Classic Chess Pie

This is from Pie Academy by Ken Haedrich. It's a great book because he's got so many solid recipes and interesting flavor combinations. We bought it for ourselves after testing out a number of recipes.

However, you've got to keep an eye on him. For example, his basic streusel is surprisingly tasteless. His fruit pies are made with frozen fruit (which has worked out great) but you've got to keep an eye on the cooking times. For example, we have found that we need to let the fruit fully thaw to get good results, as opposed to Haedrich's "partially thaw" instructions. So if you go in ready to be flexible and adapt occasionally, it's good. 

I trust Haedrich enough that I made this pie for the first time for my book club. It has a lovely lemony flavor and several people had two pieces. Naturally they wanted the recipe. So here it is, paraphrased by me.

CLASSIC CHESS PIE
8-10 servings 

Pie crust dough for a single-crust pie (I used a half recipe of easy Perfect Piecrust) 

Filling

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Prepare pie dough. Roll into a 13-inch circle and line a 9- to 9-1/2-inch deep pie pan with it, fluting the edge. (My pie didn't need a deep dish pan. Next time I'm going to try my 9" regular pan.)

Partially prebake — Preheat oven to 375°. tear off a sheet of standard aluminum foil about 16 inches long. Prick the bottom of the shell with a fork in a lot of places. Press down on pie shell so it fits like a glove. (Haedrich then has you use beans to weight the foil. His technique is here. Having read somewhere long ago that you just need to be sure the foil is pressed really hard against the crust, that is what I did and it worked out fine.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer, gradually adding sugar about 1/4 cup at a time. Beat in the flour and salt; the mixture will be quite grainy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well on medium speed after each addition. Blend in the lemon juice and zest on low speed. (The filling may look curdled. That's ok.) Place the pie shell on a baking sheet, near the oven, and carefully pour the filling into the shell, smoothing the top with a spoon.

Bake the pie, on the sheet, on the center oven rack for about 46 minutes. The pie is done when the filling is just set and no longer soupy in the middle. Give it a little nudge to check.

Transfer the pie to a rack and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers, covered with tented aluminum foil.

Cheese Pennies

This recipe is from King Arthur's Flour and is really easy and really a treat. Everyone loves them.

We use the lower amount of cayenne but they are really full flavored.

CHEESE PENNIES

Ingredients

2 cups (227g) grated sharp cheddar cheese
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups (180g) flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
paprika, optional

Instructions
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the paprika to make a cohesive dough, sprinkling in a tablespoon or so of water if the dough doesn't seem to want to come together.

As soon as the dough starts to come together, turn off the mixer and gather it into a rough ball.

Transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a 16" log about 1-1/2" in diameter. (We make two 8" long logs. That way one can wait in the freezer while the first is being cut into pennies. If you want to freeze the dough for a longer amount of time, just make sure to remove it from the freezer about 30 minutes before you want to slice it.)

Wrap the log in waxed paper or plastic wrap, and chill it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, slice the log crosswise into 1/8" rounds. Place them on an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving only about 1/2" between them; they won't spread much as they bake. Sprinkle them with a bit of paprika if you like.

Bake the cheese pennies in a preheated 400° oven for 11 to 13 minutes, or until they're just beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool on the pan for several minutes before transferring them to racks to cool completely.

Store, well-wrapped, for up a week.