Mrs Avers Date Walnut Pie Recipes

BRANDIED DATE AND WALNUT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold edge under; crimp. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze 10 minutes. Line with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake crust until sides are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until bottom begins to color, piercing with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool on rack 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir dates and brandy in small bowl to blend. Mix brown sugar, butter, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl until paste forms. Whisk in corn syrup, then 3 eggs. Add nuts and date mixture. Beat 1 egg to blend in small bowl for glaze.
• Brush inside of crust with some of glaze. Pour filling into crust. Bake 15 minutes. Cover edges of crust with foil. Continue to bake pie until filling is puffed and set in center, about 20 minutes. Transfer pie to rack; cool. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Serve pie with whipped cream.

MALTESE WALNUT AND DATES PIE

Steps:

• Chop the dates in small pieces and put in a saucepan.
• Add 3 tablespoons water and put on a moderate heat, till they start melting. You have to be very careful, because the dates should not melt completely.
• Lower heat. Add the walnuts, Anisette and finely chopped rind of 1 tangerine. Blend well.
• Remove from heat and put in a bowl and put aside to cool.
• When completely cold, fill the pastry case with this filling. Smooth the top.
• Decorate with the extra walnuts.

WALNUT PIE

Steps:

• Mix together eggs, sugar, flour, corn syrup, butter and vanilla, mixing well.
• Pour into pie shell.
• Sprinkle walnuts all over top, arranging them where needed.
• Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 35 to 45 more minutes, or until center is set.
• Cool before serving.

DATE NUT COOKIE PIES

Steps:

• To prepare the pastry, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of the cream and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Add more cream if necessary but stop before the dough is too wet. Tip half of the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Repeat with the remaining dough. Chill the disks for at least 2 hours.
• To prepare the filling, bring the dates and the water to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan. Cook until the dates are very soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dates and the water to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and add the pecans, walnuts, honey, orange zest, cardamom, cloves, and salt and pulse until you have a chunky paste. Let cool completely.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Working with one disk at a time, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8 inch on a very lightly floured surface. (Less flour means a more tender cookie.) Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and set them about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining disk. You can reroll the dough once if you like.
• Scoop about a rounded 1/2 teaspoon of filling onto half of the dough circles. Brush the edges of the filling-topped circles with a bit of cream and top with another dough circle, gently pressing the edges to seal. Once you've sandwiched all of the cookies, use a fork to crimp all of the edges.
• Chill the cookies until firm, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Brush the top of each cookie with cream and sprinkle with a bit of sanding sugar. Bake until the cookies are golden and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack.
• Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

DATE & WALNUT LOAF

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 2lb loaf tin (ours was 22 x 10cm and 6cm deep) and line with baking parchment. Put the butter, dates and bicarbonate of soda (which helps break down the dates) in a large bowl and add 150ml boiling water. Give it a stir so the butter melts, and leave to stand for around 20 mins until the dates have softened.
• Whisk in the sugar until smooth, then gradually whisk in the eggs until combined. Beat in the baking powder, flour and a pinch of sea salt until there are no lumps of flour left and it's smooth. Fold in three-quarters of the walnuts, then pour into the prepared tin. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts over the top.
• Bake for 20 mins, then turn the oven down to 170C/150C fan/gas 3 and cook for another 45-50 mins until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Lightly dust with the icing sugar and serve in slices. Freeze whole or cut into slices, then place in an airtight container or divide between reusable freezer bags. Can be frozen for up to three months. Defrost thoroughly overnight.

WALNUT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Press the nut mixture firmly into bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 10 minutes, or until the edge is golden brown. Cool.