Over the Moon Chocolate Pie

Christmas was a blur to me after losing Otis and Milo and being sick myself so long.

I'm just now starting to play catchup.

I hope to post about our new dachshunds 

on Dewena's Window soon.

I feel badly that I've totally ignored the Window

but the good news is that Bree and Mason

are busy writing it for me.

Before all of Christmas escapes me,

I want to show a pie I made,

the only baking I did for Christmas.

It was from Southern Living magazine

and was called Over the Moon Chocolate Pie.

They based in on our state favorite--Moon Pies.

It calls for a Marshmallow Meringue topping and

I totally goofed it up.

The recipe said to cook the egg whites

(in a double boiler) only until the sugar dissolved.

I'm paranoid about raw eggs so cooked it and cooked it...

There were no raw eggs in my meringue,

but it was like eating saltwater taffy,

yummy and good exercise for your jaws.

Next time I'll trust the recipe--

or maybe I'll just make the delicious filling

on top of that wonderful crust and call it a day.

Or top it with real whipped cream, I mean REAL, folks.

 Have any of you ever made a marshmallow meringue?

And had it to succeed? 

Here's the link to Southern Living's recipe.

Lee Bailey's Blackberry Cobbler

"Going to Lee Bailey's is like going home...

when going home is what it's cracked up to be.

It's that comfortable and welcoming."

Amy Gross

I have six of Lee Bailey's cookbooks and hope to someday own every single one.

Before there was Martha, there was Lee,
legendary lifestyle writer. 
His books make me feel exactly how Amy Gross wrote, like I've walked in his door and known immediately that there would be good conversation and good food--
all done with such ease that you know you're not a bother.

His Country Weekends was my first Lee Bailey book.

And his Peach Cobbler the first recipe I tried years ago,
best cobbler dough ever!

You use the same dough for his Blackberry Cobbler
and it's well worth passing on.

Cobbler Batter:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons frozen, unsalted butter
4 tablespoons frozen Crisco
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Lee suggests making the dough in a food processor but I just mix the flour and salt in a bowl and use my old little pastry cutter to cut in the butter and Crisco. Then stir in the ice water until you can form it in a ball. Either refrigerate until ready to roll out, or I go ahead and roll it out right away.

Put the whole round of dough over a large pie plate and let it hang over. You're going to just fold the excess over the top after the filling is put in.

So easy! 

And if you have a neighbor like we do who brings you fresh-picked blackberries, count your blessings.

For the blackberry filling, none is easier than Lee's:

6 cups washed blackberries

(I only had 3 cups)

3/4 cups sugar (I used less)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

Dump berries into the dough in pie pan.

Sprinkle sugar over.
Fold excess pastry over top.

Dot with pats of butter.

Sprinkle a little sugar on top of pastry.

Bake for 45 minutes, don't over brown.

Be sure to put some aluminum foil on

bottom rack to catch any spills.

The last step is to enjoy,

either with vanilla ice cream or without.

And enjoy, we did.

Blackberry Cobbler, summer is officially here!