father's day fruit tart with oreo cookie crust

Usually by the time Father's Day comes around, we have had a ton of cake. In between multiple birthdays (including my own) and Mother's Day, we always have cake. So lately I have been making pie for Father's Day!

This time I decided to go with a simple yet refreshing no-bake cheesecake pie, decorated with fresh fruit. So I used this Martha Stewart recipe, except I decided to go with an Oreo cookie crust instead of the graham cracker crust. (This recipe at Crazy for Crust makes the perfect chocolate cookie crust, in my opinion!)

After letting the pie chill in the fridge overnight, I was ready to decorate with fresh raspberries the next morning. I wanted my raspberries to spell out the word "DAD", so I used cookie cutters to make marks in the pie as a guide.

And then I just fit my raspberries inside the outlines!

So simple! And tasty! The creamy pie filling, with chocolatey cookie crust, and fresh tart raspberries - the pefect combination!

Stay tuned to see what I make for Father's Day this year!

Happy Father's Day!

mini apple pies

My favorite part about pie is the crust. Buttery, flakey, deliciously luscious pie crust. That said, my favorite thing about mini pies is that you get a) you get one all to yourself, and b) you get to eat more pie crust than you would with a regular slice of pie!

These mini pies use the same recipe as my regular apple pie, except you make half the recipe and end up with six individual pies instead of one big one. (Or, I suppose you could keep the recipe the same and end up with twelve individual pies, but I only have six mini tart tins so I went with half the recipe). 

Once your dough is made, formed into a disc, and has chilled in the fridge for at least half an hour, divide the disc into six equal pieces. Then roll out each one and carefully fit them into six individual mini tart tins.

Once the edges are trimmed, place your tart tins on a baking sheet. Be sure to keep the excess dough that was trimmed - form it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap again, and put it back in the fridge.

Then assemble your fresh apple filling and divide it evenly into each dough-lined tart tin.

Note that I have diced the apples for the mini pies, but you could also keep the apples in slices as you would for a single pie.

Now you can bring out that disc of excess dough that you put in the fridge earlier. Roll it out into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick, and use a knife or a pizza cutter (I used a fluted pastry wheel) to cut out your lattice strips.

Arrange your strips (I like to use four on each mini pie) onto each pie in a decorative way, trimming any excess, and make sure to press the ends into the edges of the tart tins.

Then brush the tops with egg wash, sprinkle on some sanding sugar, and bake them at 350F for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Mmmmmmmmm.

These mini pies are perfect to bring to picnics and BBQs because they are easy to transport, don't require plates and forks (you can pick them up with your hands and eat them!), and can be made the morning of! You could also make them the night before, but the crust won't be quite as crisp.

Enjoy!

flag tart for fourth of july

Last year we spent our Fourth of July at a friend's place in Truckee, and we had decided we would all bring various foods and have a BBQ there. Among other things, I wanted to bring a dessert that I could make in advance, would survive the four hour drive, and would last in the fridge until the next evening. I remembered a rectangular flag tart that I had made a couple of years back, and I thought something similar would be the perfect dessert to bring!

This time, I decided to make an Oreo cookie crust instead of my regular pie crust, so I found this recipe from Crazy for Crust (the recipe uses whole Oreos, with the cookie filling and all!)

After pulverizing my Oreos in the food processor and adding a bit of melted butter, I pressed the crumb mixture into a 9-inch tart pan, and baked it at 350F for about 10 minutes until set.

While the crust was cooling, I whipped up the no-bake filling, recipe from Martha Stewart. (Note: I only ended up using half of the filling, as the recipe is meant for a 2-inch tall springform pan)

Then I made my "flag" with fresh blueberries ...

... and fresh raspberries for the stripes on the flag. (Note: after washing the fruit, make sure to blot the fruit with paper towels, so that they don't leak water all over your pie!)

The combination of flavors was wonderful! With the chocolate crust, creamy filling, and tangy fresh fruit, it was perfect and refreshing for our Fourth of July celebration!

Hope you have a Happy Fourth! Enjoy!

red white and blue flag tart for july fourth, with fresh blueberries and strawberries

I'm back!!!  It's been a long time since I've posted anything, but I've been busy with the three kids! Plus, we decided to take a long vacation while I was still on maternity leave, so we went to Hawaii to visit my husband's family and hang out for a while ... in fact we were there for a month!  We stayed with my in-laws, so it was nice to have the extra help with the kids as well.

Anyhow, the first thing that I baked when we got back was for a July 4th BBQ at my cousin's house.  I didn't have a lot of time to bake since it was my first week back at work, so I decided to make a simple tart with fresh fruit on top.  Inspired by Martha Stewart's flag cake (that I've been wanting to make for ages), I decorated my tart to look like the American flag!

First I made my favorite all-butter pie crust, rolled it out and fitted it into a rectangular tart pan, then blind baked in the oven and let it cool.

For the filling, I found this Martha Stewart recipe for a no-bake cheesecake, and then I topped the tart with fresh blueberries and sliced strawberries.

The tart turned out to be perfect for a bbq on a hot summer day - crispy flaky crust, light and creamy filling, and fresh fruit!  I served it with my red, white, and blue ice cream (almond-scented ice cream with fresh blueberries and strawberries), which made a great combo! 

And now I'll leave you with some of my favorite pictures taken during our month in Hawaii.  Enjoy!