Yummy in my Tummy: Pies & Tarts

Blueberry Cookie Crumble

This delicious blueberry crumble dessert is super easy and to the point. It is made in a 10 in. tart pan. This particular recipe, however, uses blueberry pie filling along with a crunchy sweet crust to complete the effect of literal scrumptious simplicity.

Click here for a step-by-step tutorial on how this is done.

Ingredients:

1 roll Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
1cup flour
10 oz. blueberry pie filling
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Begin by combining the Pillsbury cookie dough with the flour in a large bowl until completely mixed. Save 1 cup of dough for topping. In a deep dish pie plate, press remaining mixture until an even layer is formed. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

After removing from oven, spoon blueberry filling over crust. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of dough over the filling. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
Completely cool before serving.

Cut into 12ths, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Praline Pie

If you want to upgrade your holiday pie to something more amazing, this is the luscious, mulitextured wonderfulness to do it with. This delicious pie actually won at a pie contest. One of the judges personally told me, "Your pie was the best pie there. I want that recipe."

So...it pays to try something new every once in a while. YUM! The hard work in this one certainly pays off.

Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel (or you can use the orange peel you buy in the spice aisle at the grocery store)
1-15 once can pumpkin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
3/4 broken walnuts
1/2 cup milk chocolate-covered toffee pieces or chopped chocolate-covered English toffee bars
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shortening or 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons lard
3-6 tablespoons cold water

Begin by preparing your crust: Measure flour into bowl. Cut in shortening thoroughly. Sprinkle in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until all flour is moistened and dough almost cleans side of bowl.

Gather dough into ball; shape into flattened round, on lightly floured cloth-covered board. With floured rolling pin, roll out dough 2 inches larger than inverted pie pan.

Crimp sides of dough.

This can model for your pie crust!

Next, in a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and the 1/3 cup granulated sugar; beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until smooth.

Beat in the 1 egg; stir in orange peel. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For pumpkin filling: In large bowl, combine pumpkin, the 3/4 cup granulated, and the 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.

Add the 3 eggs and beat lightly.

Gradually beat in half-and-half.

Spread cream cheese mixture in pastry-lined pie plate.

Carefully spoon pumpkin filling over cream cheese.

To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake for 25 minutes.

In small bowl, combine walnuts, toffee, and brown sugar. Remove foil from pie. Sprinkle with nut mixture.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill pie within 2 hours. If desired, garnish individual servings with hot fudge topping, whipped cream, and additional pumpkin pie spice. Makes 10 servings.

Yum! This pie tasted so good that my dad said he wanted it for his birthday (which happened to be his 50th) instead of a cake.

This was definitely a first for me - putting candles in a pie!

Anyway, he loved it. And I love him! Happy 50th birthday, Dad. You don't look a year older. Even if you did, I still would love you!

Cream Cheese Brownie Pie

This fudgy grand-prize winning dessert needs nothing more than an ice-cold glass of milk to make a perfect ending to any meal. Every time I make this, I get raves like, "Your pie was heaven," and "That was awesome." It's easy, and it doesn't take too much time to make. You won't be sorry you tried this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 box refrigerated pie crusts
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 box brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge, and I followed the oil, egg, and water measurements according to the box directions.)
3/4 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 c. water
chopped pecans or almonds
chocolate syrup (to drizzle on top; I used Hershey's)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place pie crust in 9 in. glass pie plate as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese layer ingredients with electric mixer on medium sped until smooth; set aside.

In large bowl, place brownie mix, oil, water and eggs; stir.

Spread 1/2 of brownie mixture in bottom of crust-lined pie plate.

Spoon and carefully spread cream cheese mixture over brownie layer. Top with small spoonfuls of remaining brownie mixture; spread evenly. Sprinkle with nuts. Cover with tin foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of bake time.