Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [384]
Mix the flour, oats, pecan pieces, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside as well.
Beat the shortening and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy, until the sugars have mostly dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Beat in the egg white, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then beat in the flour mixture just until you have a dry, crumbly dough.
Press about two-thirds of this dough into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Dot the blackberry jam over the dough and gently spread it to an even coating, taking care not to disturb the crumbly dough. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the blackberry jam; press down lightly with the palm of your hand or a flat spatula to mash the topping a little into the jam.
Bake until lightly browned and the jam is barely bubbling, about 45 minutes.
To cool: Set the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing into 16 bar cookies (making four cuts each way in the pan).
To store: The bars can be stored in a sealed container between sheets of wax paper at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Variations: Add either ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg or 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves with the cinnamon.
Substitute finely chopped walnut pieces for the pecan pieces.
Substitute different kinds of jam: strawberry, blueberry, apricot, raspberry, fig, or any other flavor you prefer. Do not use jelly (which will be too thin) or preserves (which will have large chunks of fruit).
Pies, Tarts, and Fruit Desserts
PIES HAVE MIGRATED FROM THE MIDDLE OF A RENAISSANCE MEAL TO THE end of a modern one, as well as from the middle of the afternoon to the late-night refrigerator raid; yet these crusty concoctions remain the same: a bit of excess, a bit of comfort.
There’s something unbeatably retro about pies and tarts as well as their close kin like cobblers and crisps. We’ve lumped them together in this chapter because of their familiar, peerless formula: a sweet filling and a crunchy crust. Fancy or homey, American or Continental, simple, elegant, and irresistible, they all manage to adhere to this two-part blueprint.
Over the years, we’ve taken pies, tarts, crisps, and the like to picnics, casual suppers, formal dinner parties, and chorale rehearsals. These desserts evoke smiles—even among the black-bedecked Manhattan set. Everyone’s surprised, pleased—and caught off guard, as if these fabulous desserts were rarities and wonders, nostalgic, yet somehow still of the moment.
They shouldn’t be. They’re surprisingly easy—lots of pizzazz for the buck, made from the freshest ingredients. No wonder everyone loves pie.
* * *
Pies
The best are a balance of crust and filling. Too much of either and the game tips off center. So here’s a road map to making good pies: start with the crust, build the filling, and bake.
* * *
Piecrusts
The Basic Short Crust
The term “short” refers to the crust’s crispness (that is, it is not leavened or raised). A dash of vinegar makes it incredibly flaky by cutting the flour’s gluten chains. All our pies are designed for a 9-inch glass or metal pie plate. Be forewarned: you will overfill an 8-inch pie plate or shortchange a 10-inch one. Makes a single crust for a 9-inch pie (can be doubled for a top and bottom crust—see Note)
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut in the shortening and butter in two equal additions, pressing the fat into the flour through the tines and against the sides of the bowl. Keep scraping any dough off the cutter or fork. Continue pressing the mixture together until it resembles very coarse sand.
Stir 2 tablespoons ice water and the vinegar