pecan pie & buck eye pie.

sunday june 16th

pecan pie & buck eye pie. 

father's day is home to a fantastic tradition in my family. before our extended family got too big we would all meet and have a pie bash to honor all the men. the wives would make the favorite pie of their significant other (spouses is not the appropriate term to use here because i obviously still don't have one and i've been contributing to the pie bash for a number of years now. i started making my dad's second favorite kind of pie. he's the man in my life for the moment). a few years ago we decided the group was too large and it was tricky to keep all the youngsters from having a whole pie by themselves. so we started doing the pie bash just with my immediate family. pie holds a special place in my heart because my grandma was such a pie master. one day i'll make a pie as good as she could. until then i'll keep practicing until perfection is reached. hope you like pie future husband. #myhubbybetterbeready.

happy fathers day to my own amazing father, step grandpa woody, brother and brothers-in-law and also to my grandpa blackham and grandpa whitaker who are watching out for me from above.  love you all!

*i made pecan pie and buck eye pie in honor of my two brothers that couldn't make it to our pie bash. scott and kurt, you were missed!*

buck eye pie

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

2 large cool whips (thawed)

1 large instant chocolate pudding

2 graham cracker crusts

2 cups cold milk

mix cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter and 1 cool whip together. divide and pour into crusts. refrigerate.

2nd layer: pour milk into bowl and add pudding. mix and beat on low speed until blended. divide and pour onto the peanut butter layer. refrigerate.

yield= 2 pies

garnish with other cool whip and chocolate curls

pecan pie

4 eggs (slightly beaten)

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark karo syrup

4 tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cup pecan halves

pinch of salt

1 (9") unbaked pie shell

beat eggs slightly. mix in other ingredients thoroughly. pour into unbaked (and non pricked) pie shell. (great and easy pie crust recipe here).

bake in 450° oven for 5 minutes. reduce heat to 350° and bake for 15 minutes. reduce heat to 300° and bake pie about 40 more minutes or until center is firm. 

peanut butter cocoa crispies and mint oreo ice cream pie.

sunday, june 9th

peanut butter cocoa crispies and mint oreo ice cream pie. 

today's sunday baking included two treats. one for my visiting teachees and missionary sisters in the mtc, and one for my friend adam law who was just drafted in the 12th round to play for the la dodgers. i thought his favorite dessert was in order as a congratulations and i liked the idea of not having to eat my sunday baking. this recipes are keepers and have already made it in the book so watch out future husband and get ready to keep that gym pass. #myhubbybetterbeready

peanut butter cocoa crispies

3 tbsp butter

40 marshmallows (not the small ones)

6 cups cocoa crispies 

1/2 cup peanut butter

melt butter in the microwave. add marshmallows and stir to coat. put mallows and butter back in microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds (or once mallows have melted), stirring after 45 seconds. Stir in peanut butter and add cereal immediately after. press into greased 9X13 pan. cool completely.  

mint oreo ice cream pie

oreo crumb crust (recipe follows)
1/2 gallon mint ice cream (i used BYU creamery mint cookies and cream ice cream)
1/2-3/4 cup fudge sauce
whipped cream for garnish (optional)

oreo cookie crumbs for garnish (optional)

let ice cream soften for a few minutes at room temperature till it's easy to spread. i couldn't stir mine up too much or it started turning grey. mint chocolate chip ice cream won't do that though. fill the crust halfway full with ice cream. spread a layer of fudge over the ice cream. (save some for the top.) freeze for a few minutes so it sets up a bit. spread the remaining ice cream on top of the fudge. cover and freeze for 3-4 hours or till set up. garnish with extra fudge sauce and whipped cream if desired.

oreo crumb crust

18 oreos, finely crushed (my crust wasn't as big as i hoped. maybe use 20-24 oreos instead)
3 tbsp melted butter

combine oreo crumbs and butter. press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie plate.  bake at 375° for about 10 minutes (check at 7 or 8, mine smelled kind of burnt). cool completely and chill.

*recipe courtesy of kara.

banana bread with the pops.

sunday, june 2nd

banana bread.

tonight my papa joined me for sunday baking. usually i don't let anyone join in but he's definitely an exception. i'm trying to learn all i can from my moms and pops while i'm still under their roof. this recipe is a keeper. it's perfect for when the last few bananas of the bunch hang for days on the banana hook. this one is going in the book so #myhubbybetterbeready. 

banana bread

1 c. sugar

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. butter

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas (speckled or brown skinned)

2 tbsp. buttermilk or sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

combine dry ingredients with butter and blend well with electric mixer. add eggs, bananas, and beat at high speed for 2 minutes. fold in buttermilk, vanilla and nuts. bake in greased and floured loaf pan at 350 for 1 hour. 

we left out the nuts (i'm glad we share the love of non crunchy banana bread) and baked it in two smaller loaf pans for only 45 minutes. it turned out perfect!