Sealed with a Kiss

A bit of bad luck had fallen upon one of the roomies one day, so necessarily, baking was in order.  Problem: the house was lacking in most of the essentials found in most recipes. The solution: two ingredient mini-pies that were as quick and easy to gobble up as they were to make.  We had a left over pie crust from the apple baking spree from the previous weekend, and a bag of Hershey's Hugs.  With the addition of a little melted butter or egg wash, and some cinnamon and sugar, these little pastries were completed and baked faster than the gloomy roomie could shed a tear!

Pre-baking!

Kiss Pies
1 pre-made pie crust
1 bag of Hershey's kisses (any flavor)
1 tbsp. butter
sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out the thawed dough on a floured surface, and place kisses about 2-3 inches apart around the edge of the dough.  Cut even circles around the kisses.  Fold opposite sides of the circle to each other at the top of the kiss, making a wonton shape, and press together firmly.  Re-roll the dough and repeat process until all the dough is used up.  Place them on a lightly Pam-ed baking sheet, brush each with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then bake for 10-20 min., or until pies are golden brown, then remove and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.  I promise these bite-sized treats will turn any frown upside down :)

You're the Pie of My Eye

The clan was incomplete, for two of the roommates were M.I.A. Even with the lack of support, Kayti and I decided to carry on. A glimmer of strawberry rhubarb pie rose on the horizon of our minds, and naturally, we could not resist. Even with our other half missing, we took on the challenge of making our own pie crust from scratch.

Filling:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 pounds fresh rhubarb

2 pounds fresh strawberries

Pie Crust:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup softened butter (2 sticks)

10 Tbs ice water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Toss in strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Add butter and cut in with pastry cutter (two knives work) until crumbly. Add ice water, mixing one tablespoon as a time. Form into dough ball- divide in half and roll on floured surface with floured rolling pin. Fold in fourths for easy transfer into pie dish, making sure dough covers entire dish. Cut extra dough off with butter knife. Pour filling into pie crust , dotting the top with butter. Roll out second half of dough and lay over the top. Mash the edges together with thumb and cut off extra dough with butter knife. Cut slits into the top of pie and add topper with a water seal (adding food coloring to the dough if you're feeling artsy).

Cover edges with foil for first 25 minutes, bake for 30-40 minutes (until crust is golden brown) on cookie sheet.

Brush pie with mixture of water and powdered sugar (slightly thick) while pie is hot out of the oven. Let cool and have at it!