Click the picture to view an absolutely hilarious retelling of one woman's adventure to replicate her mom's tasty pecan shortbread cookies. And they sound delicious to boot!

-Katy

Cheesecake tips and tricks

This post at The Kitchn has some great tips for baking a great cheesecake. I heartily agree with all the tips, and I had never heard the tip to chill your cheesecake for at least six hours. I always just let it come to room temperature on the counter and only chilled it if there were leftovers. I will definitely have to try chilling my cheesecake before serving next time.

I think the most important thing to remember about a cheesecake is that it's basically a custard pie, so it should be handled with care. It will not take kindly to overcooking or too high temperatures. It definitely follows the cardinal rule of cooking eggs - if it looks done in the pan, it will be overdone on the plate. I'll admit; I have had difficulty with this one. But, once I got over it, I could enjoy creamy, luscious cheesecakes and smooth, moist, even custardy, scrambled eggs, and omelets that don't taste like styrofoam.

A lot of people swear by baking cheesecakes in a water bath, but that's a problem if you use a springform pan. The great Alton Brown gets around this by using a 3" tall cake pan instead, but I'm rather attached to my springform. I get around it by putting the two racks in my oven in two adjacent slots with the top rack in the middle of the oven. On the bottom rack, I put a sheet pan filled with water. (Put the pan in first and then fill with water.) I put the water pan in the oven as soon as I finish baking the crust so the water has time to warm up and get the oven nice and steamy while I get the filling ready. Once the filling is ready and in the pan, that pan goes on the rack right above the water pan. It's protected from the harsher radiant heat from the coils at the bottom of the oven, and the cheesecake gets to cook in a nice moist environment. It doesn't coddle the cheesecake as much as a water bath would, but I think it's a good compromise.

The next thing is to not let the cheesecake overcook. I think this is where most cheesecakes go wrong. If you're paranoid about undercooking, you can turn off the oven when you think it's almost done. That will allow you a little more room for error. Although you're more likely to overcook it this way, it won't be as noticeable and will give you peace of mind if you're worried about eating undercooked eggs. (I say to get over it, but that's just me.)

If you're more worried about overcooking, like me, take the cheesecake out of the oven when the outer half is set, but the center still jiggles when you shake it. So, if you're using a 9" springform pan, you're looking for a jiggly circle between 4" and 5" in diameter when you shake the pan. And by shake, I mean wiggle back and forth on the oven rack horizontally, just so there's no confusion. I don't want anybody picking up the pan and shaking it up and down. That sounds like a good way to get boiling hot and probably pretty sticky cream cheese on yourself. Yikes!

If you're looking for a good recipe, I would highly recommend this one from Tigers & Strawberries. It has never failed me, and it's easy to customize.

-Katy

Recipe: Double Berry Pie

"You Can Convince Yourself It's Healthy" Double Berry Pie

Crust:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1/4 c ice water

Filling:
2 1/2 c strawberries
2 1/2 c blueberries
1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Topping:
3/4 c rolled oats
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
2 Tbsp butter

1. For crust, cube butter and combine with flours and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water a little bit at a time until dough comes together. It may not necessary form a dough ball in the food processor, but it should hold together if you squeeze it.
2. Chill dough in a plastic zip top bag for at least 30 minutes. Roll out dough in the plastic bag. Cut off 3 sides and invert over a pie pan and press into place. Prick crust with a fork and cover with a double layer of foil. Blind bake crust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
3. For filling, mix together all ingredients. I would suggest sifting the cornstarch into the sugar and berries to help prevent cornstarch clumps in your pie.
4. For topping, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. You can also add a pinch of nutmeg if you'd like. Cube the butter and cut into the other ingredients until mixture (excluding the oats) resembles coarse crumbs. I start by using my fingers and then cut in the rest of the butter in with a fork.
5. Once the crust comes out of the oven, turn it down to 375 degrees. Remove foil, add filling, and top with oatmeal topping. Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool at least 1 hour before eating.

Recipe: Strawberry Sorbet

See over there? That's my first foray into the world of food photography. Not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself. (Though I have to admit to a little post-camera tweaking.) That lovely looking strawberry sorbet you see above is what I made tonight. It's so so yummy. And it's really not that hard . . . assuming you have an ice cream maker. It would be rather difficult if you didn't. I have this one, and I very much enjoy it. To get it ready for the sorbet, the core has to go into the freezer the day before.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I used some leftover strawberries that were in my freezer as well as some in my fridge. So the amount on the strawberries is purely an estimate. However, I think it's pretty close thanks to the gauge on the side of my blender.

You'll notice the presence of alcohol in the sorbet. Don't worry. You can't taste it. It's just there to lower the melting point of the sorbet and therefore help keep it from freezing into a strawberry-flavored block of ice. If you wanted to be able to taste the alcohol you add, I would recommend orange liqueur or brandy. If you use those, I would up the alcohol content a tad and lower the sugar content to keep it from becoming too sweet and preserve the texture. Other ways to tweak? Lemon juice and/or zest or balsamic vinegar.


Strawberry Sorbet

Ingredients:
1.5 pints strawberries
2/3 c sugar
2 Tbsp vodka

Method:
1) Cut the leaves off the tops of the strawberries and slice in half.
2) Put all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. If you wish to, you can strain it. (I didn't.)
3) Start up your ice cream maker and pour the base from the blender into the ice cream maker.
4) Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. I let mine run for 15 minutes.
5) Put into a container and leave in the freezer for at least 3 hours before serving. Or eat it straight out of the ice cream maker if you just can't wait.