3 Sticks of butter, Chilled & Cut into ½inch Cubes

1 ½t Salt

1T+1 ½t Sugar

12-18T Ice Water, Very Cold

4 Vanilla Beans, Sliced & Scraped for Beans

For the Salted Caramel Sauce:

2C Sugar

1 ½ Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

2t Fleur de Sel (plus a little extra for sprinkling on top of the finished caramel)

1 1/3C Heavy Cream, Room Temperature

For the Apple Pie:

6 Medium Apples (Two of Each: Granny Smith, Gala, & Fuji) Sliced Thinly

4 Lemons

1/3C Gourmet Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top)

2T Flour

2T Cornstarch

½t Cinnamon

¼t Ground Allspice

Pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg

2-3 Dashes of Bitters

Prepared Vanilla Bean Pastry Crusts

Prepared Salted Caramel Sauce

1 Egg Beaten

Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

   

Directions:

1. To Make the Vanilla Bean Pâte Brisée: Start by cutting the sticks of butter into ½inch cubes and placing in the freezer bag, along with the flour, salt, and sugar. Place the bag of flour into the freezer and chill for at least 1-2 hours. In a food processor, pour the frozen flour bag in, as well as the scraped vanilla beans, and pulse 6-8 times until the mixture resembles a course meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1T at a time, pulsing until the mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch of some of the crumbly dough and it holds together then it’s ready. Remove the dough from the machine and place on a clean surface. Carefully split the dough into two pieces (the first piece should be roughly 2/3 of the dough the second piece should be 1/3 of the dough) and shape into discs. Do not over knead the dough. You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. Sprinkle the discs with a little flour on all sides and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour. Remove the discs from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12inch circle (1/8inch thick). Place the larger (2/3) rolled out disc on to a deep dish spring form pan, lining up the fold with the center of the pan, trimming the excess and crimping the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
2. To Make the Salted Caramel Sauce: In a large saucepan, bring it up to medium-high heat. Pour in sugar and keep continuously whisking until the sugar begins to melt and the lumps dissolve. This sugar will begin to turn a light caramel color, at this point add in the salt and all of the butter. The mixture will begin to bubble, but keep stirring. Finally, take the pan off the heat, and pour in the heavy cream (once again, it will bubble, but just keep stirring) and stir until it is a smooth, consistent sauce. Pour this caramel into a bowl and let it cool completely before layering it into the pie.
3. Preheat the oven to 375-400 degrees and position an oven rack in the upper-middle position.
4. In a large mixing bowl, juice the lemons and add in the thinly sliced apples (I used a mandolin) and coat them with the lemon juice to prevent browning. Set the apple slices aside while you make the apple filling seasoning.
5. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, spices, and bitters. Toss well to combine. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples in the mixing bowl, using your hands to gently mix and coat the apples, and drain excess lemon juice. 
6. Assemble the Pie: When the bottom crust has finished chilling, begin by layering 1/3 of the apple mixture in the bottom of the crust. Pour 1/3 of the salted caramel over the apples. Add another 1/3 of the apples and caramel for a second layer and repeat for a third layer until all the ingredients have been used. Dot the surface of the apples with the pieces of cold butter. Roll out the remaining pie dough onto a floured work surface. Cut out numerous shapes or use do a latticework crust and use these to cover the top of the apple pie. Brush the top and edges of the crust with the egg wash, vanilla sugar, and fleur de sel.
7. Place the pie on a baking sheet (because the caramel will bubble over) and bake for 20-25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for another 25-35 minutes.
8. Let the pie cool. Slice and serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, and enjoy!

Boozy Bourbon Pecan Pie-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet, or even Fall, but I'm itchin' for it to get here. I love everything about Fall. I love the weather, football, tailgatin', festivals, soup, holidays... pretty much anything you can think of. This recipe would be perfect for Thanksgiving, especially in the South :) I mean it's like chocolate pecan pie, but in bar-form... with CHEESECAKE... and BOURBON. I know I know, you can thank me later (just kidding). But these bars are definitely Mountain Man approved. I think any guy would approve of a dessert with bourbon in it. I think my Mountain Man would drink it out of his shoe, I mean he wouldn't really, but maybe. I don't know, probably if he was already liquored up some, but that's besides the point. The bars are soooo yummy. It is a layer of bourbon shortbread, chocolate cheesecake, and bourbon-pecan pie topping. It's just my little twist on a holiday classic. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did :)

Boozy Bourbon Pecan Pie-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

For the Bourbon Shortbread Crust:

1 ¾C AP Flour

Pinch of Salt

1 ½ Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Almost Room Temperature

¼C Gourmet Raw Bourbon Vanilla Sugar

¼C Confectioners’ Sugar

2t Vanilla

1T Bourbon, Heaping (I used Maker’s Mark)   

For the Chocolate Cheesecake Layer:

1 ½ Packages (or 12oz total) of Cream Cheese, Softened

¾C Sugar

1t Vanilla

2 Eggs

8oz Semisweet Chocolate, Melted & Cooled

For the Boozy Pecan Pie Filling:

3 Large Eggs

1C Light Corn Syrup

¾C Brown Sugar

¼C Sugar

2T Melted Butter

1T Bourbon

2C Pecans, Toasted & Roughly Chopped

Pinch of Salt (or to taste)

Directions:

1. To Make the Bourbon Shortbread Crust: Sift together the flour and salt, and then set aside. Put the butter and both sugars into the bowl of a standing mixer and beat them together until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla & bourbon and mix on medium speed until well combined. Finally, with the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the flour mixture until it is completely incorporated and the dough comes together cleanly off the sides of the bowl. Next, line a 13x9-baking pan with tin foil and spray with Pam, and then press the shortbread dough into the pan in an even layer. Place the pan into the refrigerator and chill the dough for 2 hours. Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, make the chocolate cheesecake layer.
2. To Make the Chocolate Cheesecake Layer: In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and beat until incorporated. With the mixer on low, mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Pour the cheesecake batter evenly over the shortbread. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheesecake is partially cooked and starting to set. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes while you make the boozy pecan pie filling.
3. To Make the Boozy Pecan Pie Filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, and bourbon until well combined. Stir in the pecans. Gently pour the pecan pie filling evenly over the cooled cheesecake layer. Bake the bars until set or for another 25-30 minutes. Once they are slightly set, cool the bars completely in the pan, and then place the bars in the refrigerator to chill for four to six hours.
4. Once the bars have chilled, lift them out of their pan using the tin foil and cut into squares. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!

*Check out Sweets for a Saturday for this recipe, as well as many others!!*