Butternut Squash, Peanut Butter Cup and Dutch Apple Crumb Pies

On Friday, I made three pies for a dinner party which we hosted last night. One of them was a butternut squash pie. Now that might sound more like a “fall dessert,” but my husband brought in some butternut squash from the garden (the only garden plants that have survived this hot, droughty Texas summer!) and they needed to be used. So I made the pie. The peanut butter cup and apple pies were made with my sons’s tastebuds in mind. Here are the recipes:

DUTCH APPLE CRUMB PIE

1 9-inch pie crust
6 cups golden delicious apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1 T. lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 T. (heaping) all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
¾ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cold

Microwave apple slices for 4-5 minutes, until slightly tender. Add lemon juice, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ light brown sugar, 3 T. flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well and spoon into crust. Wrap foil around edges of crust or place a pastry shield on crust. Bake in 375° F oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make crumb topping: Mix remaining ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup light brown sugar and unsalted butter with fork or your fingers until crumbly. Remove pie from oven. Take shield or foil off crust. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples. Bake another 30 minutes, or until topping is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool thoroughly on wire rack before cutting into slices.


BUTTERNUT SQUASH PIE

1 9-inch pie crust
1 ½ cups cooked and mashed butternut squash
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 T. melted butter
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
½ cup half-and-half
¼ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350° F. In large bowl, beat the squash and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in spices salt, flour, butter, and vanilla. Stir in half and half and heavy cream and blend well. Pour the filling into the chilled pie and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until set. Serve warm or chilled. Delicious with freshly-whipped cream or ice cream.


PEANUT BUTTER CUP PIE
(Recipe adapted from pg. 88 of Kraft Philadelphia’s “Cheesecakes & More” cookbook)

Crust:
3 cups Oreo cookies (about 22), ground in food processor
3 T. melted butter

Filling:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup whole milk
1 (3.4 oz.) pkg, instant vanilla pudding
2 ½ cups thawed Cool Whip

Topping:
3 squares semi-sweet chocolate

Garnish:
½ cup peanut butter candy wafers
Miniature peanut butter cups

First, make the crust. Blend cookie crumbs and butter, and press into 9-inch pie plate. Bake in 325° F oven for 6 minutes. Chill in refrigerator until ready to fill.

For filling, beat cream cheese and peanut butter until well blended. Add milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup Cool Whip. Spoon filling into crust. Refrigerate 1-2 hours, or until set.

Meanwhile, microwave remaining Cool Whipe and chocolate in microwave, about 2 minutes, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after 1 minute. Cool completely, and then spread mixture over pudding layer. Put back in refrigerator and let chill.

To garnish pie, melt peanut butter candy wafers in microwave (about 1-2 minutes). Drizzle over pie. Arrange peanut butter cups around edge of pie. Refrigerate until serving time.

Happy pie making!
~Becky