Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Marisue Jones sent the following note in response to a recently printed recipe for baked fried pies.
"The fried pie recipe you had today was similar to the one our Mom always made, and they were baked, not fried. My husband and I have been making fried pies for the past few years. We make them especially for the El Paso 4-H Club annual chili supper and dessert auction and other community get-togethers. The best thing we have found for chocolate fried pies is Nutella. ... It's better to put a small amount of Nutella than too much."
I haven't tried Nutella as a filling for fried pie, but I imagine it is delicious.
Speaking of Nutella, I recently made these Nutella Rolls to positive reviews.
Nutella Swirl Rolls
1 cup room temperature water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
Butter, for coating dish
1 cup Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread, warmed slightly
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon butter, softened
Milk or half-and-half
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, flour, sugar, salt and almond meal and mix until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour in a warm room.
Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll dough into a 16-by-24-inch rectangle. Spoon Nutella in dollops over the surface of the dough. Gently spread dollops into an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the short ends.
Starting at the short end with the Nutella spread to the edge, roll dough, jellyroll style, into a loose cylinder.
Cut roll into 16 pieces. Arrange pieces, flat side up, in the prepared baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove plastic from pan and bake rolls 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes.
Whisk together the confectioners' sugar, softened butter and enough milk or half-and-half to make a glaze. Drizzle or spread glaze over rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 16 rolls.
Recipe adapted from Make Ahead Bread by Donna Currie
Debbie Arnold shares this strawberry pie recipe from her blog, diningwithdebbie.net, in response to Melinda Oehlert's request for strawberry pie like that served at Granny's Kitchen in Huntsville.
Arnold stresses fresh berries are essential to this pie and cautions against using frozen.
Fresh Strawberry Pie
1 quart or more fresh strawberries
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup boiling water
Red food coloring, optional
1 pastry pie shell, baked
Whipped cream, sweetened (see note)
Wash, hull and sort berries, saving the perfect ones for placing in the shell (I usually have more than a quart on hand in order to make sure I have a pretty pie). Mash or crush enough berries to make 1 cup.
In saucepan, mix salt, sugar, cornstarch, crushed berries and boiling water. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Add food coloring (if using) and cool thoroughly.
Just before serving, place the reserved berries in the cooled, baked pie shell. Pour cooked filling over the whole berries.
Garnish with whipped cream at serving. Fresh peaches or raspberries work well also.
Makes 8 servings.
Note: Do not cover the pie with the whipped cream until serving time. It will deflate and look sad. Cool Whip can be used if you absolutely must prepare the pie ahead of time. I wouldn't do it too far ahead, however, as the strawberries and glaze will weep and cause the crust to get soggy.
Send recipe requests, contributions and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203; email:
kbrant@arkansasonline.com
Food on 04/08/2015