Update: Improvements on the Mississippi Mud Pie

I feel it's necessary to post a picture of the improvements on this pie since it looks so pretty.  The only real changes were the tip I used to put the whipped cream on (size 21 instead of 18) and the type of chocolate I used for the swirls (a Milka bar).

The larger tip made it easier to keep the texture without taking forever.  The Milka bar worked wonderfully!  It didn't get as soft as the Hershey bar and because the individual pieces weren't as defined, it didn't break apart until the very end.  The chocolate also seemed to hold together better to make ribbons instead of short pieces of tight swirls.

The Brownie in all its glory

About a year ago I tried a brownie recipe that claimed to be "moist and fudgie" and I was floored at how good they were.  Like a torte, these are not for the week of heart- chocolate, oil, sugar, and eggs galore are the base for this recipe.

When I first made them, I followed the recipe exactly and they were wonderful.  Since then I've made minor adjustments to the recipe (double the vanilla and corn syrup, no nuts), but most of my changes have been in how I bake them or what I top them with.

The second time I made these I added a handful of white chocolate chips and dark chocolate chocolate chips.  I baked them in a 9x13 inch pan and then inverted them onto a baking sheet after they cooled.  I covered the whole thing Ganache.  The result was a big hit with my friends. 

At another time, a friend and I were looking for ways to use left-over coconut milk.  We added about 2 cups to the recipe and removed half of the oil.  The baking time was much longer, but worth the wait.  The resulting brownie was actually more like cake- very light and moist, but still rich.

This last time, I decided to bake the brownie batter in mini-muffin tins since I would be traveling with them and it seemed less messy to have self contained units.  My only complaint with doing this was that the tops fell in after I took them out of the oven.  I'm not sure if the heat was too high or they were over or under baked (or maybe it's just the nature of the recipe?...), but it wasn't a big deal.  They turned out with a crispy outside and chewy inside and they were the perfect size for snacking.

I also topped them with whipped Ganache.  Partially because I wanted to fill in the tops and mostly because I really like working
with Ganache. They turned out wonderful in the end and they were
quickly devoured at the girls night they were taken to.

A Twist on a Blueberry Pie

For some reason Cub had blueberries on sale in March, so I can only assume they were in season somewhere in the world, despite the fact winter had yet to release its grip on Minnesota.  I bought two small cartons with the intent of making a blueberry pie.  After reading through several recipes, it was clear that 12oz of blueberries wasn't nearly enough.  I'm as stubborn as I am impatient, so I set out to make due with what I had.  I started with this recipe  and made a few initial changes based on my proportions and some of the comments on the website.  I had about 2.5 cups of blueberries instead of 4, so I cut the other ingredients in half.  I also added lemon juice and upped the amount of cornstarch as suggested by other users.

Instead of making a 9 inch pie, I decided to use a muffin-pan to make mini pies since I didn't have enough blueberries.  I used a larger and smaller size drinking glass to cut out the top and bottom crusts of the pie.  For the lattice crust I used a pizza cutter to cut the top crust circle into 5 pieces.  I used an egg wash to help the top stick to the bottom and each other.  I also adjusted the baking time to about 30 min.

The resulting pies were great!  They were the perfect size for one person and it was easier to transport them than a pie would have been.

The one thing I would definitely change for next time would be to fill the crusts with less filling.  As they baked a lot of the filling bubbled through the top crust.  Not only did it not look as nice as it could have, it also made it difficult to get the pies out of the pans.  I didn't spray the pans since crust usually has enough fat in it to keep from sticking, so it was especially difficult. I might consider adding more sugar if I ever made a full size pie because they came out pretty tart.  That being said, I enjoyed the tartness in contrast to the sweet crust I used. 


I would definitely make this again.  The idea of bringing something like this to a picnic is much more appealing to me than bringing a pie (and a knife, and a serving spatula, and extra plates).  Plus, like the pumpkin pies I made, sometimes cuteness is just necessary.

Who needs a birthday cake when you have an Oreo Cheesecake?

Chris doesn't like cake, so most celebrations for us have been with cheesecake or pie.  I think this recipe is from a Philadelphia Cream Cheese package, but I don't know if the person who posted it made any changes themselves (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-PHILLY-OREO-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx).  Despite this being the second try, it still had some flaws to work out.  The first time I made it, it was definitely overdone on the edges and not cooked in the center. This time I tried lowering the cooking temperature, which seemed to help a little.  The edges were still slightly overdone and the center was just barely set, but most of the pie was a very nice texture.  

I like a couple of things about this recipe a lot.  The bottom is a crumble crust made from Oreos.  I was surprised how well it held together when cut.  The Oreos sticking out of the pie look really cool- at first I was worried that they would dry out when baked and add an odd texture, but they stayed on the softer side.  It was definitely not something that could sit in the fridge for a few days though- it just wasn't the same even the next day.

Either way, Chris enjoyed it.