Grandma Lee's Pumpkin Pie

{as traditional as traditional gets}

I look to my mother and her mother for almost all of all my cooking and baking examples. I credit them for just about everything. I really do cherish my memories of eating their food, and remember how they used to let me help when I was too young to understand what I was doing. This pie, as simple and traditional as it is, reminds me of Thanksgiving at my grandma's. I know this post a tad late for the season, considering it's almost spring- but I'm sure you'll forgive me.

Ingredients for the filling:
1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree
1 can sweetened condenced milk
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
dash of ground nutmeg

Ingredients for the crust: (makes 2 pie crusts)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons shortening
4-5 tablespoons water

Directions:
For the crust: Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing to make stiff dough. Divide dough in half, roll out to about 1/8 of an inch thick or large enough to fit an 8 inch pie pan. The rest of the dough can be used to decorate how ever you like, or you can freeze it. Here are some great ideas for decorating.

For the filling: In another large bowl, add all the filling ingredients, and mix until completely combined. Pour into pie shell, and take a picture.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to serve.
Cut into a big, fat slice and top with way too much whipped cream...

And you're done!

The Best Key Lime Pie [and bars] Ever

{when life gives you... key limes}
Oh my heavens, friends. This pie is hands down, the MOST amazing Key Lime Pie. I can't over hype it enough! I got asked to bring a key lime pie to my friend John's, birthday party. I was really excited because I actually have never made my own Key Lime Pie before. Almost all the recipes I researched all included a million eggs- which I grimace at the thought of. I'm not a lover of eggs. We can thank some kind of custard for that. 
Anyways, this recipe has only three ingredients. Three! I love that this pie is so light and creamy. Perfect for summer! It doesn't take long to bake, making it even more summer friendly. You can alter the amount of lime juice you use to your own tastes, you can even add a little zest if want to really pump up the lime flavor. You can't go wrong, kids. This pie will change your life!

  (ya like the vintage look? I do. I thought it was fun for a fun summer recipe)

Ingredients:

Pie filling:

3/4 cup key lime juice

3 cups sweetened condensed milk (about 2 cans)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lime zest, optional

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 cups crushed Graham Crackers

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

Juice limes. This can be quite tedious, but so worth it. You'll need about 20 key limes (those are the little limes, not the big ones). What does 20 limes look like? This...

Watch out for all the seeds. Set lime juice aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 inch round pie plate with cooking spray, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust, and stir together with a fork until moistened and crumbly. Lightly press the graham crumbs against the bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake for about 10 minutes, set aside. 

In a large bowl, add all ingredients for the pie filling. Mix with a whisk until creamy and smooth. Go ahead and give it a taste... feel free to add more juice and/or zest if you feel so inclined. Pour into crust, and bake for 5-10 minutes. You should start to see tiny pinhole bubbles form on the surface and burst. Do not brown.

Take the pie out of the oven, and set it aside. Once it's cooled, place in the refrigerator for a couple hours. 

Garnish with whipped cream (homemade of course) and sliced limes, if desired. 

I got a little carried away with taking pictures... my bad!

You can also make a great bar rendition, which is great for larger crowds and sure to please everyone! Just follow the recipe the same as above, only using a 13x9 inch square pan instead.

Thanks for reading! Please remember to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Source: allrecipes 

Bear Lake Raspberry Pie

{there are no words to describe the magnificence that is this pie}
One of my favorite things about summer, is the raspberries. I get it from my mom. She grew up in Southeastern Idaho, and if you know anything about southeastern Idaho and Northern Utah, you know about Bear Lake Raspberries. No words can describe my happiness.

Ingredients:
1 recipe Graham Cracker Crust (see below)
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 recipe Raspberry Filling (see below)

Directions:
Prepare crust and chill until firm. In a large bowl beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. In a separate bowl whip cream. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture and spread over prepared crust. Top with raspberry filling. Refrigerate over night.

Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Mix together and press into a greased, 9 inch pie plate. Refrigerate until firm.

Raspberry Filling:
1 1/4 cups water
1 (6 oz) package raspberry flavored gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (10 oz) package frozen raspberries, or equal fresh

Bring water to boil. Combine all ingredients except the raspberries in a medium bowl. Allow mixture to cool in refrigerator until syrupy. Thaw frozen raspberries slightly in microwave. Stir into cooled gelatin mixture. Use immediately to top cream cheese layer of pie.

Enjoy!