Berry Cobbler with Cheddar Biscuits

 Berry cobbler | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

I have to admit this recipe was an accident, a happy one, but a mistake nonetheless. I was going to post on shortcakes, with balsamic roasted strawberries. I was mixing up the biscuits and got distracted, probably by something I read on Twitter. I added way too much buttermilk to the dough and they were no longer useful as biscuits. How disappointing to have a recipe in mind and then blow it.

These weren’t just any biscuits, they were made with cheddar cheese, so they would have a slight sharpness to them, which I find a perfect compliment to the sweet berry filling. What to do? There was no way I was tossing these beauties, but they were too soft to work with in the traditional way. Then it hit me, COBBLER.

All the same ingredients, but baked together at one time, even better. I added blueberries, fresh ginger and lemon zest to the strawberries and topped it with my sticky biscuit dough. Thanks to my inability to focus yesterday, I have a new favorite dessert!

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Sugar Plum Pie with a Folded Flaky Crust

Sugar plum pie | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

I know I promised a tour of the spice market in Istanbul, but I had to show you the plum pie I made for my stepmother’s birthday first. When I returned home after a month away my refrigerator was bare, nothing but a jar of capers and a bottle of sriracha sauce. After shopping in Europe, the grocery stores here in MN seemed obscene with selection. The produce isle was filled with every fruit and veggie you could ever want, despite the fact that many of them wouldn’t be in season for months. It was both overwhelming and a bit thrilling to have all this at my fingertips. I’d been eating juicy plums and peaches in Italy and had decided to make my stepmother a pie with them for her birthday. They were perhaps a little firm, but they looked and smelled gorgeous. Because it was a special occasion I cooked the plums in champagne and vanilla. I made a tender crust and folded it a few times to add some flaky layers. This is my kind of birthday pie!

Do you have pie questions or need to troubleshoot your recipe? Check out my guide on how to make pie crust.

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A Mile High Lemon Brown Sugar-Meringue Pie! (update on toasting meringue)

Lemon meringue pie recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Last week my boys and I drove 5 hours due north to a small town on Lake Superior to get a break from the city. The boys just finished school and I had sent off the first pass pages of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. We were all in desperate need of a vacation. Friends of ours have a lovely home on a pristine lake; no planes flying over, no street lights, no cars, just peace and quiet and night skies filled with stars.

On the drive up, once you pass Duluth, the road is dotted with small shops selling smoked fish and all kinds of pies. It is our tradition to stop to buy pepper crusted smoked fish and a pie: cherry, blueberry or lemon meringue pie. When I first moved here 16 years ago my husband and I stayed on the North shore and discovered Betty’s Pies. We happened in one evening for a slice and ended up going back 3 more times in as many days. We still stop there, although they have moved, grown and the pies aren’t quite what they used to be, but the romance is still there for me.

Here is my version of Betty’s Lemon Meringue Pie (made with my rosemary shortbread crust, a bit of lime zest for more zip and a dome of light fluffy Brown Sugar Meringue!) Read More

Butterscotch Sweet Potato Pie

Butterscotch Sweet Potato Pie Recipe | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

Update: There was no contest between the pumpkin and the sweet potato pies that I made for Thanksgiving! The Sweet potato was the unanimous winner. Most of you predicted that in your comments. The truth of the matter is that it wasn’t a fair contest. I made a traditional pumpkin pie, like the one you find on the can and it just wasn’t all that thrilling next to a butterscotch sweet potato pie that is spiked with whiskey! 😉

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this day. It is the ultimate holiday for anyone who loves to cook and eat. Today I am hosting the feast at my house. It will be a small party of my family, those who live in MN. We have all the old favorites from turkey to pumpkin pie. Due to my new found love of sweet potatoes I also did a butterscotch sweet potato pie. There are only 8 of us and we have two pies. I hope it is enough! 😉 I thought it would be fun to see which pie becomes the family favorite. After our meal I’ll report back what we decide.

For Butterscotch Sweet Potato Pie inspired by a recipe for pumpkin pie in Bon Appetit:

Do you have pie questions or need to troubleshoot your recipe? Check out my guide on how to make pie crust.

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White Peach and Raspberry Pie

Fresh Peaches | ZoëBakes | Photo by Zoë François

After a winter of nothing but citrus, I’m about ready to go crazy, which my husband claims I did during this past week’s trip to the market. I came home with a case of white peaches, a pile of plums and so many blueberries and raspberries that my kitchen looks like a fruit stand at the farmers market. I can’t resist, it is summer and I love fresh fruit! First I made a bunch of brioche muffins studded with the peaches, plums and berries. But the real reason I bought all the fruit was to make pies. I love all of them and pies with ripe fresh fruit are my all-time favorite summer dessert. This white peach and raspberry pie is no exception.

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Perfect Pie Dough 101 — Lattice Pie Crust

Pie dough laying in a pie plate

With very few ingredients you can make one of America’s most beloved desserts, the pie. We start with the crust, the frame which holds the filling, in this case, white peach and raspberry. It should be tender and flaky, buttery and a lovely compliment to whatever you have put inside. I am forever hunting for what I consider the perfect pie crust. There are as many recipes as there are households. Every family seems to have their own prized recipe. If you are having a tough time recreating your grandmother’s crust, it may not be the fault of the recipe, but the technique you are using. Try following my instructions on how to make this dough, with a lattice pie crust. I got the recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s latest tome Baking: From My Home to Yours.

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