TWD: Cafe (not so) Volcano Cookies

Well…..these certainly were nutty, weren’t they?  What mine weren’t were in any emblematic of a volcano or crater.  I must have messed up something somewhere – which kind of boggles because this recipe was about as simple as they come.   I suppose someone has to be on the wrong end of the bell curve.  But, the pictures don’t lie.

I, of course, made no effort to taste test these.  Jamie gave it a go and ate…one.  ONE.  Never a good sign.  I took them to work and made my colleague taste one before I set them out for public consumption.  The bad news:  she called them “interesting.”   The good news:  they reminded her a little of peanut brittle which her husband loves.  She took the whole bag home to him.  I never got a follow-up report and I probably won’t ask.  In my mind, they went to a loving home and were gobbled up with glee.  Why let the truth ruin things?

The full recipe is at the Lonely Sidecar by MacDuff.  Next week:  Pecan pie.  This nut thing?  It never ends.

TWD: the creamiest lime cream meringue pie (or perfection pie)

Things FINALLY seem to be calming down a little around our little home front  (I shouldn’t have written that, right?).  You may have gleaned through earlier posts that Colin is a bit of slacker/laid back kid.  Well, he took that to the extreme last week by missing the first THREE days of kindergarten.  Of course, it wasn’t really his fault.  The poor kid had pneumonia and then had the unfortunate luck of having an allergic reaction to the first antibiotic.  Pneumonia + hives does not a happy boy make.  This is also the child that is allergic to almost every tree pollen known to the Midwest.  So much for the benefits of breastfeeding!

The good news is that he has recovered and started kindergarten on Monday.  True to his nature, he was most looking forward to recess.  I wish I could say this pie was a great send-off to the brave new world of “real” school but we all know Colin wouldn’t come near this baby.  His older brother shocked me and refused it as well.  Too bad for them cuz it was goo-ood.  [UPDATE:  Will had some the next day and declared it a winner]

Yum – minus one stick of butter! I just couldn’t throw it all in.

My absolute favorite pie growing up was lemon meringue with a key lime a close second.  This was like a perfect combination of the two. I loved it more than a pie should be loved.  What I did not love was standing at the stove stirring and cursing a thermometer that would NOT rise above 137 degrees.  No one who has ever met me for even a minute would confuse with a perfectionist so you can bet I didn’t wait for any 180 to magically appear.  The lemon cream tart was my first TWD recipe and I honestly can’t remember if I had this problem then.  I started the blog the next week so we’ll never know….

No matter.  It was great regardless.  A perfect taste of summer (a season I am not ready to bid farewell.  If we could just skip winter…)

That’s all I have to say about this pie…

Thanks to Linda of Tender Crumb for a great pick.  The recipe is on her site.

TWD: Islands of Frustration

I have been on a business trip and had a sick child and it isn’t even still Tuesday but here goes.  I admit I wasn’t super excited to make the Floating Islands.  I know there is a (not so small) percentage of us in TWD who say every week that we would “have passed right over this recipe” if not for the group.  Really true for me this week.  In fact, for the first time I contemplated not making something just because it didn’t sound good.  The two recipes I have missed thus far have been due to time constraints.  But I persevered.

I made the crème anglaise on Saturday night.  I think I overcooked it a little.  I think I read a little too much about the thickness, etc and I got confused and so on and so forth.  I tried to make the meringue islands on Sunday afternoon but wasn’t feeling it so I made these chocolate chip cookies instead.  When I finally convinced myself to make the islands, I got distracted by Will’s worsening condition.  He went from generic stomachache to 102 degree fever.  In my world, this also means I have to figure out if I have meetings the next day; 2) if so, can they be moved, canceled, etc.; or 3) if not, do I have someone to take care of child.  Sunday nights are a scramble anyway.  One kink and the whole system is out of whack.  I had to fly to St Louis on Monday for a performance review so…chaos.

These are made with almond butter and agave nectar.  I substituted silken tofu for the white bean puree and used bittersweet chips.  Great, especially for someone who needs to avoid white sugar.

I think I did a pretty good job on the meringue for my first time.  But they weren’t pretty and I couldn’t get them to flip nicely in the saucepan.  I was getting visibly frustrated and started just manhandling them.  By the time they cooled, I was the only interested in giving them a try.  I was on a healthy kick this week and waited until Sunday for dessert.  I was disappointed.  I consoled myself with a big slice of “Cloudy with Meatballs Ice Cream Pie” that I completely forgot to post to You Want Pies With That? It has been that kind of week.

Oreo crust, ice cream and brownie “meatballs.”

I left the rest in the fridge.  When my mom came to my rescue Monday morning she was not in the least bit enticed by the scary white globs.  They hit the trash.  Still, thanks to Shari for making me do this.  Now, I have a little experience with meringue and lemon meringue pie is one of my all time faves.  Now, maybe I will try to make it myself.

Looking forward to next week….