for the crust-
24 nutter butter cookies 1/4 cup butter for the filling- 2-8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup nutella 1/2 cup whipping cream for nutella ganache {optional} 1/4 cup nutella 1/4 cup cream {or more if you like a thinner ganache} Directions: Spray 9-inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. {1}Place nutter butter cookies into food processor and grind until they are fine crumbs. Stir together with melted butter. {2}Press into prepared pie plate. Place into refrigerator to chill. {3}For the filling, whip cream cheese and sugar together until well blended. Stir in vanilla and nutella. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Stir in cream and then increase speed and whip 3 minutes or until very thick. {4}Pour into pie crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. To serve, prepare nutella ganache by microwaving nutella and cream together until a thin sauce forms. Drizzle over pieces of pie. |
from Our Best Bites
Brazilian Lemonade
4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.
Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you’re using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.
Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.
Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn’t test it and it came out a little bitter. If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.
Fresh Strawberry Limeade
Recipe (can you even call this a recipe??) by Our Best Bites
1 tall glass
Lots of ice
Sprite (or Diet Sprite…or Ginger Ale if you’re feeling wild)
1 1/2 limes
3-4 tablespoons Strawberry Sauce
Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze the juice of one lime into the glass over the ice. Fill the glass about halfway with Sprite. Add 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry sauce. Top the glass off with Sprite and add more strawberry sauce if desired. Garnish with lime wedges (which you can also squeeze into the glass before drinking. Definitely best when served with a straw.
For the best chocolate flavor and texture, we recommend either Callebaut semisweet and unsweetened chocolates or Hershey's Special Dark and Hershey's unsweetened chocolates. Do not combine the yolks and sugar in advance of making the filling--the sugar will begin to denature the yolks, and the finished cream will be pitted.
| Chocolate Cookie Crumb Crust | |
| 16 | Oreo cookies (with filling), broken into rough pieces, about 2 1/2 cups |
| 2 | tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled |
| Chocolate Cream Filling | |
| 2 1/2 | cups half-and-half |
| pinch table salt | |
| 1/3 | cup granulated sugar |
| 2 | tablespoons cornstarch |
| 6 | large egg yolks at room temperature, chalazae (protein strands attached to yolk) removed (see related Quick Tip) |
| 6 | tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 6 pieces |
| 6 | ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped |
| 1 | ounce unsweetened chocolate , finely chopped |
| 1 | teaspoon vanilla extract |
| Whipped Cream Topping | |
| 1 1/2 | cups heavy cream (cold) |
| 1 1/2 | tablespoons granulated sugar |
| 1/2 | teaspoon vanilla extract |
1. For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process cookies with 15 one-second pulses, then let machine run until crumbs are uniformly fine, about 15 seconds. (Alternatively, place cookies in large zipper-lock plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.) Transfer crumbs to medium bowl, drizzle with butter, and use fingers to combine until butter is evenly distributed.
2. Pour crumbs into 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Following illustration below, press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Refrigerate lined pie plate 20 minutes to firm crumbs, then bake until crumbs are fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing filling.
3. For the Filling: (See illustrations below). Bring half-and-half, salt, and about 3 tablespoons sugar to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Stir together remaining sugar and cornstarch in small bowl, then sprinkle over yolks and whisk, scraping down sides of bowl, if necessary, until mixture is glossy and sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk yolks thoroughly in medium bowl until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. When half-and-half reaches full simmer, drizzle about 1/2 cup hot half-and-half over yolks, whisking constantly to temper; then whisk egg yolk mixture into simmering half-and-half (mixture should thicken in about 30 seconds). Return to simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.
4. Off heat, whisk in butter until incorporated; add chocolates and whisk until melted, scraping pan bottom with rubber spatula to fully incorporate. Stir in vanilla, then immediately pour filling into baked and cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate pie until filling is cold and firm, about 3 hours.
5. For the Topping: Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Spread or pipe whipped cream over chilled pie filling. Cut pie into wedges and serve.
