Sometimes it is just fun to make a dessert up and present it in a different way. This is a lovely Apple Pie but made up in a bowl. Read on….
- Pastry of your choice (in a box, frozen or your own)
- 4 Braeburn apples, cored and peeled)
- 4 Granny Smith apples (cored and peeled)
- 1 cup caramel ice cream topping (or your own homemade)
- 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts
- 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice
- 2 tbsp. butter, cut in 8 small pieces
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 tbsp. water
- 1 egg white
- sprinkle of cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine 1/2 of the caramel sauce, pistachios and pie spice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, slice the apples and toss to mix them up. Equally fill the ramekins with the apples, drizzle the caramel sauce over the apple slices, Add a pat of butter on each pie and squeeze a tsp. of lemon juice over each one.
When you have your pastry rolled out, cut into 8 squares, lay a square of pastry over each pie, pinching the corners with your fingers. It won’t cover the pie completely so don’t panic.
Set these out in a parchment lined baking dish and set the ramekins on.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp. water with an egg white and brush the pastry,
Bake these for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the apples are cooked through. Remove to a rack and let cool for 20 minutes. While still warm and just as you are about to serve, drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over each pie and add a light sprinkle of cinnamon. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side wouldn’t hurt either.
Baked Bosc Pears With Warm Caramel
This is a truly show-stopping dessert and everyone should try it at least once…betcha can’t stay at one time only.
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 4 large Bosc Pears
- 1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
- 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tbsp. grated lime zest
- 1 tsp. flour
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pear juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and chop. Set aside.
Peel the skin back from the top one third of each pear. Use a melon baller and core the pears, leaving one half inch of the bottoms in tact to hold the filling.
In a small bowl, combine the raisins, sugar, lime zest, flour and cinnamon. Toss to coat. Using a small spoon, stuff the filling into the pears, pressing with fingers to compact. Set pears upright in a pie plate. Spoon the juice over each pear, cover with foil and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until they can be easily pierced with the point of a knife.
Remove the pears from the pie plate and drain the juices into a small pot. Keep the fruit warm while making the sauce. Place the pot over a medium high heat and simmer for 4 minutes until the juices are recued to 1/4 cup. Reserve.
Caramel
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- 1/4 cup reserved juices
Heat sugar and lime juice into a small saucepan, over medium heat until the sugar is moistened. Allow it to come to the boil then simmer for about 5 minutes until the sugar has turned golden. CAREFULLY pour the juices into the sugar. It will bubble and spit, stir constantly to incorporate into the caramel.
Pour the sauce over and around the pears.
Serves 4.
Kid Friendly Banana Tarts
Running out of ideas Mom? Holidays too long? This will make you a hero in the eyes of the young.
- 24 oreo cookies
- 4 tbsp. butter, room temperature
- 1 pkg. vanilla mousse mix
- 1/ 4 cup caramel topping
- 2 large bananas, thinly sliced
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Process the cookies in your food processor for 2 minutes until fine crumbs form.
Add the butter and pulse 5 times, until combined. Press the crumbs into the sides and bottoms of 4 inch tart pans. Bake these for 8 minutes.
After they have completely cooled, prepare the mousse mix as stated in the intructions on pkg. Reduce the amount of milk to only 3/4 cup. Stir in the caramel topping.
Line the bottoms of the tarts with banana slices, top with the caramel mousse mixture. If this isn’t enough, top with whipped cream and drizzle even more caramel sauce over the op.
What can I say? Yup! You did it again.
Apple/Pear Tartin
This is a funny one. We were getting ready to roll out the puff pastry so I could make my custard tarts and realized we had one sheet too many, but it was thawed. We are having company tonight for dinner (orphan neighbors-each has a partner away), and I needed a dessert.
We were looking for a way to use the pastry and realized we had 3 pears and one apple. Light goes on….if we saute the fruit in a sugar syrup with cinnamon and nutmeg (fresh) for about 10 minutes, adding golden raisins as well, we could use it all up.
Roll out the pastry, enough to cover the baking dishes you are using, and hang over the sides. Make a caramel sauce to use later. Voila! Dessert fit for a king. This was soooo easy and my husband is the genius this time. His idea for the puff pastry. Is it really a tartin? Only if you stretch the truth just slightly.
Reheat in the oven to get hot, put the whole dish on a plate, drizzle caramel sauce over the top and add a dollop of whipped cream on top. Works for me…now what kind of a martini shall I use? Later.