Peanut Butter Banana Pie

This has to be the best really easy summer dessert in my collection of recipes. If you know of one that's as easy and is actually better, please let me know. Remember, I have a special affinity for anything 'banana'. I don't think anyone would complain if you added coconut to the bananas and garnished with coconut instead of peanuts and M&M's. I was catering to the younger crowd with this one.
Just a few hours in the freezer and you're ready to serve. Plus, it makes two pies--one for today, and another for tomorrow or to share with a friend.

As you can see, the ingredients are basic and there's nothing to cook. This would be a good recipe for the young aspiring chefs in your family. They could even do it themselves.

(For my Point Counting Friends, use Splenda Brown Sugar, reduced fat and fat free products and skip the garnish!)

Peanut Butter and Banana Pie

(makes 2 pies)

2 pre-made chocolate cookie crumb pie shells (I used Keebler's Ready Made Chocolate)

One and one-half cups brown sugar

8 oz. Cream cheese

1 cup good peanut butter (you chose, smooth or crunchy)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 large container (12oz.) cool whip

3 bananas

Prepared chocolate syrup (I used Reese's Shell syrup)

Extra cool whip, chopped peanuts, and M & M's for garnish, optional

Beat brown sugar, cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla until well combined. Beat in half the cool whip, then fold in the remaining cool whip. (Don't forget to lick the beaters!)

Slice bananas, and divide equally between pie shells, covering the bottoms.

Pour peanut butter mixture over bananas. (Share licking the bowl!)

Cover and freeze.

Remove from freezer and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This is an important step!

Serve with extra cool whip, chopped peanuts, M & M's and chocolate syrup as garnish (optional).

ENJOY!!

Fresh Fruit Tarts

And now, a dessert thrown in for good measure. These tarts are of the 'almost homemade' persuasion, and very similar to the Coconut Cream Tarts I made last spring. I only exchanged toasted coconut for fresh fruit. These little sweet bites would make a colorful dessert for July 4th. Eating one won't ruin your diet, if you can really eat only one!

Fresh Fruit Tarts

1 pkg. (24) refrigerated cookie dough

1 small pkg. Instant vanilla pudding mix

One and one-half cups whipping cream

One-half cup half and half

1 T almond flavoring

Strawberries capped and sliced vertically

Blueberries

Prepared whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray muffin tins with Pam

Sprinkle flour over counter. Roll each cookie (keep cookie dough very cold) into thin round and place in muffin tin. (You can also flour your hands, and pat each dough piece between palms into rounds.)

Bake for 16 minutes, or until beginning to turn golden.

Leave in muffin tin for a couple of minutes, until firmly set, then remove to wire rack and cool.

Combine pudding mix, whipping cream, half and half, and almond flavoring until well combined and thickened. Place in refrigerator until ready to assemble.

Cover the bottom of each cookie tart with about two teaspoons of pudding.

Fill the center of each tart with blueberries, and add three strawberry slices around outside edge.

Add a dollop (or squirt) of whipped cream and top with one blueberry.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Coconut Cream Tartlets

Celebrate Spring with Delicious Little Coconut Cream Tartlets

May is filled with activity. We're all as busy as the bees swarming our blooming shrubs and trees.

There are school parties, bridal showers, graduations, parties of every kind. It's the perfect time of year, as we enjoy the natural progression of spring, to break out the party hats.

I suggest you begin by remembering your Mom on Mother's Day. This is a delicious way to say 'thank you' .

And by all means, grace your upcoming party table with these sweet spring treats. They taste as scrumptious as they look.

The ease of this recipe makes it perfect for such a busy time. The Pillsbury Bake-Off awarded $1,000,000 last month for a similar recipe using refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make cookie cups, but the million dollar recipe cups were filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with a raspberry. I'll admit I had a bad reaction. It's a great recipe, but for $1,000,000 I would hope for a little more.

So, if that was a million dollar recipe, this could be worth, oh, at least two million!

I was enjoying the musings of my friend Warren Bobrow, editor of the Wild Table in the Wild River Review, when I came across an article with a picture of a luscious piece of Coconut Cream Pie. It took me back to my childhood, and the Coconut Cream Pie they served at the Hub, a diner just outside Galax. I wonder if it was really as good as I remember. Anyhow, it just so happened that the picture that started my culinary day dreaming turned out to be the pie of Warren's wife, Julie, who is a pastry chef in New Jersey. So, I emailed Julie, and begged her for the recipe. She was gracious, and not only shared her secret with me, but gave me permission to share it with you.

Turns out, she used to make the cream custard all from scratch until a catering friend of hers suggested she try this little trick. I think you're going to like it! And believe me, they ARE delicious. They look and taste like you spent hours, but really they only take minutes!

Coconut Cream Tartlets

(makes 48 tartlets)

2 (16oz.) packages (24 each) of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (I use Pillsbury)

2 tsp. granulated sugar

3 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup half and half

2 (3.5oz.) packages Instant Vanilla pudding

1 T almond extract

1 small package shredded coconut, toasted*

*(Spread coconut on sheet pan. Place in 275° oven, stirring occasionally until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and cool.)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray two 24 space mini-cupcake pans with butter flavored Pam.

Fill pans with raw cookie dough pieces and bake for about 16 minutes, until cookies are lightly golden brown.

Remove pan from oven, and very gently press each cookie down with the end of a wooden spoon dipped into granulated sugar, just enough to make a little cup indention. (There is a wooden kitchen tool made for this, but your wooden spoon end will work just fine.) Let cookies completely cool in pans.

Gently remove cookie cups from pans.

Add whipping cream, half and half, instant pudding and almond extract to mixing bowl. Whip until the consistency of firmly whipped cream (completely holds its shape), about 3-4 minutes.

Fill each cooled cookie cup with cream filling. Dip each tartlet top into the toasted coconut. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

A Taste of Fall: Fried Pies

Fried Pies: a must-have fall treat! I've made them a little more 'doable' by cutting down on the prep time, and more all-purpose by expanding the usual sweet variety to include a few savory offerings. Fried pies are a Southern tradition, and even though I don't often indulge in fried foods, this is one extravagance I can't give up and a tradition I'm obligated to continue.

The new improved version is bite sized, paying homage to portion control. They can either begin your meal or end it with with a taste of nostalgia bumped up with an extra layer of flavor to surprise your taste buds. Make them the day before, and serve at room temperature, give them a quick heat up in the oven, or make it a party and get the assembly line rolling.

Savory Caprese Fried Pies with Fire Roasted Tomato Dipping Sauce

1 T extra virgin olive oil
One-half sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15oz.) can fire-roasted, crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar

One pie crust recipe for 2 crust pie, or 2 prepared, unbaked pie crusts
24 pieces fresh mozzarella, about 1'' by 2 ''
12 cherry tomatoes, halved (can substitute pieces of sun-dried tomato)
One-half cup basil pesto, divided
4 very thin slices prosciutto

1 qt. Peanut Oil

Add olive oil to medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until becoming transparent. Add tomatoes and sugar, stir to combine, reduce heat to low, and let slowly simmer while making pies. This will cook down to a thick dipping sauce.

Prepare filling 'stacks' before rolling crust. Top each piece of mozzarella with a half teaspoon of pesto, then a cherry tomato half, cut side down, and finally a bite sized piece of prosciutto.

Roll out half of pie crust very thinly on floured surface. Cut about twelve (approximately) 4 inch circles of dough. Place a prepared mozzarella stack on each circle. Wet the outer edge of the circle with a little water, fold over and seal with a fork or with your fingers. Place on a sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the remaining crust.

Add peanut oil to ten inch iron skillet over medium heat. Skillet should be about half full of oil. Heat oil to 365°. Fry 4-5 pies at a time for 3 minutes, or until they turn golden brown. Remove to a rack to cool.

Add 2 tablespoons pesto to reduced tomato sauce and stir to combine.

Serve savory pies warm, or room temperature with fire-roasted tomato dipping sauce.

Pie Crust Recipe and stacks of savory mozzarella-pesto-sundried tomato-prosciutto ready to meet the dough.

Pie Crust Recipe taken from Tutorial by Scott Peacock

2 sticks butter

One-fourth cup crisco

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Sugar

8-12 T ice water

Place butter and crisco in freezer for ten minutes.

Whisk flour, salt and sugar to combine. Place flour on board, or counter.

Add cold butter and crisco. Roughly cut butter and crisco into flour with pastry scraper or large knife.

Working quickly, gather flour mixture into a long mound, and with your finger form a trough running down the center.

Pour one tablespoon ice water down center of trough. With upturned fingers, fluff flour with fingertips.

Repeat shaping, and continue adding one tablespoon at a time with remaining water.

Dough should begin to clump (add more ice water if needed).

Pull dough together with pastry scraper, and working quickly, smear egg sized pieces of dough with heel of hand, repeating until all dough has been 'smeared'.

Regather dough and repeat 'smearing'.

Gather dough, wrap in double thickness of saran wrap, flatten with palms of hands, and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

On a lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough to about one-half inch thickness. With pastry brush, brush off excess flour. Fold dough into thirds, brushing excess flour off undersides.

Halve dough, lightly press with a rolling pin, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.

On lightly floured surface, roll dough to one-eighth inch thickness, or to size needed.

They're chilled and ready to fry.

Don't crowd the pan (I love my iron skillets! This one was Mama Nell's.)

The end product: beautiful and delicious two-bite pies!

Peanut Butter and Banana Pie

Peanut Butter and Banana Pie

(makes 2 pies)

2 chocolate cookie crumb pie shells

One and one-half cups brown sugar

8 oz. Cream cheese

1 cup good peanut butter (you chose, smooth or crunchy)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 large container (16oz.) cool whip

3 bananas

Prepared chocolate syrup

Extra cool whip and chopped peanuts for garnish, optional

Beat brown sugar, cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla until well combined. Beat in half the cool whip, then fold in the remaining cool whip.

Slice bananas, and divide equally between pie shells, covering the bottoms.

Pour peanut butter mixture over bananas.

Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Cover and freeze.

Remove from freezer and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve with extra cool whip and chopped peanuts as garnish (optional).