Tried & True Tuesday: Crumb-topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

. Whoop, whoop!  It's that time of the year again!  And no, I'm not talking about Christmas.

It's rhubarb season!  And I've been waiting for this since the end of the LAST rhubarb season!  For me, the season actually began the moment I laid my eyes on a HUGE bundle of rhubarb at the Omaha Farmer's Market this last weekend.  It was a sight for sore eyes, let me tell you.  I had a hunch that I would see my first rhubarb bundle soon but I went to the farmer's market trying to not get my hopes up.  But there it was: big, thick, and pinky-red.  There are some [big] plans for that bundle of rhubarb though, so we'll come back to it later this week.

But to kick of rhubarb season [and continue my current obsession with strawberry season], I'm posting a recipe near and dear to my heart.  Crumb-topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is actually my very first [and only, tear] recipe to be published on AllRecipes.com!  And if you've ever tried to submit a recipe there, you know how picky selective they are!  So I was more than elated when I got that e-mail saying my recipe was official.

This pie is just absolutely fabulous [and it was published on AllRecipes.com, so there].  It begins with a homemade [and super easy!] pie crust.  The crust is then filled with a heaping mound of strawberries, rhubarb and pecans, along with a wonderful mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Oo, that set of spices does it for me!  Then, to top this treat off (literally), a thick layer of a classic streusel is placed all over the filling.  After baking, the filling really cooks down into a gooey loveliness of sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb.  And boy, the cinnamon and nutmeg aroma wandering through your house?  Irresistible.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did!  And don't forget to leave a comment if you ever try out any of these recipes, I love to hear about it! .

Crumb-topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Don't let the ugly picture fool you, this pie is an amazing spring/summer goodie!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 c. all purpose flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cold butter

3 to 4 tbsp. cold water

Filling:

1-1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 c. fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

2 c. strawberries, sliced

1/3 c. pecans, chopped (optional)

Topping:

1 c. all purpose flour

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. cold butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.  For crust, combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened.  Shape into ball; flatten slightly.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle.  Fold into quarters.  Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold crust and press firmly against pan. Trim crust to 1/2-inch from edge of pan; crimp edges.  
2. For filling, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, in large bowl.  Add rhubarb and strawberries; toss until well coated.  Spoon into prepared crust; sprinkle with chopped pecans.  
3. For topping, combine flour and sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle mixture over filling.  Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip of aluminum foil or pie crust shield.  Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until topping is brown and filling is bubbling around the edges (remove foil for last 10 minutes).  

Yield: 8 servings

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Pie Crust.  Pie Crust.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Just the mention of those words makes my mouth water.  I mean really, who doesn't love chocolate chip cookie dough right out of the bowl?  Don't be ashamed, we all do (even if we try to keep it a secret).  And who can resist a perfectly flakey, buttery pie crust?  I sure can't!  So it seemed like the heavens had collided and the planets had aligned when I first came across this recipe on Love From the Oven.  I have to admit though, my Bacon-loving Friend gave me the push to get this goodie at the top of my to-make list, so I can't take ALL of the credit ☺

Actually, I would like to take a moment to congratulate my Bacon-loving Friend on her most recent accomplishment.  A couple of weeks ago, Bacon-loving Friend got her 'score' for her FINAL section of the certified public accountant (CPA) exam.  And....dum ,dum, da dum!  She passed with FLYING colors!  For the accountants of the world (even though I'm not one but since I'm surrounded by them on a daily basis and oh yeah, my boyfriend is one, I know this), you know the hard work, long hours of studying, and endless number of social events given up, to study for this thing.  It basically consumes their life.  Completely not any fun for anyone and everyone around them, but it's just something those accountants have to do.  It comes with the profession.  Anyway, Bacon-loving Friend has passed her exam and rightfully claimed her life back (wink, wink)!  So...

ConGratulAtiOns!!

Which brings me to the reason the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie became numero uno on my list.  A demanding polite request was submitted by Bacon-loving Friend to bring in this wondrous creation to the office in celebration of her hard-earned certification.  And I obviously can't pass up any excuse to bake (even though this was a legit reason), so I promptly organized the things I needed and got to it.

Oh. My. Word.

First off, this pie was devoured before lunch time.  But who can blame my co-workers?  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Pie Crust.  Pie Crust.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Remember?  This pie, any way you slice it, is truly a little piece of heaven.  The crust is well, perfect.  Not to toot my own horn or anything because it's definitely not recipe created by me, but it is SO good!  I made the pie crust using a recipe from my Heirloom Baking book.  I've actually used it for several other pies but this time around, it turned out just right.  I think it had a lot to do with using the food processor, so my [greasy] hands weren't all over the dough.

And what can I say about this filling to really give you the full effect?  Let's see...it's gooey.  It's buttery.  It's chocolatey.  It's DELISH!  That's all folks.

Joking, but the chocolate chip cookie dough filling is indescribable.  The only reference I can use is that it highly resembles the consistency of pecan pie filling (Note:  I've never had pecan pie but I've seen it and Bacon-loving Friend thought so, too).  But regardless, it's unreal!

So what am I going to leave you with?  A COMMAND to make this pie for your guests [and yourself] this weekend.  Do everyone a favor, please .

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Adapted from Love From the Oven

Ingredients:

Crust:

2-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1/4 c. ice water

Cookie Dough Filling:

2 large eggs

1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 c. pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1.  For crust, place flour, sugar and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade.  Pulse three times to mix.  Add butter and pulse until crumbly.  Add water.  Pulse until mixture comes together.

2.  Remove dough from bowl of food processor, divide in half and shape each half into a disk.

3.  Roll out one disk of dough between 2 sheets of floured wax paper or parchment paper until 2 inches wider than the pie plate.

4.  Fold rolled disk in half and then in quarters.  Place folded dough into bottom quarter of pie plate.  Carefully unfold dough and let it relax into plate.  Trim excess dough around rim, and form decorative edge as desired.  Chill dough while preparing filling.

5.  Heat oven to 325°F.  For filling, beat eggs in mixer until foamy.  Add flour and both sugars; beat until well blended.  Beat in butter.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour batter into prepared crust and spread out evenly.  

6.  Bake 50 to 55 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

Yield: 12 servings

*My Notes:

• The crust recipe actually makes enough dough for two crusts.  Knowing this, I decided to double the filling and make two pies (I know, dangerous because I knew I'd chow on this!) and both turned out great!  So give one to your friends and keep the other one allllll for yourself, that's what we did ☺
• The original recipe on Love From the Oven makes this pie with a store-bought crust, which is obviously just fine!  It's definitely a time saver, so if you need something quick, there's your answer (but I must say, my pie crust is super easy and fast as well...no pressure).