The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (97 page)

2.
In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 1 teaspoon cold water. Stir into the sauce. Simmer, stirring, about 1 minute more, until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from the heat; stir in the remaining berries. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl. Chill until cold; stir before serving with the pie.

joey gallagher’s apricot hand pies

MAKES 12

All-purpose flour, for the work surface

Martha’s Perfect Pâte Brisée (Basics)

12 Poached Apricot Halves (Basics)

3 tablespoons sugar

1.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disk of dough into a large round, about
¹
/
₈
inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Transfer rounds to the prepared baking sheet; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

2.
Repeat process with the remaining dough, using a 4-inch cookie cutter to make 12 more rounds; do not refrigerate. Remove disks from refrigerator.

3.
Using paper towels, blot the poached apricots halves to eliminate excess liquid; place one in center of each chilled round. Brush cold water around edges of dough; cover each with an unchilled round. Gently press edges together to seal. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

4.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Remove tarts from refrigerator. Using a paring knife, slash the top of each tart in a crosshatch fashion. Brush with water, and generously sprinkle with sugar.

5.
Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350°F. Continue baking until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer pies to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Or let cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

prune tart

MAKES ONE 12
×
18-INCH TART

Serve with créme fraîche or whipped cream.

2 cups red wine

²
/
₃
cup fresh orange juice

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 cinnamon stick

3 cups (1 pound) pitted prunes, halved

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

1 large egg

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a medium saucepan, bring the wine, orange juice, ½ cup sugar, and cinnamon to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat; add the prunes, and let steep 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the prunes to a bowl. Return the liquid to a boil; cook until slightly reduced and thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

2.
Meanwhile, roll out the puff pastry into a 12 × 18-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the orange zest; sprinkle evenly over the pastry. Arrange the prunes in rows over the pastry, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and cream; brush on the edges of the pastry.

3.
Bake until the crust is golden, about 20 minutes, rotating the pan and brushing the tart with reserved cooking liquid halfway through. Remove from the oven; let cool slightly. Serve warm.

fresh cherry pie

MAKES ONE 9-INCH PIE

All-purpose flour, for work surface

Martha’s Perfect Pâte Brisée (Basics)

2¼ pounds fresh yellow and red sweet cherries, pitted and halved

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons instant tapioca powder

Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

1.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk pâte briseé to a
¹
/
₈
-inch-thick round, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough in a 9-inch pie plate.

2.
In a large bowl, combine the cherries, sugar, and tapioca, and toss to coat evenly. Pour the filling into the prepared pie plate, and set aside.

3.
Roll out the remaining disk of dough as in step1. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp paring knife, cut the dough into 1-inch-wide strips. Lightly brush the rim of the dough in the pie plate with water, and weave the strips of dough on top of the filling to form a lattice. Using kitchen scissors, trim the strips to create a 1-inch overhang. Tuck the strips under the rim of shell, and crimp to seal. Chill the pie in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

4.
Bake the pie 20 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350°F; bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the juices begin to bubble, 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer the pie to a wire rack, and let stand until just warm or room temperature. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

rhubarb pie

MAKES ONE 9½-INCH DEEP-DISH PIE

2 pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 6½ cups)

1
¹
/
₃
cups granulated sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

Pinch of coarse salt

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

All-purpose flour, for work surface

Flaky Piecrust (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 large egg yolk

Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1.
Preheat the oven to 375°F, with a rack in lower third. Stir together the rhubarb, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl; set aside.

2.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough to a 13-inch round, about
¹
/
₈
inch thick. Fit into a 9½-inch deep-dish glass pie plate. Fill with rhubarb mixture, and dot with butter. Refrigerate.

3.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining dough to a 13-inch round. Drape over filling. Trim edge to 1 inch. Fold edge under, and crimp as desired. Make five 2½- to 3-inch slits in crust to vent. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

4.
Whisk cream and egg yolk in a small bowl. Brush over crust. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until bottom crust is golden and filling is bubbling vigorously, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes. Cover with foil if browning too quickly. Let cool at least 4 hours on a wire rack.

flaky piecrust

MAKES ENOUGH FOR ONE 9½-INCH
DOUBLE-CRUST PIE OR
TWO 9- TO 10-INCH SINGLE-CRUST PIES

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1¼ teaspoons salt

¾ cup (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening or lard, cut into pieces

½ cup ice water, plus more if needed

1.
Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and shortening, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add water in a slow, steady stream just until dough holds together, no longer than 30 seconds (do not overprocess). Squeeze a small amount of dough; if it doesn’t hold together, add more water.

2.
Remove dough from processor, and knead once or twice. Divide in half; shape into disks. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight.

tangerine chiffon pie

MAKES ONE 10-INCH PIE

2 cups store-bought tangerine-orange juice blend

3 cups finely ground store-bought shortbread cookies (about 12 ounces)

5 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

4 large eggs, separated, room temperature

¹
/
₈
teaspoon cream of tartar

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Boil the tangerine-orange juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it has reduced to about 1 cup, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.

2.
Pulse cookies, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and ¼ cup sugar in a food processor until thoroughly combined. With processor running, add melted butter; process until combined. Press cookie mixture evenly into bottom, up sides, and onto rim of a 10-inch pie plate. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3.
Put lemon juice into a small bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 10 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together yolks, ½ cup sugar, the juice reduction, and the remaining 2 teaspoons zest in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes (do not let boil). Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture, and whisk until gelatin has dissolved completely.

4.
Transfer gelatin mixture to a large bowl. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until cool and thick enough to hold a ribbon on surface, 25 to 30 minutes.

5.
Put egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar; beat until stiff but not dry peaks form. Fold egg-white mixture into gelatin mixture in 3 batches, folding until just combined after each addition. Pour into cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or overnight, before serving.

lemon tartlets with meringue caps

MAKES ABOUT 20

for the shells

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

²
/
₃
cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 large egg whites, room temperature

½ cup sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the meringue caps

3 large egg whites, room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

for the lemon curd

6 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest plus ½ cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons total)

¾ cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Make the shells: Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg whites, 1 at a time. Mix in flour and vanilla.

2.
Spoon 1 scant teaspoon batter onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat. Using the back of the spoon, spread into a 3-inch round. Repeat 4 times. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies, 1 at a time, to inverted small tartlet shells or brioche molds; gently press to shape. Let set, about 30 seconds. If cookies become too cool to shape, return them to the oven for 20 seconds. Repeat with remaining batter. (The shells can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.)

3.
Reduce oven temperature to 200°F. Make the meringue caps: Put egg whites and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and meringue is cool, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a
⁷
/
¹⁶
-inch star tip (such as Ateco #825). Pipe twenty 1¼-inch-round, 2-inch-high spirals onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150°F. Bake until dry but not brown, about 2 hours more. Transfer meringues to a wire rack; let cool completely. (The meringues can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.)

4.
Make the curd: Whisk egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, and sugar in a heavy, medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until mixture registers 160°F on a candy thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in salt. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring after each addition until smooth. Pour curd through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).

5.
To serve, spoon 2 teaspoons curd into each shell. Top each with a meringue cap.

honey-walnut pie

SERVES 8 TO 10

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Pâte Sucrée Walnut Variation (Basics)

4 large eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 lightly beaten egg for brushing

¾ cup acacia or other mild honey

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest, plus ¼ cup fresh orange juice

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a 9
¹
/
₈
× 1
³
/
₈
-inch tart ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to
¹
/
₈
inch thick; cut into a 14-inch round. Fit into tart ring; trim overhang to ½ inch. Refrigerate while making filling.

2.
Whisk together 4 eggs, the honey, granulated sugar, butter, orange zest and juice, salt, and flour in a large bowl. Stir in walnuts. Pour into tart shell.

3.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining disk of dough to
¹
/
₈
inch thick. Cut into an 11-inch round. Cut five slits for vents. Drape over filling. Trim overhang to 1 inch; fold over bottom crust. Press edges to seal; tuck into ring. Brush with remaining beaten egg, sprinkle with sanding sugar.