blackberry – Page 2 – Wait…are those…cookies?!

May 14, 2018

For the Horde!

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Brace yourselves for another Nerd Pie!

This one is…. FOR THE HORDE! Obviously.

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I thought the red/purple-y color of the filling seemed like an appropriate Horde color, so there you go – Nerd pies strike again!

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I have it on good authority that the leftovers didn’t even last a day, so I consider my mission accomplished. This pie is definitely a winner if you like tart things – there is barely any sweetener in here, since we very clearly like tart things around here. I love unadulterated rhubarb – it smells SO good when it’s baking!

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Pie for breakfast? …. Obviously, have you met us?!

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In other news, aside from pie…

Great hike/walk up to Twin Peaks with fave human and some beautiful wildflowers. Thankfully, this world never stops being beautiful – no matter what else is transpiring.

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Also, I made my mama some Mother’s Day cookies (because she is amazing and in Scotland as of today so it had to be something portable) and this one kind of looks like the Millennium Falcon…? No? Just me?

Keeping it short because it’s (the end of!) Monday and I’m tired… and can’t quite believe we’re already halfway through May! What?!

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Happy baking!

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Rhubarb, Blackberry and Ginger Pie on a Whole Wheat Crust

Refined sugar free and whole wheat. This pie is for those who love all things tart but naturally sweet: the rhubarb is allowed to be its true self! Sugar need not apply. Sweetened very minimally with a little maple – feel free to eat with whipped cream, ice cream or just plain as you see fit. Yield: 1 9″ pie. Recipe is a riff on the many pies that have shown up on here, such as this one or this one.

For the pie crust:

2.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 c unsalted butter
1/3 c vegetable shortening
5-6 tbsp ice water
For the filling:

4 c rhubarb, chopped*
2 c blackberries*
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c whole wheat flour
zest of 2 meyer lemon
juice of 1 meyer lemon (or regular)
1/4 c candied ginger
1/4 tsp salt

*I baked straight from frozen; fresh would also be fine

For finishing: 1-2 tbsp butter, 1 egg for egg wash

To make the crust: in a large bowl, whisk together pastry flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter either with your fingers or a pastry cutter until a coarse mixture forms and the butter chunks are the size of peas. Make a well in the center of the dough and add in the ice water one tablespoon at a time – mix as little as possible when incorporating the water to avoid overworking the dough. Once it will stick together, you’re good to go. Divide it into two even pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 10 minutes and up to an hour.

While the dough is chilling, put together the filling. In a large bowl, toss together rhubarb, blackberries, maple syrup, whole wheat flour, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and salt. Let sit for at least 10 minutes — easiest to do this while you roll out the pie dough.

Once the dough is chilled, roll it out between two pieces of parchment or on marble, whatever you have – I like parchment for easy removal. Aim for about 1/8″ thickness, and lay the bottom crust into a lightly greased pie dish. Shape it with your fingers, evening out the top as per your pie plate or design you want — this crust will make a double crusted pie, so keep that in mind. Toss in rhubarb filling goodness and dot with butter.

If you want to get fancy and get all Horde-pie nerdy…

Cut out templates (thick paper or thin cardboard work nicely) for the Horde crest. Have egg wash and coconut sugar handy (I use a beaten egg + 1 tbsp water). Use the templates to cut out the top crust shape, and brush everything with egg wash to make it stick. Sprinkle coconut sugar where contrast is desired.

Once finished, carefully lay top crust over the rhubarb filling. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then 350 for 35-40 until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven when done and let sit to cool for at least an hour, preferably more so that the filling will set. Serve warm or at room temp, and store any leftovers overnight on the counter, loosely covered, or in the fridge for longer (assuming it lasts that long). Pie can be made a day in advance if needed and reheated briefly in a 375 oven to crisp the crust and warm the filling – 10/15 minutes. The pie filling will firm up if stored in the fridge overnight, making slicing easier.

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June 1, 2017October 4, 2017

You must construct additional pie-lons to defeat the Swarm!

I just can’t stop with the Starcraft pie situation over here…

We are the Swarm… Numberless, Merciless {when it comes to pie}

Besides, I like Zerg best so I couldn’t very well not do a Zerg pie… and of course it had to be dark purple, obviously.

Besides that, I know I’ve broken my unofficial rule of not repeating myself in two subsequent posts, but…. it’s PIE. So… it’s fine. And it’s my blog anyway so why do I have these stupid rules for myself?! As a very wise man once said, who would refuse pie?! Exactly.

I’ve never put mint in pie prior to this, but I like it! It’s very unusual – the berries are still the dominant flavor, but the mint keeps popping in there to keep you on your toes. It adds an unexpected bit of freshness to the berries, and it smells SO good. I don’t think I breathed while I was doing the top crust…

Let’s see, what else is new…

Opera night lions! Opening night at Rigoletto was fantastic, of course.

And a balanced breakfast, because pie definitely counts as a fruit serving.

Patting myself on the back over here for the structural stability of this pie – appropriate amount of thickener = appropriate amount of juices! Plus, no soggy bottom crust. Mission accomplished.

It’s June – the beginning of the summer fruit season — make pie, be happy! But… beware the swarm…

Wild Blueberry, Blackberry & Mint {Zerg} Pie on Whole Wheat Crust

A Wait are those Cookies original! Yield: 1 9″ pie, serves 2 (ha) – 6. Refined sugar free and whole wheat, plus lots of antioxidants! Mint adds an unexpected freshness to an otherwise basic berry pie.

For the pie crust:

2.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 c unsalted butter
1/3 c vegetable shortening
5-6 tbsp ice water

For the filling:

2.5 c wild blueberries*
2 c blackberries*
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1/4 c maple syrup
1/3 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest and juice of 1 meyer lemon (or regular)

*I baked straight from frozen; fresh would also be fine; use enough berries to fill your pie plate

For finishing: 1-2 tbsp butter, 1 egg for egg wash

To make the crust: in a large bowl, whisk together pastry flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter either with your fingers or a pastry cutter until a coarse mixture forms and the butter chunks are the size of peas. Make a well in the center of the dough and add in the ice water one tablespoon at a time – mix as little as possible when incorporating the water to avoid overworking the dough. Once it will stick together, you’re good to go. Divide it into two even pieces, wrap in plastic wrap or a ziploc and chill for at least 10 minutes or up to overnight.

While the dough is chilling, put together the filling. In a large bowl, toss together blueberries, blackberries, mint, maple, whole wheat flour, vanilla, and lemon juice + zest. Let sit for at least 10 minutes — easiest to do this while you roll out the pie dough.

If you want to get fancy and get all Zerg-pie Starcraft nerdy (you must construct additional pylons!)…

Cut out templates (thick paper or thin cardboard work nicely) for the Zerg crest. Have egg wash and coconut sugar handy (I use a beaten egg + 1 tbsp water). Use the templates to cut out the top crust shape, then use a chopstick or a knife to make the surface lines. Brush everything with egg wash to make it stick. Sprinkle coconut sugar where contrast is desired. Once finished, carefully lay top crust over the filling. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then 350 for 35-40 until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven when done and let sit to cool for at least an hour, preferably more so that the filling will set. Serve warm or at room temp, and store any leftovers overnight on the counter, loosely covered, or in the fridge for longer (assuming it lasts that long). Pie can be made a day in advance if needed and reheated briefly in a 375 oven to crisp the crust and warm the filling – 10/15 minutes. The pie filling will firm up if stored in the fridge overnight, making slicing easier.

May 14, 2017May 14, 2017

Just can’t get enough of all the citrus!

Hello, internet friends, and happy Mother’s Day to the moms out there! I do like my little corner of the interwebs… there’s so much STUFF going on in the world right now, I like to keep a little spot that’s just pretty food & friends.

I went on my annual yoga retreat last weekend! So lovely as always – love, laughter and light with friends (and delicious food, and beautiful scenery)!

But I’m back now, and fully back into the dessert swing of things – party snax, plus another citrus tart! The brownies are barely adapted from Ambitious Kitchen, here – I doubled the recipe & used blackberries instead with excellent results.

My kitchen currently smells like heaven – two desserts in under two hours is my kind of morning.

More progress on the SF series!

But this tart. Let’s get back to the tart…

Citrusy (though not as much as my meyer lemon curd/blackberry iteration) – this one is lighter on the citrus front, which makes sense since oranges are less in your face than lemons anyway.

Lingonberries are delicious – tart like cranberries but… different! Apparently they’re high in antioxidants too, whoop whoop! I have a largish jar of lingonberry jam that I wasn’t really going to get through using it just for toast, so I decided to introduce it to my orange curd and see if they got along. Turns out they pair surprisingly well, especially with a vanilla crust to bring it all together.

Lightly sweet and perfect for spring – this tart does double duty as dessert and breakfast (as so many of my desserts do; why be limited?). I mean, it’s basically fruit and nuts…

Have a great weekend, friends in my little corner of the internet!

Orange Curd Tart with Lingonberry Swirl on an Almond Vanilla Crust

More citrus! Tart, lightly sweet, and perfect for spring. Gluten free, grain free, refined sugar free, dairy free. Yield: 1 9″ tart; serves 6-9 (or two. your call). Incidentally, curd freezes quite well in airtight container – I made this ahead of time and froze it for about a week since I wasn’t quite sure when I would use it. Tart is a Wait are those Cookies original!

For the orange curd:

4 eggs
1/2 c coconut oil
scant 1/4 c honey
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 c orange juice
juice of 1 meyer lemon
zest of 3 oranges
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine eggs, coconut oil, honey, sea salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Whisk to combine and continue to cook, whisking constantly for about 10-15 minutes – it should be just on the edge (but not there yet!) of a low boil. The curd should thicken and your whisk will make tracks – don’t let it boil. It will still be slightly runny but will firm up in the fridge. While it’s still warm, strain curd through a metal strainer into a glass container and let cool completely before storing in the fridge (overnight is preferable, but at least 4 hours if pressed for time).

For the lingonberry swirl:

I used about a 1/4 c lingonberry jam (on the tart side) blitzed a few times with an immersion blender (a food processor would be fine too), just to get rid of the whole berries (cause piping those through a pastry bag or ziplock is a recipe for disaster, just saying)

For the crust:

2.5 c almond flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 c unsalted almond butter
2 tbsp maple syrup

In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Add in melted coconut oil, vanilla, almond butter, and maple syrup, and stir until combined – the mixture will be crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350, and press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. Poke the bottom a few times with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and fill with the orange curd. If you’re planning on the lingonberry swirl, use a ziplock bag with a teeny corner cut off to pipe the sauce into the curd, and then use a knife to swirl it around (alternatively, use a pastry bag if you’re less lazy than me!). Bake for 8-10 minutes to set the curd, then let cool completely at room temperature. Top with sliced oranges and shredded coconut if desired. I prefer to chill mine in the fridge for at least two hours before serving.

Leftovers keep well covered in the fridge (though I dare you to have any!).

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017

Rhubarb Stalking

Rhubarb stalking!

… see what I did there? I’m especially proud of that one…

Sometimes, you just gotta stalk the seasonal produce of your dreams (especially when it has stalks… heeheeehe!) Luckily, I found a big bunch at my local market a few weeks ago, chopped it up and threw it in the freezer for later use. And what a smart plan that was! Frozen rhubarb bakes like a dream, which meant this crisp was in and out of the oven in an hour, including prep time.

We seem to be getting full-on summer weather (90+ degrees, ew someone save me) here for a few days — I trotted out my old trick of baking at 6:30 in the morning so that the oven doesn’t heat up the apartment overly much (definitely warranted when you live in a studio… no one likes a furnace for an apartment).

But! This crisp is worth a slightly warm apartment… especially since we’re getting close to the end of the rhubarb season I think (at least around here); I’m not seeing it in the market as much lately. If it’s still around you, stalk those suckers! You need this crisp in your life.

Tart-sweet, with an unexpected earthiness from the sage – this one is a winner for dessert with some ice cream, and for breakfast the next day (obviously, that’s what leftover crisp is made for, it’s basically granola and fruit!) Not really sure what prompted me to try sage in dessert but I am NOT sorry – I think it might become a reoccurring thing around here, that’s how good it was! I really like the flavor paired with fruit, and it would be interesting to see where else it might play a role.

Another from the SF series – I photographed the dome when I was over at the Herbst Theater a bit over a week ago.

Happy May! Go stalk some rhubarb before it disappears for the season, make crisp & eat it with your loved ones. I promise it tastes even better in good company :)

Rhubarb Blackberry Crisp with Sage

Tart-sweet, with an unexpected earthiness hit from the sage. Perfect for dessert with ice cream of choice, and for breakfast the next day. Refined sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, vegan. Yield: 1 9″ pie plate; serves 6-8 (or 2… not that I speak from experience). A Wait are those Cookies original.

For the filling:

3.5 c fresh rhubarb, chopped into small pieces (frozen is also fine – run briefly under cool water in a colander to thaw slightly before using)
1.5 c blackberries (mine were frozen)
2 tsp vanilla extract
juice of one meyer (or regular) lemon
3 tbsp maple syrup

For the crisp:

1 c rolled oats (gluten free if needed)
1/2 c almond flour
large pinch of sea salt
1/4 c raw pecans, chopped
1/4 c raw almonds, chopped
1/4 c coconut sugar
4 tbsp coconut oil, solid
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaping tbsp chopped fresh sage

Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 9″ pie plate or 9×9 pan with coconut oil.

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, almond flour, sea salt, pecans, almonds, and coconut sugar. Cut in the coconut oil, using a fork/your fingers/a pastry cutter if you’re feeling fancy — I used a fork and my fingers and it worked just fine (crisp is exceedingly forgiving). Stir in vanilla extract and chopped sage.

If using frozen rhubarb & blackberries, put them in a colander and run them briefly under cool water in the sink to thaw them slightly. Drain any excess water and toss into another large bowl. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice, and maple, and toss to combine.

Add the rhubarb + berry mix into the prepared pie plate or baking pan, top evenly with the crisp. Pop the whole thing into the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the crisp is lightly browned and… crisp!

Serve with your fave vanilla ice cream/non dairy of choice (whipped coconut cream would also be good here), and store any leftovers covered in the fridge. Makes EXCELLENT breakfast the next day – the crisp solidifies a little in the fridge and omg it’s good. Besides, who is going to pass up crisp for breakfast?! Not this girl.

March 20, 2017April 24, 2017

I’ll just take everything citrus, thanks

Hello hello internet blog friends!

What’s new with you? Business as usual over here, still very obviously obsessed with all things citrus. If you’re like me and just can’t get enough of all varieties these days, make this! You won’t be sorry.

Meyer lemons are still going strong (at least over here in northern California) – I’m lucky enough to have access to a full tree of them but I’m still seeing them in stores too, so you should be good to go. Meyer lemons make the most perfect curd – light yellow and perfectly lemony. I’ve reached the point where I use very little sweetener in the citrus curds that I make – I want to have the tart citrus flavor at the forefront, not the sweet!

Eat this for dessert, for breakfast, for snacking purposes… it’s delicious any way you slice it. I just want all the citrus, all the time!! Just make sure lemon is your thing before making this — it’s not for the citrus faint of heart ;)

Let’s see, what else…

Mother Nature has been doing some spectacular things in the sky lately!

Happy spring! Go eat some lemon tart with your loved ones.

Meyer Lemon Tart with Blackberry Sauce on an Almond Crust

Not for the faint of heart! If you love tart & citrus things – this is calling your name. Lemons and berries are a natural pairing, and almonds are basically the food of the gods. Tart, lightly sweet, and perfect for spring. Gluten free, grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free, paleo. A Wait are Those Cookies original recipe. Yield: 1 9″ pie plate; servings: 2-8!

For the meyer lemon curd

4 eggs
1/2 c coconut oil
1/4 c honey
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 c meyer lemon juice
zest of 3 meyer lemons
1 tsp vanilla

For the blackberry sauce:

2 c blackberries
juice of 1 meyer lemon
1 tbsp maple syrup

In a high powered blender or food processor, puree the blackberries until smooth. Push the puree through a metal strainer into a large bowl to remove the seeds, then stir in lemon juice and maple. Store in a glass jar in the fridge until ready to use – you’ll only use a tablespoon or two to make the swirl on the top of the tart, so keep the rest for extra tart topping.

For the crust:

2.5 c almond flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
scant 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 c unsalted almond butter
2 tbsp maple syrup

In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Add in melted coconut oil, vanilla, almond extract, almond butter, and maple syrup, and stir until combined – the mixture will be crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350, and press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. Poke the bottom a few times with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and fill with the lemon curd. If you’re planning on the blackberry swirl, use a ziplock bag with a teeny corner cut off to pipe the sauce into the curd, and then use a knife to swirl it around (alternatively, use a pastry bag if you’re less lazy than me!). Bake for 8-10 minutes to set the curd, then let cool completely at room temperature. Top with slivered almonds and shredded coconut if desired. I prefer to chill mine in the fridge for at least two hours before serving.

Leftovers keep well covered in the fridge (though I dare you to have any!).