All-American Afternoon Tea

Blackberry pies.

So, you know how my sister, Frakah, and I are into afternoon tea and want to start our own tea/bakery one day? Well, we're coming up with ideas for themed teas, and I came up with the idea for an American tea to celebrate the 4th of July. My family always gets together for every holiday, so I thought this would be the perfect occasion to try out a special tea theme.

It's a pie tree!

My first thought was (shocker) dessert. I knew right away that I wanted to make mini pies- blue ones and red ones, based on whatever I could find at the farmer's market. My second idea was for deviled eggs and mini hamburgers and veggie burgers (because I'm a vegetarian). The rest was based upon what we usually have for the 4th of July: potato salad, chips and dip, and veggies with dip.

I volunteered to make the pies, the burger buns, and the veggie burgers. I had no idea what I'd signed myself up for, but let's just say I ended the 3-day weekend feeling absolutely exhausted.

Aw, so cute! Mini veggie burgers.

My plan was to divide the baking into 3 days for the 3 items: Saturday was for pies, Sunday was for buns, and Monday was for veggie burgers (which needed to be fresh for the grill anyway). Well Saturday evening and Sunday morning saw me failing with my pies (24 mini pies means rolling dough out and shaping 48 pie crusts), Sunday afternoon/evening saw me failing with my buns (the damn dough would not rise!), and Monday morning the veggie burgers worked out perfectly (yay!). I actually had to re-bake my pies (which were baked in muffin pans) because I under-cooked them the first time around. Luckily, the pies turned out to be quite good. The buns, on the other hand, were passable, but should have been fluffier.

Strawberry-rhubarb mini pie.

All of this baking had me thinking: why do I put myself through this trouble? I got to thinking and realized the following: a) the stress of baking takes my mind off of any kind of stress/frustration/bad thoughts and feelings I may have, b) I usually enjoy the end result, and, most importantly, c) I do it for the pleasure that it usually brings other people. Few things make me happier than seeing my nephew get excited over something I've baked, or having my sister-in-law tell me how great something looks (even when I think it doesn't). What it really comes down to is sharing the fruits of my labor with people I care about. It's all about the love.

As for the 4th of July Afternoon Tea, it went over pretty well. I made a berry iced tea and threw some frozen strawberries and blackberries into the pitcher. My mini pies were blackberry and strawberry-rhubarb and though not perfect, they looked pretty darn cute, if you ask me. The family seemed to enjoy everything, and though my nephew did not partake of the meal, he did inquire about a pie. Sadly, boys who don't eat dinner don't get dessert.

Happy Independence Day!

Mini Pies


4 discs of chilled pie dough
1 recipe strawberry-rhubarb filling
1 recipe blackberry filling (below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll out 1 disc of pie dough to about 1/8 of an inch. Cut out 12 4-inch circles of dough (you may have to roll out the dough a little thinner) and fit them into the muffin tin. Chill the tin in the fridge while you prepare your filling. Next, roll out the second disc and either cut out 12 3-1/2 inch circles (for strawberry-rhubarb) or use a pizza slicer to cut long thin strips for a lattice crust (for blackberry). Fill each pie crust with filling (abut 3/4 full) and top with the top crust, crimping the edges together.

Bake one muffin tin for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes. You want the crust to be a nice golden brown (try not to under-bake!). Let the pies rest until completely cool.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pielets

Sweet, tangy filling.

Let me preface this by saying that I did not begin my weekend by thinking that I would make pie. I knew I would make ice cream this weekend, but not pie. I had absolutely no intention of making pie. The Universe, however, had other ideas.

You see, Saturday morning began with a trip to the PSU farmer's market. When we (mom, Frakah, and I) entered the market, we saw some lovely fresh strawberries that just had to be bought. Then I got coffee from Cafe Velo and an egg and cheese biscuit from Pine State Biscuits. Next, Frakah and I picked out some lemon verbena plants to start our herb garden. The real intention of going to the market was to pick out herbs for our garden, so that we could grow, harvest, and dry them for tea. Then came some peonies (because I am obsessed with them). We picked out more herbs (Roman chamomile and some kind of blue mint). And my mom bought more rhubarb. Uh oh.

Strawberries.

Rhubarb.

...Pie!

In truth, I had never had a strawberry rhubarb pie before (at least, not to my recollection). But I know I love rhubarb pie, and I love strawberries. And believe you me, these strawberries were kickass. I couldn't resist nibbling on a few when I was done with my biscuit. Perfect for pie.

For some reason, though, I did not want to make a big pie. I wanted small pies. My mom had some mini pie pans and they just looked so cute sitting on her kitchen counter. I had to use them to make my pie.

I see faces in each pie...

To make a long story short, turning a recipe for a normal-size pie into mini pies is not easy. It really involves some geometry and algebra, but I was in no mood for that. A morning at the market takes a lot out of a girl. That and working in a garden playing with dirt and getting splinters every five seconds. I basically made 1 1/2 the amount for normal pie and wound up with 7 mini pies. I guesstimated the weights for my disks of pie dough and was off by a bit, but it turns out that this dough tastes pretty fantastic even after being handled more than I would have liked.

As for the pies themselves, they were very delicious. Lick the plate delicious. Re-lick the plate and fork just in case I missed a spot delicious. I've never been much of a pie person, but I may have just converted myself.

I believe this pie is mocking me...

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pielets
adapted from The Grand Central Baking Book


To make 7 small pies:
3 disks All-Butter Flaky Pie Dough
1.5 lbs rhubarb stalks
3 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp four
1.5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the rhubarb crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Hull the strawberries and cut them in half. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and sugars and toss gently until evenly mixed. Combine the cornstarch, flour, and lemon juice to make a paste (it will look nasty, but that's okay). Pour the sludge over the fruit and toss to combine.

Divide your pie dough into 14 even pieces and roll out until each disk has 1-inch extra dough past the edge of the pie dish. Put the bottom crusts in the 7 pie plates, then fill each one with fruit filling until full. Top with another crust and crimp the edges however you like, then cut steam vents in the top.

Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan and turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for another 25 minutes. I baked the pies in 2 batches.

Oh, the agony!

My First Double-Crust Pie: Rhubarb Pie

A yummy slice of pie.

I've actually never made a fruit pie before. Granted, rhubarb might not actually be a fruit, but this was still a first for me. It's funny because I have certainly thought about making fruit pies many times in the past, particularly after watching Waitress and Pushing Daisies. What has held me back from making pies has been the crust. Crust-making seems so intimidating to me. You have to have the temperature just right, not handle the dough too much, and a whole bunch of other things to ensure that you don't screw it up. I tend to avoid anything where there is a good chance I might screw up (perfectionist much?).

Well, I was silly. It's quite interesting when I think about it. I tend to build things up and create a lot of anxiety within myself surrounding various activities, basically scaring the crap out of myself, and then when the time comes, it turns out that I really had nothing to be afraid of. Kind of like how I was terrified to dance to disco music Friday night. And so it was with pie crust.

Granted, I did have the best baking book ever coaxing me along (thank you The Grand Central Baking Book). But I like to think that my baking skills are good enough to handle any well-written crust recipe. I am lucky enough to be gifted in the kitchen, and I am delighted to know that that skill extends to crusts.

The key to this crust recipe is chilling the dough pretty much every step of the way. Never let the butter get warm, don't handle it too much, and don't add too much liquid. The end result is amazing- a very buttery, crispy, flaky crust.

Before the oven. Cute, no?

As for the rhubarb filling, I'm not sure how to describe it. Maybe "good god, this is good." The kind of pie where you have to take it to a private corner of the kitchen and have a moment alone with it. I picked up some beautiful big, red stalks of rhubarb at the farmer's market yesterday, and let me tell you, it was some good rhubarb. The original recipe for the pie calls for all white sugar, but I substituted one-third of brown sugar because I love me some brown sugar (cue Rolling Stones).

As I was eating this pie, it made me think how I would like to be the kind of person people visit for a slice of pie and a chat. Does anyone visit anybody for dessert and a chat these days? If not, people need to start. Seriously, you should come visit me for a chat and some pie. I think I'm a decent listener and a good pie-maker (unless this was a fluke), so I don't see what the hold-up is. What do you think?

Rhubarb Pie
from The Grand Central Baking Book


All-Butter Flaky Pie Dough
makes two 10-12 oz disks


12.5oz all-purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
2 sticks good-quality butter
1/3 cup ice water (no ice)
1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Cut the cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes and toss with the flour mixture. Combine the ice water and lemon juice in a measuring cup. Pour the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the texture becomes mealy, with butter pieces ranging in size from lentils to lima beans. Make sure the temperature of the mixture is still cold- if not, chill in the fridge. Next, add 3/4 of the liquid while running the food processor. Stop and squeeze a handful of dough; if the dough holds together, you are done. If the dough is crumbly or dry, add a tablespoon at a time of remaining liquid until the dough just comes together when squeezed.

Pour half of the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Using the sides of the plastic, squeeze the dough into a ball, then flatten it to a disk. Wrap and refrigerate. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Allow to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Roll out one disk of dough on a lightly floured, flat surface. Roll out until the dough has a diameter about an inch greater than the top of the pie dish. Fold the dough in quarters and gently slide it into the pie plate and unfold. Refrigerate.

The finished product.

Rhubarb Filling

1 1/2 lbs rhubarb stalks
7 oz combination white sugar
3.5 oz brown sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the rhubarb into 3/4-inch pieces; you will have about 6 cups. Add the sugars, flour, vanilla, and salt and toss to combine.

Add the rhubarb mixture on top of the first layer of pie crust. Refrigerate.

Meanwhile, roll out the second disk of pie dough, to about the same diameter as the other disk. Carefully lift this dough and place it on top of the filled pie crust. Tuck the top edges of dough under the bottom dough and pinch together. Flute the crust using a fork. Next, make five slits in the top dough with a knife.

Bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the dish and turn the heat down to 350 and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the rhubarb is bubbly.