These things grew dim for me this week, as I suspect they did for many others. This week I, along with hundreds of others in the food blog community, was captivated by the death of fellow blogger Jennifer Perillo’s husband, Mikey. Mikey died of a sudden heart attack, leaving behind Jennifer and their two small girls. I don’t know Jennifer, and honestly had never read her blog before this week, but my heart has broken for her all week. And last night, I learned that a dear childhood friend of mine just lost a cousin to a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Life is so utterly fragile and short.

Jennifer wrote a beautiful, heartbreaking post asking that those who wished to help her in some way do so by making peanut butter pie (Mikey’s favorite) today, and sharing it with their own loved ones. I thought this was a wonderful idea — realistically there’s nothing most of us can physically do for her, and nothing we can offer will diminish her pain. But we can make pie, and we can show love to those close to us. I don’t know of anything more important than that.

This week I’ve been reminded that sometimes I need to rearrange my priorities. My days shouldn’t be measured by workouts or billable hours or chores checked off the list. My days should be about loving the Lord and loving people.

Today I’m joining with a worldwide community to support Jennifer and her girls, as well as my own dear friend. I encourage you to spend the weekend cherishing those you love, perhaps with a peanut butter pie.

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
In Jennie’s Kitchen

Serves 10-12*

8 ounces chocolate cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 ounces finely chopped chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well. Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream). Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan. Drizzle the melted chocolate on top, if using, and refrigerate (or freeze) for three hours or overnight before serving.

*I made a half-recipe of this, intending to use a 4-ounce tart pan for only Ryan and I, and ended up with more than enough filling for a second mini pie. If you’d like to go the miniature route, prepare the crust mixture with the full amount of ingredients, and divide it between two 4-ounce tart pans. Then prepare the filling with half of each ingredient. Enjoy one miniature pie, and give the other away!

I can very easily eat myself sick on fresh cherries alone, but I love the magic they create in the oven just as much. Desserts baked from fresh cherries are worlds apart from anything made with cherry pie filling from a can (although that’s tasty, as well). They make everything velvety rich and delicious, and need so little embellishment!

This galette is the perfect showcase for summer fruit at its finest – a rich, buttery crust holding up piles of barely-sweetened berries. Use any fruit you like, but I’d highly recommend cherries! Blackberries would be great, as well.

Cherry-Blueberry Galette
Adapted from Martha Stewart via Shutterbean

Serves 6

all-purpose flour, for sprinkling
1 recipe Pate Brisee, below*
3/4 cup pitted and quartered cherries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon turbinado (or granulated) sugar

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to an 8 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer dough to a parchment lined baking sheet & refrigerate until ready to use- up to one hour. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Toss the fruit in a bowl with the sugar, flour and lemon juice. Stir thoroughly and set aside.

Pile the fruit mixture on top of the chilled dough, leaving a 2 inch border for the crust. Fold the sides up, creating the crust and pinch folds together to secure. Brush egg on top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake pie in the oven for about 30 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool on the counter and serve.

Pate Brisee

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Form the dough into a disc on a floured surface  wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.

*As far as I’m concerned, this is the only pie crust recipe you’ll ever need. For this dessert I used a half-recipe, which makes enough for one standard pie crust. I make it frequently and it never fails to emerge flaky and delicious. It’s also perfect for savory pies like quiches — just omit the sugar and proceed.

The good news is that Christmas is a scant three and a half weeks away. Maybe that isn’t good news. I suppose it depends upon your perspective.

Good news or not, chances are that you’ll soon be looking for something in the way of a dessert that will please pretty much anyone: a warm mouthful of rich, decadent goodness that you wouldn’t allow yourself to eat any time outside of the holidays.

You’re in luck.

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Adapted from Evil Chef Mom

People, I beg of you, gather and prepare all of your ingredients before starting this one. It’s not difficult at all, but once you begin there isn’t a whole lot of extra time to toast nuts or break up Heath bars. Trust me on this one. And make this pie right now.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter*
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light or dark corn syrup
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons strong coffee
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup very finely chopped toasted pecans
1 cup toasted pecan halves
1 cup toasted walnut halves
1 pie crust
1/2 cup crushed chocolate toffee candy pieces, such as Heath or Skor (very quickly accomplished in a food processor)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the center of the oven, set a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter is brown, 3-5 minutes. Immediately whisk in the brown sugar, corn syrup, agave nectar, and maple syrup until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly. One at a time, whisk in the eggs, followed by the coffee, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the chopped pecans.

Sprinkle the pecan and walnut halves in the pie crust, followed by the toffee pieces and chocolate chips. Pour the syrup mixture over all.

Put the pie on the heated baking sheet and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until the center is set, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. The pie will still jiggle slightly when nudged, and filling will bubble near the edges.

Transfer to a rack and cool completely before serving. The pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

*If you’d rather use margarine, you can certainly do so, but keep in mind that it will not brown when cooked, and the flavor won’t be quite as rich. That being said, I used margarine because that’s what I had in the house and my pie was freaking awesome. Cook the margarine for the same amount of time (3-5 minutes), but don’t expect browning.

It helps that we still have a couple of gift cards left over from our wedding, but who am I kidding? I would have bought them anyway. And it’s a darn good thing, too, because I just don’t make a whole lot of pastry. I don’t know why; probably because I just don’t have the patience for it. But that needs to change, and these little babies are just the motivation I need.

That being said, I spent last weekend Christmas shopping with my sister and come Sunday afternoon, we were tired but needed to bake a dessert for a dinner party the following evening. I pulled this recipe out of my back pocket and whipped out the pretty little pastry cutters for their test-drive.

This recipe is one I’ve been making for Thanksgiving for several years now, simply because it’s just so easy. It’s sweet and tangy and has just the right amount of spice. If you’re like me, and not a big fan of making your own pie crust, it’s even better. And I say, if you cut that pre-made pie crust into delicate little leaves and brush them with a bit of egg, your family probably won’t believe you didn’t make the crust anyhow.

Easiest Apple Pie
Adapted from KraftFoods.com

6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (Granny Smiths are best)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crusts (1 package)*
1 egg
1 teaspoon water

Williams-Sonoma’s Fall Forest Piecrust Cutters

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the pie crusts from their box and set them (still plastic-wrapped) on top of the oven to soften.

Toss apples with granulated sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.

When the crusts have nearly come to room temperature, press one into the bottom of your pie plate. Roll the other out onto a large cutting board and use the leaf of your choice to cut as many leaves out of the dough as possible. I know, it’s my bad, but I didn’t count how many we had. Suffice it to say that we used every scrap of that pie crust and only had about four leaves left over when the pie was finished.

Spoon the apple mixture into the crust-filled pan and use the back of your spoon to press it down slightly and evenly. Use your leaves to cover the top of the pie. You can cover the top completely, or use the leaves to form the easiest-ever lattice pattern (think traditional lattice pie). You can even line the outside edge of the pie with leaves. It’s up to you — they’re so darn cute, it probably doesn’t matter how you arrange them.

Gently beat the egg and water and brush lightly over the top crust. Bake the pie 45-50 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the juices are bubbly (you can really only see this if you don’t cover the top completely with leaves, so that’s my recommendation). Check the crust about halfway through baking — if the outside edges are already browning, cover them with foil so that they don’t burn.

*The original recipe includes a crumb topping rather than a second crust. If you’d like to go this route rather than purchasing your own novelty leaf-shaped pastry cutters (which I totally understand), skip the second crust, egg, and water. Stir together 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup brown sugar, and use a pastry blender or your fingers to cut in 1/4 cup cold butter or margarine until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the otherwise-finished pie and bake as directed.