Seeing cranberry pie on Iron chef america, I thought, huh, wonder what that taste likes?... The verdict is in... It's super tasty! I couldn't get any pics of it whole, we devoured it so quick! Here's a pic of it after it's been destroyed.



I used the dough recipe I posted here http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=281865.0 , and this is how I made the filling:

1. Put 1 large bag of fresh cranberries in a sauce pan
2. Add 2 1/2 cups water
3. Add 2 1/2 cups of sugar (cranberries are extremely tart, but if you'd like to add  less sugar you could) and stir together over med heat on the stove.
4. Reduce mixture  on a low simmer until it thickens up.
5. take off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of dissolved cornstarch.
6. Pour into pie crust and bake at 350 for15-20 min or until crust starts to brown.
7. Let pie cool (it will thicken as it cools)

Enjoy and happy holidays!

So I wanted to make a pie, but I don't have a pastry cutter, and cutting the butter and flour together with a fork takes forever, and the butter ends up warming up too much. So I had an idea, what about the food processor? Using the pulse setting ended up saving me time and I came out with a super flaky pie crust. It seriously takes about 10-15 min. That's all! Because of that we have gone a little pie crazy in my house.

Recipe:
1 stick of butter, cut up into 1in chunks, and frozen for 10 min
1 cup of flour sifted
2-8 tablespoons of icewater

Pour the sifted flour into the food processor. Add the frozen butter. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs and no large chunks of butter remain. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture is moistened. Press the mixture into a ball and refrigerate for at least 10 min. Voila! Pie crust is now ready to be filled and baked!

So I saw this recipe and thought I'd try it, not expecting it to be anything spectacular. But WOW, it blew everyone out of the water. It is soooo good, especially when its still warm!

Sorry no camer, so no pics!

Here's the recipe I used: Large Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake   


Serves 8

Pudding Cakes
4    tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted, plus extra for baking dish
1 1/4    cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces), plus more for dusting the ramekin)
8    ounces whole dates (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed), pitted, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
3/4    cup warm water
1/2    teaspoon baking soda
1/2    teaspoon baking powder
1/2    teaspoon salt
3/4    cup packed brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces), light or dark
2    large eggs
1 1/2    teaspoons vanilla extract

Toffee Sauce
4    tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1    cup packed brown sugar (7 ounces), light or dark
1/4    teaspoon table salt
1    cup heavy cream
1    tablespoon rum


   Crème Anglaise or vanilla ice cream
   


1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8-inch square baking dish and set it in large roasting pan lined with clean towel. Bring kettle or large saucepan of water to boil over high heat.

2. . Combine half of dates with water and baking soda in liquid measuring cup (dates should be submerged beneath water) and soak 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.

3. . Process remaining dates and brown sugar in food processor until no large date chunks remain and mixture has texture of damp coarse sand, about 45 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Drain soaked dates and add soaking liquid to processor workbowl. Add eggs, vanilla, and melted butter and process until smooth, about 15 seconds. Transfer mixture to bowl with dry ingredients and sprinkle softened dates on top.

4. With rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined and date pieces are evenly dispersed. Add boiling water to roasting pan until water comes 1/4 inch up sides, making sure not to splash water into pan. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil, crimping edges to seal. Bake until outer 2 inches develop small holes and center is puffed and firm to touch, about 40 minutes. Immediately transfer pan from water bath to wire rack; cool 10 minutes.

5. For the toffee sauce: While cake cools, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in brown sugar and salt until smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and slightly darkened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1/3 cup cream and stir until smooth, about 30 seconds. Slowly pour in remaining 2/3 cup cream and rum, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat to low and simmer until frothy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

6. To serve: Using toothpick, poke about 100 holes in cake and glaze with 1/2 cup toffee sauce. Let rest 5 minutes until sauce is absorbed.Cut cake into squares and pour remaining toffee sauce over each square before serving.

I'm going and I want to make a bunch of costumes to hand out on the playa. If there's anyone else who would like to join forces we should talk! Costumes for everyone!

Oh, and I am using mostly recycled materials, and it would be cool if you did too