Thanks for coming to post #2 today! This is your Bonus Post, and you’ll be rewarded with more sweets here. Trust me, you are going to want to make this one too!!!!

This recipe is going to make you feel so proud of your culinary accomplishments! You’ll be calling yourself Susie Homemaker in NO TIME FLAT, thanks to this simple push crust.

Flaky, light, delicious and oh-so simple!

Easy Push Crust

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2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup chilled Crisco (butter flavored is best)

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup cold water

1 T. milk for basting (only when fully cooking crust)

Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut shortening into flour. Sprinkle with water. Form into ball, divide in 2. Flatten each to fit your pie pans, all the way to the edges. Crimp with fingertips to make pretty. Prick with a fork before baking. Baste with milk if fully baking. Makes 2 crusts.

I baked this at 425* for 6 minutes to just firm it up a bit before I put juicy peaches in it. This is called Par-baking and would also be necessary when making say, a Custard pie, since it is a liquid that would make the crust soggy. Now, if you were using this crust for say PB Pie, you’d want to baste it and fully bake it at 425* for 15 minutes, and then cool completely before filling. Make sense? Reading through your pie recipe will tell you whether it is calling for a prebaked pie crust or not.

Peach Crumble Pie

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FOR THE FILLING:
6-8 cups Thinly Sliced Fresh Peaches
4 Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
Pinch Of Salt
FOR THE TOPPING:
⅔ cups Brown Sugar, Packed
⅔ cups Oats (quick Or Rolled Is Fine)
12 Tablespoons Sweet Cream Salted Butter

Make and Par-bake 2 crusts in 2 – 8 or 9 inch pie plates, per instructions in “Easy Push Crust” recipe listed above. Bake crusts for 6 minutes before continuing below….

Make filling: In a large bowl, toss together peeled, pitted and thinly sliced peaches, brown sugar and flour until combined.

Make crumble: In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, and oats; using a pastry cutter, then your hands to work in butter until large clumps form.

Transfer peach filling to par-baked pie shelled, then sprinkle crumble evenly over tops. Place pies on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375* until juices are bubbling and topping is golden, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 1 1/2 hours before serving. Store, covered, at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Delicious and really simple!

You CAN make a homemade pie just like Grandma used to make. I had the ultimate compliment from my Mom today. She said my pie baking is just as good as my Great Grandma Schrock! That made me beam with pride because my Great Grandma was an amazing pie baker!!!!

Happy Baking! You can do it!!!

This post linked to Wonka Wednesday!

This Chick Cooks

Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

Gooseberry Patch

I have a bit of a problem….. I have sooo many new “keepers” to share with you, that I have a back-log of new recipes stretching cleeeeear to the end of the month, and more recipes being typed as we speak. SO, today you get a bonus. Today you get TWO Sweet recipes. Stay tuned, the next one will post in a few minutes……

First up?!

HOHO CAKE

FOR THE FIRST LAYER:
1 whole Boxed Chocolate Cake Mix, 18 Ounce Box (or Your Favorite Chocolate Cake Mix From Scratch)
Additional Required Ingredients Specified In Cake Mix Package (typically Water, Eggs And Oil)
_____
FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER:
1 cup Butter, Softened
½ cups Milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3 cups Powdered Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
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FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
½ cups Butter, Softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¾ cups Cocoa
3 cups Powdered Sugar
8 Tablespoons Water, Adding One At A Time

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare your favorite chocolate cake (I used a Devil’s Food boxed mix – combine the box mix with the additional required ingredients specified in the package). Grease and flour a jelly roll pan. Pour batter in the pan and spread around until it’s even. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes; this will depend on the cake you bake, but begin to check it after 15 minutes.

Remove cake and let cool for 30 minutes. While cake is cooling, mix middle layer.

Middle Layer:
Cream butter and slowly add milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and salt, beating until mixture is thick, combined and spreadable. Spread in an even layer on the cooled chocolate cake. Set in the freezer for 15 minutes while you make the chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:
Cream butter and vanilla. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar until combined. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture is smooth– you want the frosting to be spreadable, but not thin.

Remove cake from freezer and frost. Store in the fridge until the last possible second!

This cake is VERY rich, so to cut the richness, we served it with fresh strawberries and blueberries the 2nd time around.