The Skye Trilogy: Isle of Skye, Isle of Night, and Isle of Dawn. * Bonus: Scrumptious Skye Confections Cookbook* (134 page)

3)
     
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan and set aside

4)
     
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inches thick. Cut into 12, 3-inch rounds. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and then bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

5)
     
Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before inverting them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

6)
     
Make lemon curd: Mix lemon zest and sugar with a fork

7)
     
In a large bowl cream the butter. Add the sugar mixture and beat together. Add the eggs, lemon juice and salt. Mix until well combined.

8)
     
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly for about 10-15 minutes or until the curd starts to thicken.

9)
     
Remove from heat. Push the lemon curd through a sieve to make it extra smooth. Pour the lemon curd into prepared tart shells and place in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

10)
  
Top with fresh fruit and a dollop of fresh whip cream if desired.

Willa’s
Apple-Blueberry Pie

Buttery Pie Crust

• Makes 1 single-pie crust*
  

1 ¼ cup flour

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup of unsalted butter, chilled and diced

¼ cup ice water

Directions:

1)
      
In a food processor, combine flour and salt. Pulse in butter and ice water until mixture just comes together to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for four hours.

2)
     
Roll out dough on a well-floured surface to fit in a 9-inch pie shell.

A Willa hint- I usually make about 4 of these puppies at a time. You can always freeze a couple for a few weeks!

Apple-Blueberry Pie Filling

5 cups fresh apples, sliced

1-cup blueberries

1 TBLS.
lemon juice

1 cup of sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:

1)
      
Sprinkle sliced apples and blueberries in a bowl with lemon juice and set aside.

2)
     
In another large bowl combine sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add apples and blueberries and combine well.

3)
     
Transfer mixture to a pastry-lined pie plate. Gently place the top layer of pie crust and crimp edges to secure.

4)
     
Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Filling

1-cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

6 large egg yolks

1-½ cups water

1 TBLS.
lemon zest

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 TBLS. unsalted butter

Meringue

1 TBLS. cornstarch

1/3-cup water

¼ tsp. cream of tarter

4 large egg whites

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 single layer of buttery pie crust*

Directions:

1)
      
Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan.

2)
     
Add egg yolks, the gradually whisk in 1-½ cups water.

3)
     
Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking regularly, about 8-10 minutes or until thickened.

4)
     
Remove from heat and whisk in zest, lemon juice and butter. Set aside and keep warm.

5)
     
To make meringue: Mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, occasionally whisking. Remove from heat when it is transparent and thickened.

6)
     
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

7)
     
In a large bowl combine cream of tartar and sugar together.

8)
     
In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites until frothy and add vanilla. Beat in sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time and then drop in cornstarch mixture gradually until stiff peaks form.

9)
     
Pour lemon filling into prepared pastry lined pie dish and then gently fold the meringue topping over filling. Lift back of a spoon to create decorative peaks.

10)
  
Bake for 20 minutes.
 

Mimi’s Homemade Blueberry Pie

I will give my mother props for this one. This is probably the best blueberry pie I have ever had. She won’t even let me type this one out (That’s why the typeset is a little different, but my mother doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal. *sigh*) apparently, only Mimi can explain it properly…ok, Mom.

Hi again, it’s Cecily! I love this recipe because the flavors are amazing together. I know that every time I make it for Cormac he actually hides it so no one else will find it and eat any of this delicious pie!

Crust

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cold butter, sliced
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6 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, sliced

1-teaspoon kosher salt

4 to 6 Tbsp. ice-cold water

Filling

7 cups fresh blueberries
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1/4-cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2-cup sugar
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1/3 cup honey

1-teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4-teaspoon kosher salt

1/4-teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
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1 large egg

Directions:

-Prepare Crust: Process first 4 ingredients in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, gradually add 4 Tbsp. ice-cold water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and process until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides of the bowl, adding up to 2 Tbsp. more water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, if necessary. Divide the dough in half, and flatten each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill two hours to two days.

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- Prepare Filling: Place 1-cup blueberries in a large bowl; crush blueberries with a wooden spoon. Stir cornstarch and vinegar into crushed berries until cornstarch dissolves. Stir sugar, next five ingredients, and remaining six cups blueberries into crushed berry mixture.

- Unwrap
1-dough disk, and place on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with flour. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit dough into a greased (with butter) 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Repeat rolling procedure with remaining dough disk; cut dough into 12 to 14 (1/2-inch-wide) strips. (You will have dough left over.)

-Pour blueberry mixture into piecrust and dot with butter cubes. Arrange piecrust strips in a lattice design over filling. Trim excess dough.

-Roll remaining dough, and cut into 6 (9- x 1/2-inch) strips. Twist together two strips at a time. Whisk together egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Brush a small amount of egg mixture around edge of pie. Arrange twisted strips around the edge of pie, pressing lightly to adhere. Brush entire pie with remaining egg mixture. Freeze 20 minutes or until dough is firm.

Preheat oven to 425°. Bake pie on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°, and bake 20 more minutes. Cover pie with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 25 to 30 more minutes (65 to 70 minutes total) or until crust is golden and filling bubbles in the center. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack; cool 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Brittle

Alright, so I love peanut brittle. I love it at Holidays, I love it on the weekends, I love it on the weekdays, I just f-ing love it!

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

¾ cup butter

3 cups sugar

1-cup light corn syrup

1 cup shelled raw peanuts

1-cup pistachios, shelled

1 cup pecans

Directions:

1)
      
Butter one-cookie sheet liberally with ½ stick of butter and set aside.

2)
     
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and ½ cup water in a large saucepan. Bring to boil and attach a candy thermometer. Cook over medium heat or until syrup spins a thread when poured from a spoon or when thermometer reaches 240 degrees.

3)
     
Stir in nuts and continue cooking and stirring until candy becomes golden brown or until thermometer reaches 300 degrees.

4)
     
Remove from heat immediately and quickly add remaining butter, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Stir only until butter melts and then pour brittle onto the cooking sheet, spreading mixture thinly. When brittle has completely cooled, break the candy into pieces and store in a tightly covered container.

Chocolate Mascarpone Cups

These delectable little treats are a bitch to make, but boy are they delicious. You have to spread the chocolate mixture onto the paper muffin liners not too thick and not too thin. I would recommend a little practice before diving right into the whole batch!

8 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz. good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1-cup heavy whipping cream

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

3 TBLS.
sugar

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. grated orange peel, if desired

Directions:

1)
      
Line 8-muffin cups with paper liners.

2)
     
Melt bittersweet chocolate over a double boiler, stirring until smooth.

3)
     
Spoon 1 TBLS. of melted chocolate onto each paper liner. Using a pastry brush, coat chocolate evenly over bottom of the liner and up the sides. Freeze until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. Re-melt the remaining chocolate and spoon another 1 TBLS. into cups forming a second coat. Freeze until just set, about 1 hour.

4)
     
Cream together whipping cream and sugar until soft peaks form; set aside

5)
     
In another bowl beat mascarpone cheese, melted semi-sweet chocolate, vanilla and orange peel until smooth. Fold in whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag and pipe into chocolate cups.

If desired, garnish with white or dark chocolate curls