FOOD PROCESSOR APPLE PIE

My new Cuisinart came with a recipe booklet. The apple pie recipe in the booklet was for a 2-crust pie, but I used a crumb topping instead. If you have a food processor, this recipe is easy and delicious. I liked it almost as much as my favorite pie recipe (see previous post, "Perfect Apple Pie"). The apples, of course, did not have the intensity and depth of flavor that comes from cooking them twice, but this pie made up fast and everyone, including me, liked it. I will make it again when I don't have the time to cook the apples, let them cool and then make the pie like I do for my favorite. If you don't have a food processor you can still make this pie, it will just take you longer.

Food Processor Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS: Pastry for 9.5" pie
Crumb Topping: 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup quick oats
pinch sea salt
1/4 cup sugar (I used 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. Stevia+)
1 tsp. molasses
5 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter (I used 2 Tbsp. butter + 3 Tbsp.
Smart Balance
Filling: 1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar + 1 Tbsp. Stevia+)
4 Tbsp. flour
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I omitted nutmeg)
4 Tbsp. butter (I used 2 Tbsp. butter +2 Tbsp. Smart Balance)
5 large apples (I used 3 Rome + 2 Granny Smith) (about 6-1/2 - 7 cups sliced)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice (my addition)

DIRECTIONS: In workbowl of food processor, combine crumb topping ingredients and pulse till butter is size of peas. It's ok if there are a few larger pieces, just not too large and not too many. Pour this out into a bowl or container and set aside in fridge. (Note: You're going to use the workbowl 3 separate times for this pie -- for the crumb topping, for the filling and to slice the apples -- and you don't have to clean it out in between.)

Adjust oven shelf to lowest setting. Place pizza stone or some bricks on bottom shelf of oven. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out pie crust and fit into 9.5" deep dish pie pan. Refrigerate. Use the metal blade of the food processor to process the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter. Pour this into a large mixing bowl. Insert the standard slicing disc. Peel, core and quarter the apples. Slice the apples and place them in the large bowl with the flour/sugar mixture. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples and toss them to evenly distribute the lemon juice and the flour/sugar mixture over them. Place the apples in the pie crust, mounding them in the center. Spoon the crumb topping over, patting down gently over the apples. Pie will be fairly high, but will condense after it bakes as it cools. Place the pie pan on a piece of tinfoil and then onto the pizza stone. (The tinfoil will catch drips, if any. I didn't have any, but it probably depends on the juiciness of the apples.) Bake for 1 hour, or until pie begins to bubble. Test the pie for doneness by inserting a fork or knife in the center. If it enters easily, apples are done. If there is any resistance, bake pie until there is no resistance. Serves 8-12, depending on the size of slice. This is a high thick pie and you can cut the slices thinner because there's a lot of apples inside. What I like about this recipe is that you don't need to cover the pie to keep the top or the crust from burning. 375F is a perfect pie baking temperature to properly cook the apples and the crust.

If you want to take this pie over the top, serve it with purchased caramel sundae sauce drizzled over each slice and a nice scoop of sweetened or plain creme fraiche. (I made an easy creme fraiche by combining 3/4 cup heavy cream with 2 Tbsp. lite sour cream. I let it sit overnight in fridge, then whipped it with a little Stevia+ and some vanilla paste.)

JUDY'S ALMOST-SUGAR-FREE DOUBLE CRANBERRY-APPLE SAUCE

Christmas dinner can potentially have an overload of sugar dishes, as well as high-fat dishes, so wherever we can save some calories, carbs or fat, I'm all for it. I love whole berry cranberry sauce but it's way too high in sugar for my liver, since I'm a borderline diabetic. Fruit, itself, is high on the glycemic index, so even when you cut the extra sugar out, you still have to eat very carefully. This is a great recipe. It's full of fruit, and the dried cranberries thrown in at the end contain the only extra sugar in the whole dish. The flavor is outstanding. It's a great accompaniment to poultry or pork. Try it as a substitute for jam on toast or bagels. I love to put a couple tablespoonfuls on my oatmeal....yumm.

Judy's Almost-Sugar-Free Double Cranberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS: 3 MacIntosh apples, peeled, cut in chunks
12 oz. fresh or frozen whole cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 slice fresh lemon, no seeds
12 oz. frozen apple juice concentrate
2 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp. Stevia Plus, or 1/2 cup Splenda or other sugar substitute
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS: Place all ingredients except dried cranberries in medium sized heavy pot and cook, stirring as needed, till mixture boils, then reduces in size, and becomes thickened. This will take about 1/2 hour. Add the dried cranberries at the end of the cooking time. Cover pot and let sauce set for 15 minutes, then pour into jar or serving dish. Serve cold or room temperature. Makes about 1 quart. Refrigerate or freeze.

BISCOTTI WITH DRIED CHERRIES, CHOCOLATE AND ALMONDS

This is Ellie Krieger's recipe, and it's posted on http://www.foodnetwork.com/. I think there is an error in the flour amounts. 2-1/2 cups of flour was too much. Even though the cookies taste great, the dough wasn't sticky enough for a biscotti. So I've adjusted the flour amounts to 2-1/4 cups total, as other similar biscotti recipes have this amount. (Be sure you lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup before you level it off.) I took 1/4 cup of the flour and mixed it with the cherries, chocolate and nuts. This makes it easier to mix them -- they don't clump together with the flour coating them. Ellie uses olive oil in her recipe, but I used canola oil. The olive oil that I buy has a strong flavor. It's first cold pressed extra-virgin. To use a lighter oil negates the benefits of olive oil, so I went with canola oil which really has no great benefit either, except that it doesn't solidify in your arteries. You can choose which oil you want to use. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly, and it's a pretty good one. Biscotti are so easy to make and most people really like them. Because of the oil in the recipe, these are lightly crunchy, not break-your-teeth crunchy, and the flavors blend nicely. Try this recipe; I think you'll agree it's a keeper.

Biscotti with Dried Cherries, Chocolate and Almond

INGREDIENTS: 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I used King Arthur whole wheat flour)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup canola, vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
1/2 cup toasted and chopped almonds
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate (I used 1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips and 1/4 cup chopped Hershey's milk chocolate bar)
For the Dipping: 1/2 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate + 1 Tbsp. half and half, cream or milk)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of each of the flours, baking powder, salt and orange zest; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the cherries, almonds and chocolate with the remaining flour and mix till cherries are well coated and not clumping together; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 portions, mixing the flour in after each addition. Stir in the cherries, almonds and chocolate and mix till just combined. (I did this in my KitchenAid, but I have a 450-watt motor. If your motor is not up to this, then fold in the last ingredients by hand.) Ellie says to knead the dough, form it into a 3" x 10" log and put it on the baking sheet. I like to spoon large blobs of dough directly onto the cookie sheet and then with wet hands (if needed), shape the dough into a log. You pick which works best for you. Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully transfer to a wire rack to completely cool. (I used two spatulas to lift the log onto a wire rack.) The biscotti must be completely cooled before you slice it; otherwise, it will crumble into pieces. When it is completely cool, slice 1/2" diagonal slices (or cut straight down if you prefer). Arrange the slices cut side down on the baking sheet (use the same one, no washing needed) and bake at 325F for 10-12 minutes; turn the cookies over and bake for 10-12 minutes more, or till golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool again. These cookies are great as is. If you want to take them over the top, add the chocolate dip or glaze. (Ellie's recipe does not include any chocolate dip or glaze.)

If chocolate dip is desired, heat the chocolate and half and half in a small heat-proof dish over simmering, not boiling, water, stirring till liquid state is obtained. (You can also heat the chocolate in the microwave, but be careful because it does burn easily.) Add more half and half if needed to keep the chocolate thin and liquiddy. Dip one end of each biscotti in the liquid chocolate, or drizzle over the biscotti. Ellie says this recipes gives 12 biscotti, but I got more like 20. I must have cut them thinner.

JUDY'S CRANBERRY GINGER CHAI LATTE COOKIES

Inspired by Alison's chewy chai meringue cookies (see my previous post), I set out to get more of that wonderful Chai spice flavor, this time in a sugar cookie. I took a basic sugar cookie recipe and added tea and Chai spices, along with dried cranberries, chopped crystallized ginger and toasted ground pecans. Some of them I rolled in a Chai spice/sugar mixture before baking, and others I glazed with a milky glaze. I am hooked on Chai, although I've never had a Chai Latte -- I don't frequent Starbucks, and I don't buy the powdery drink mixes, so I'm late to the party on Chai, but I'm catching up fast. These cookies are great and pretty easy to make. There's nothing fussy about them; they're not beauties to look at, but they're winners on taste. This recipe gave me 52 cookies.

Judy's Cranberry Ginger Chai Latte Cookies

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 black tea bag (I used Harris Teeter Traders Decaffeinated English
Breakfast tea)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's 10X sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned and swept
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted ground pecans

Sugar coating: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, pinch cloves

Milk Glaze: 2 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. condensed milk,1/2 cup 10X sugar,
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS: Combine 1/2 cup sugar and the contents of one black tea bag in a food processor or mini chopper and pulse till tea leaves are ground fine. In large bowl, combine butter, tea sugar and 10X sugar and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and spices. Beat until flour is dispersed, then add remaining ingredients and mix till dough forms a ball. (My dough did not form a ball; if yours does not, don't overbeat it because it won't make it form a ball. It'll be ok, just a little sticky.) Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1/2 hour or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 375 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge about 1/2 hour before you are ready, so dough has time to soften (exception: if you just put the dough in 1/2 hour ago, skip that part, and just remove the dough and start working on it.) You can shape the dough into 1" balls if desired. I just roughly formed the dough into discs. You can dip them in the spice-sugar mixture before baking if you want, or you can just bake them as is, it's up to you; they're good both ways. Place the dough 2" apart on the cookie sheets. Bake 7-11 minutes, or till toothpick inserted in centers return clean. (The amount of baking time really depends on a lot of things: how your oven runs; what kind of baking sheet you're using; how many cookies you have on a sheet.) These cookies don't brown, so watch them and test them for doneness. I had 18 cookies to an 11 x 17 sheet, and they took about 11 minutes. They're very tender and delicate with a wonderful flavor from the tea and spices.

If you want to take them over the top, glaze them: Combine butter, milk and cream in small microwaveable bowl and heat on high till butter melts, about 45 seconds. Stir in 10X sugar until smooth. If necessary, microwave again till mixture is thin enough to drizzle. With a spoon, drizzle over warm cookies.

Below, you can see I didn't fuss with the shapes -- these were just rough discs. It's all about the flavor with these cookies. I really hope you'll try them. And please leave me a comment if you do. I love hearing from you.

CARAMEL SHORTBREAD STICKS....OR TRIANGLES

After spending the morning in Greenville shopping with Guy, I was looking for a cookie recipe that I could make quickly. This one is from Land O Lakes, and if you haven't been to their website yet, surf over to http://www.landolakes.com/ to find some really good recipes. The only complaint I have about this recipe is that it only made 16 cookies. You can get 20 if you do it their way -- in sticks instead of in triangles. But since I'm giving away the majority of my cookies, 16 means I will be putting 1 or 2 in each gift plate -- not very many. If I make these next year, I'll double the recipe and do it in a 9 x 12 pan. As for the taste -- how can you go wrong with shortbread? The buttery taste of shortbread topped with caramel and pecans is a winner.

Caramel Shortbread Sticks or Triangles

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar (I used 1/2 tsp. molasses & 2 Tbsp. sugar)

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

For topping: 30 unwrapped caramels

1 Tbsp. half and half

1/2 cup chopped pecans

(I used 1/4 cup caramel sundae sauce boiled with 1 Tbsp. butter

for the dip, and 1 cup of toasted chopped pecans.)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325F. Combine butter and sugars in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat until well mixed.

Press dough evenly into 8" square pan lined with aluminum foil (I used parchment and had it hang over the edge slightly so I could pick it up.); prick with tines of fork every 1/2 inch. (I lightly scored the dough the way I was going to cut it after it was baked: first in 4 squares, then each square in 4 triangles, making 16 triangles, as in the top photo above. I pricked each triangle 3 times at the broad base.) Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Lift cookies from pan immediately using the aluminum foil or parchment ends. Cut into 20 sticks, approximately 4 x 1/2 inch, or into 16 triangles. Cool completely on wire rack.

Place caramels and half and half in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high, stirring twice, until caramels are melted (1-2 minutes). Dip ends of shortbread sticks into melted caramel mixture; roll in pecans. Place onto waxed paper; let stand till set. (Or you can boil the caramel sauce and butter for a few minutes and dip cookies into that. And they will set quickly if you place them on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.)

ALISON'S CHEWY CHAI MERINGUE COOKIES

This recipe won a local cookie recipe contest in Austin, Texas, and was featured on cookiemadness.net blog. The recipe calls for 4 egg whites, and I only had 3, so I did some quick math and changed the measurements. I was a bit worried about the cloves, as I thought they were going to overpower the other flavors; but when the cookies baked up, the flavors were perfect and really quite mild. This recipe has everything in it to ensure success: cornstarch, cream of tartar and really no liquid except for the small amount of vinegar. Still, it's best not to try these on a humid day. The humidity levels here in New Bern were 41% inside, 31% outside today, so it was a good day to make these. They puff up nicely but don't spread too much. Meringues are not very pretty to look at, but the taste of these is divine. They're light as air and just slightly crunchy, and slightly chewy inside with all the surprise flavors to greet your teeth as you chomp down. You can make them a little nicer to look at if you spoon the batter into a resealable plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped off and a star tube inserted in the hole. Really, try these. They are wonderful cookies. Thank you Alison!

Alison's Chewy Chai Meringue Cookies
INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup 10X sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/8 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. ginger
1-1/2 tsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (Sam's Choice at Wal-Mart is good stuff.)
1/2 cup toasted finely chopped nuts (I used pecans)
3 egg whites, room temperature or slightly warm
3/16 tsp. cream of tartar
pinch of sea salt
3/8 cup superfine sugar
3/4 tsp. white or rice vinegar

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 300 F. In small bowl, sift together the first 5 ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and mix together. Set aside. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt till stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Gradually add the superfine sugar and beat till glossy and stiff. Add the vinegar, stir once, then fold in the powdered sugar mixture. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for about 30 minutes or till meringues are set and just beginning to turn golden around the edges. Remove to cake rack to finish cooling completely. Yield: About 32 cookies that are delicately crusty on the outside and very slightly chewy on the inside. These freeze well.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL MERINGUES

Meringues are temperamental creatures and must be treated carefully to avoid disappointments. Meringues have two basic enemies: fat and moisture. Following are some tips to help you create light meringues that do not deflate.

1. Do not bake meringues on humid days. Check the humidity outside and inside before you
bake. Do not bake if humidity is above 50%.

2. Do not touch the meringue mixture with your fingers, if possible. The oil on your fingers will
help the meringue to deflate. Use two spoons to put batter onto cookie sheets, instead of one
spoon with your finger pushing the batter off.

3. Cornstarch will help hold the meringue together, even if it's somewhat humid, but a better
plan is to bake when weather is not humid.

4. Cream of tartar and cornstarch are both stabilizers for meringues. Cream of tartar should
be added to the egg whites before you start beating them. For every 4 egg whites,
use 1 Tbsp. cornstarch. This can be added by first dissolving into 1/3 cup cold water, then
heating and stirring till thickened. Set aside to cool and add to meringue after the sugar,
adding 1 Tbsp. at a time. Or the cornstarch can be sifted with powdered sugar and folded in
at the end.

5. The best meringues are made with a mixture of superfine sugar (caster sugar) and
confectioner's sugar 10X. Granulated sugar can be made into superfine sugar in the food
processor very easily.

6. Egg whites must be room temperature or slightly warmed to get them to whip up with
volume. Cold egg whites will not whip up. When egg whites are ready to whip, they will look
more liquiddy and clear -- the cloudy look will be gone.

7. If you have any tips to add, or have more questions about meringues, please leave a
comment on this post.