Cubicle kitchen: Mocha Cream Pie

Baking for someone can sometimes be as tricky as buying them a present, in that it's hard to know what they really want.  And all they can offer you is that they'll love whatever you give them.  So when one of my coworkers announced that he was going to leave, I had to do some thinking to figure out what kind of dessert to bring to his going-away lunch.  Because obviously I was going to bring something.

The only hint I had as far as flavors was that he had headed straight for some java chip cookies at a recent event where we had all been lured in with cookies in exchange for participation.  So I knew that I needed some kind of coffee buzz.  And then, because it was a lunch event rather than the usual coffee klatch, I decided that it was the perfect time to whip up a pie.  People would already have their own plates and forks, so all I needed was the pie and a server.

From there, I took inspiration from a couple of places, like the Kraft recipe for Fudge-Bottom Candy Crunch Pie and Cupcake Project's How to Bake with Coffee post.  After putting various ideas together and playing around with what I had in my pantry, I ended up with something unique.  It's a give and take of shortcuts (pudding mix, pre made pie crust) and techniques that make it special (steeping the coffee beans, whipping the cream).  And adding a bar of chocolate never hurts.

I wouldn't want to send anyone away from the team hungry, after all.

Mocha Cream Pie
Makes 1 pie

Ingredients

• 1 prepared pie crust, cooled*

• 2 cups milk (I used 1%)
• 1 cup coffee beans (not ground)
• 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
• 1 4-serving package of non-instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 bar Chocolove Coffee Crunch in Dark Chocolate, chopped and divided

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 Tablespoons powdered cappuccino mix

* You can use your favorite recipe, buy the crust to roll or already in the shell (mine was in the shell).  You could also substitute a graham cracker or cookie crumb crust if desired.

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine milk and whole coffee beans.  Over a medium heat, bring to a simmer.  Then turn off the heat, cover, and allow beans to steep in the milk for about 15 minutes.
2. Strain the milk, discarding the coffee beans and returning the milk to the saucepan.  Put the heat back on low.  Add the instant coffee and pudding mix, stirring.  
3. When the pudding is thick, add about 2/3 of the chopped chocolate bar to the pan and stir until the chocolate has melted.
4. Pour the pudding mixture into the pie shell and allow to cool.  Place in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.
5. Soon before serving, pour the whipping cream into a bowl with the cappuccino mix and beat until soft peaks form.  
6. Cover the pie with the cream, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate on top as a garnish. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge.

Cubicle kitchen: PB&J Hand Pies

Yesterday I would normally have run a few miles on the treadmill and then gone to dinner at Tarka with my dad.  But he's out of town this week at a work conference, so despite still dreaming of the food in 'The Lunchbox', no Tarka for me, just a couple of miles on the treadmill and a yoga class.  Hopefully that will just make the aloo gobi taste that much better next week.

I still envy those hot, delicious lunches being delivered to the office workers in the film.  My lunches are most certainly not anything a coworker would trade me an apple and a banana for a share of.  But maybe Saajan would offer me a spoonful in exchange for a baked good?

While the complex dabbawala system is norm in India, on this side of the world, I feel like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are one of the staples of the American lunch, at least for kids.  I'm not sure I actually ever had one for lunch, I'm more of a savory lunch person.  But I have had my fair share as afternoon snacks or dessert.  So when I was putting these tiny little hand pies together, I decided to go with this traditional flavor combination.  They look so cute, and are just the right size for dunking in a mug, whether it's a mug of coffee at the klatch or a mug of cold milk.

PB&J Hand Pies
Makes about a dozen

Ingredients

• Jiffy Pie Crust Mix, plus water*
• About 1/8 cup jam (I mixed grape and blackberry)
• About 1/8 cup creamy peanut butter
• Egg wash or water (for sealing edges)
• Optional: sugar for sprinkling on top

You can, of course, use your favorite recipe for crust from scratch, or buy a refrigerated crust that's already rolled out.  This recipe uses the same amount of crust meant to make a double-crusted pie (top and bottom).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Prepare pie crust dough as directed.  Divide in half and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8-1/4" inch thickness, a little thinner than a normal pie crust.  Using a 2 1/2" cookie cutter, cut out as many circles (or another shape) as possible.  Repeat on the other ball of dough.  Gently re-roll the scraps and repeat.  Remember: you need to have an even number of circles.
3. On half of the circles, place 1/2 a teaspoon of peanut butter and 1/2 a teaspoon of jam in the center.  Resist the urge to add too much, or it will make a mess when baking.
4. For each hand pie, brush an egg wash around the edges and place an un-filled circle on top, pressing to seal.  Use a fork to crimp the edges further.  Make a small slit on top for hot air to escape while baking.
5. Place the hand pies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  If desired, brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, when the crust starts to turn golden at the edges.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Cubicle kitchen: Pudding Pies

If there's anything you know about me by now, it's that I love baking with ice cream.  And no matter how much I do, there always seems to be more in the freezer.  And next to that, there happen to be a few frozen pie shells.  So I decided to combine the two and make some cream pies.  Because I hadn't really 'done' pies yet.

I mentioned in my WIP Wednesday post last week that easy as pie is a lie.  Because pie has to be sliced and served on a plate, with some kind of utensil.  The plate part wasn't too difficult, I had a stack on hand for serving as trays when I bring in cookies, etc.  The utensil part was more complicated, requiring a few trips to the office cafeteria to borrow a dozen forks and two knives, then collecting them up again to return at the end of the day.  Thankfully I had already circumvented one possible complication of having two cream pies by using two different toppings sprinkled on top in order to identify them, so the first slice wasn't a mystery.  And that was after the balancing act of carrying two pies, a gym bag, purse, and backpack to my desk.

But considering how easy making the pie is, it all kind of evens out.  This is perfect for pot lucks or any other surprise event the requires dessert.  Especially if that event already involves plates and utensils.  And it holds true to one of the things I like most about baking: the ability to adapt it to any number of flavor combinations.  If I expand beyond the sugar-free variety of pudding, there's even the seasonal options like Gingerbread and Peppermint to look forward to for the next holidays.  If they keep makin' 'em, I'll keep bakin' 'em.

Pudding Pie
(adapted from CakeSpy)

Ingredients:

• 1 9" pie crust, baked and cooled
• 1 4-serving box of Jello Instant pudding (I used sugar-free), any flavor
• 2 cups melted ice cream in a complementary flavor
• half a tub of Cool Whip

These two particular pies were:

• Banana pudding with Blue Bell Banana Nut Bread ice cream, plus some mashed banana, topped with banana chips
• Pistachio pudding with Blue Bell Pistachio Almond and Ben & Jerry's Cannoli, topped with some chopped almonds

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the melted ice cream and pudding mix until incorporated.  Add in anything else you'd like to the filling (mashed banana, chocolate chips, etc.)
2. Pour into the cooled crust and use a spatula to spread it evenly.  Place in the fridge and allow to chill for at least several hours.
3. Cover with whipped topping and any other toppings you would like (chopped nuts, etc.).  Return to the fridge until ready to serve.