This is a simple pie to make, and is really delicious. It is best served at room temperature, so it is still a little gooey. This recipe makes a single pie, but is easy enough to make that you may want to make the full pie crust recipe and make two.

1/2 recipe Flaky Butter Crust
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into six to eight pieces
ground cassia cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a 9" pie pan with pie crust.

Place brown sugar, flour, and salt directly into the crust. Mix gently with excruciatingly clean and dry fingers. Spread evenly across pie crust, smoothing top. Slowly pour cream over the mixture, but do not mix. Dot with butter, and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes, until the center jiggles just a tiny bit. Turn off oven, and leave pie in there for another 10 minutes, until filling is set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature to serve.

Brown Butter Ginger Chews

These are the best ginger cookies, and taking the time to brown the butter is really worth the effort. We usually double the recipe for Christmas. They also ship really well if you are mailing cookies to someone.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, browned and brought back to room temperature
3 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses (mild, not blackstrap)
zest of one orange

For the Sugar Coating:
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
zest of one orange

Brown Butter:
Cut the butter into tablespoons and place in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, until the solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour browned butter into a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until solidified, at least one hour.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Remove the brown butter from the refrigerator. Set on the counter until it is just softened, but not melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter until completely smooth, about a minute. Add in both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in vanilla paste. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the molasses and orange zest and beat until well combined.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour (or up to one day).

When you are ready to bake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

Scoop cookie dough in 2 tablespoonful portions, and roll them into evenly round balls. Roll the balls in the sugar coating, then transfer them onto the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden. Cool cookies on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving warm or transferring to the wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftover cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

Rosewater Almond Tea Cookies

These are deceptively simple cookies. They don't really look like anything that special, but they are delicate and delicious, and super simple to put together. This recipe makes about three dozen.

1 1/2 cups pastry flour
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rosewater
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
2 large eggs

Whisk together flour and almond meal in a medium bowl and set aside.

Cream butter with powdered sugar and salt until pale and smooth. Add rosewater and vanilla paste and cream until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Do not overbeat. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Cover tightly with plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. The dough can keep, tightly wrapped, for up to a week in the refrigerator.

When ready to bake, remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make one tablespoon balls from the chilled dough and place about an inch and a half apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake fro 12 - 15 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown around the edges.

Remove from oven and cool on pans over a rack for until completely cool. Can be stored in an airtight container for three to five days.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 8:19 AM