So Delicious Dairy Free® Frozen Chocolate Salted Caramel Pie {Vegan, No-Bake}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DairyFree4All #CollectiveBias

I'm not dairy-free but that hasn't stopped me from lusting after So Delicious Dairy Free® frozen treats. I've long seen them and made a note to myself, "Hey...those look yummalicious. You should get them sometime." So when I had the opportunity to create a dairy-free recipe using So Delicious, I RAN to the frozen section of my closest Walmart! I was faced with a dizzying array of amazing options...but my heart was stolen when I laid eyes on their Cashew Salted Caramel Cluster and Cashew Dark Chocolate Truffle. Sweet and salty cashew milk based frozen dessert with chocolate covered cashews and ribbons of salted caramel? HEAVEN. Fair trade cocoa (also cashew milk based) frozen goodness folded with fudge and shaved chocolate? OMIGOSH YES.

Now...before I could create a recipe...I had to at least give each of the frozen desserts a try. And I can 100% confidently attest that they were RICH, DECADENT, CREAMY, and seriously insanely delicious. I think I'm a complete convert--I've gone So Delicious Dairy Free® and I don't think I can go back! It's seriously so unbelievable that they are:

• Certified Vegan
• Dairy-Free and Egg-Free
• Non-GMO Project Verified
• Cholesterol-free
• No artificial colors, flavors, trans-fats, hydrogenated oils, or preservatives
• No high-fructose corn syrup
• Always 100% plant-based
• Certified Kosher

Like....WHAAAT? Not to mention the fact that many of their products are also made with organic ingredients. Be still my good-food-lovin' heart: no wonder So Delicious Dairy Free® has been a dairy-free staple for more than 25 years! Seriously...their products are outstandingly delicious and something you can feel good about eating (or drinking...or licking..)

I decided the perfect way to highlight the 2 delectable pints of So Delicious Dairy Free® goodness that I picked up was in the form of a vegan (and, obviously, dairy-free) frozen pie! The base is a perfect, no-bake, chocolate cookie crust. Then there's a layer of the Cashew Salted Caramel Cluster, topped with a layer of Cashew Dark Chocolate Truffle. And the finishing touch? You cover the entire pie with vegan salted caramel sauce (which you are more than welcome to buy, but I have included a recipe below!) This pie is the perfect melding of flavors, everything balances so nicely and it all tastes deliiiicious together! The alternating layers of chocolate and caramel. The crunchy crust, creamy frozen filling, and gooey caramel. The perfect marriage of salty and sweet. A dessert that can be enjoyed by practically everyone-vegan or not!  Guys...this is a good one, you're going to LUHVE it. The name does not lie....it really is: SO DELICIOUS!

Chocolate Shoofly Pie with Pecan Whole Wheat Crust-Stephie's Virtual Bridal Shower

Yay! Yay! YAYYY!!!

Today is super duper exciting: We're holding a SURPRISE virtual bridal shower for Stephie of Stephie Cooks! (Are you surprised, Stephie!!?) Myself, Stef, and Steph, teamed up with a bunch more of Stephie's bloggy buds to celebrate the amazingness that is Stephie and the excitement we all have for her and her soon-to-be hubby, Alex!

I LOVE LOVE Stephie-she's a fantastic baker, has the coolest mom, and she's just the sweetest gal. She's also been featured on this blog a couple times already. So I am thrilled to celebrate her happiness today with a bunch of her other friends!

Stephie's wedding is coming up SOON and--because I'm nosy and also because I was doing some espionage-style research for this shower--I asked Stephie to share some deets about the upcoming nuptials! And what I learned is so fitting and so perfect for them. They're having a beautiful rustic-elegance style wedding with turquoise and pinks: gorgeous. And for food? BBQ! (Which is perfect, esp. because Alex is a major carnivore) and cupcakes and pie instead of the standard cake--again...adorable and perfect! (And I wish I could be there to see-and taste-it all! But I'll settle for just drooling over wedding photos :D) Anyway, I really wanted to use their wedding as inspiration for what I was going to make!

And-in addition to the fact that they are having pie-when I think of that sort of country feeling...I think of pie. And shoofly pies and barns go together like....well....Stephie and Alex :)

But! Since they're doing that rustic-chic spin, I decided to get a little fancy with my shoofly pie as well. So I made it a chocolate shoofly pie. And I put pecans on top (which, although optional, you should 100% do because they toast when the pie bakes and they're maybe the best part of the pie). And I made a whole wheat pecan pie crust (which is the perfect accompaniment). But first of all...what is a shoofly pie?

Shoofly pies are traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch and they're pretty much a molasses based pie. (The name shoofly comes because the scent of molasses attracts flies and they had to "shoo" them away). Now-in case you didn't know-molasses is what makes brown sugar different from granulated sugar. So-it's pretty much awesome. I made a wet bottomed version, which means that there is a crumb topping but the bottom is more sticky and...well..."wet". And, although it's not healthy, it's not terribly awful for you. There's very little butter and not a great deal of sugar either. It's pretty much just molasses and water and such. Oh...and in this case....chocolate. Which I think really helped make it a bit more sweet and rich. I loved how rustic it turned out! And the textures-you have that nutty earthy whole wheat pie crust, the gooey chocolatey/molasses-y filling, a slightly crisp crumb topping and then the toasted pecans and sea salt take it from being just an "Ok" dessert to a "Mmmmm give me another piece!" sort of pie. I loved it. I think Stephie & Alex would (even though chocolate isn't usually Stephie's biggest thing), and I know you will too!

Now check out all the other delicious things Stephie's blogger friends made for her virtual shower!

The Cooking Actress – Chocolate Shoofly Pie with Pecan Whole Wheat Crust
Girl Versus Dough – Mini Meyer Lemon Coconut Scones
Sarcastic Cooking – Mini Buffalo Blue Cheese Chicken Pot Pies
The Roasted Root – Sweet Potato Rounds with Guacamole and Bacon
A Cedar Spoon – Strawberry Mint Mascarpone Crostini with Lemon Honey Drizzle
Very Culinary – White Chocolate Raspberry Parfaits
Rachel Cooks – Broccoli and Bacon Beer Cheese Dip
Bluebonnet Baker – Maple Bourbon Balls
Nutmeg Nanny – Broccoli Bacon Salad
Laura’s Mess – Spiced Apple and Buttermilk Cake
Seaweed and Sassafras – Herband Cheese Scones
Stetted – Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie
All Day I Dream About Food – Chocolate Fudge Crumb Bars
Dessert for Two – Mini Lemon Cakes
Foodie with Family – Smoked Salmon Cucumber Pizza

Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheat Crust and Cinnamon Caramel Whipped Cream-Stahlbush Farms Review

Pumpkin pie is the first pie I can remember loving. Every Thanksgiving, without fail, my mom would make 2 pies and fill the whole house with that delicious, pumpkin-spice smell. And then I would have to wait, patiently*, for them to cool. My reward was a gorgeous slice of pie with a big dollop of Cool Whip that I would then proceed to scrape out of the crust (because I didn't like pie crust at that time...my theory on this is because I had yet to try a HOMEMADE pie crust at that point.) 

Now I'm grown up. And I made a grown up version of my beloved pumpkin pie.

*(not so patiently)

As a "grown up" I've really gotten into eating food from scratch: real, natural, and oft-times organic food. So when I was approached by Stahlbush Farms, I jumped at the chance to review some of their product.

"Stahlbush Island Farms is an environmentally friendly farm and food processor committed to sustainable agriculture and exceptional quality. Stahlbush has been family-owned since 1985."

Check out all the amazing products Stahlbush offers (plus the products from their Farmer's Market brand!) 

Stahlbush Farms sent me some super tasty frozen grapes to try AND-dun dun dun duuuun!- their Farmer's market brand Organic Pumpkin! And obviously I knew what I had to do: make a healthier pumpkin pie (after all, when dealing with an organic pumpkin puree with no additives, I couldn't ruin it with a bunch of other gunk). So I made a whole wheat pie crust, and topped it off with a just slightly sinful cinnamon caramel whipped cream. Mmmm yes.

I'm gonna be straight with you right now: when I was making this pie I felt like everything was going wrong. I had some issues with the pie crust being too sticky (I had to throw half of it out! Ugh, don't worry though-just follow the instructions below and you should be good. I've updated them so you hopefully won't have my problems) and THEN I was a big old idiot and poured the pie filling into the crust....before I'd mixed the evaporated milk in. *sigh* I only had a minor conniption, eased by the Michael playing "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls (he thought it might help calm me down, he was right). End of the day, everything turned out fine. I fixed all the problemos. And still ended up with a tasty tasty pie. 

Crisp, flaky, hearty pie crust. Creamy, dreamy, spiced to perfection pumpkin filling. And a sweet whipped cream with just a hint of spice on top. Oh little Kayle, you had no idea what heights pumpkin pie could reach.

Make this for Thanksgiving. Impress everyone. You're welcome.

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Pie

I'm a mean old lady...

It's taken me over a month to share this recipe with you. And that's not cool, guys.

This pie was Michael's birthday dessert this year and it could not have been a better choice. First: it represents 2 of Michael's favorite flavors, dark chocolate and raspberry. Second: THIS PIE IS SO EASY IT'S INSANE! Oh hey, can you use a microwave and do you have a refrigerator? Yes? Fab. You can make this pie.

Now, I mean...I can never really make anything too easy for myself. So I made my own crust (although honestly, that's pretty simple too....although I did make my own cookies to make my own crust....#ihaveaproblem). But you can totes just buy one. No judging here. This is a safe space. But yeah, anyway, throw some stuff in a microwave, stir it, pour it in your crust, refrigerate, and you have yourself an amazing pie!

A pie that, I might add, prompted my friend Molly to call me a "goddess". So yeah. It's impressive.

And OF COURSE the birthday boy loooved it! He told me so, repeatedly. The ganache gives you the most amazing, silky, texture and then there's a beautiful raspberry glaze on top to give an extra punch of fruity flavor. And there's nothing more delicious (ok that's prob. a big statement but....it's up there) than a cookie crust!

You're gonna love this one.

Vanilla & Honey Shortbread Pie (Walkers Shortbread Recipe Challenge)

So um...
I kinda won a recipe contest Monday?

WHAAAT!?

Yes. I am still in shock. I mean it when I say I had 0 expectations of winning. Everyone had such amazing, beautiful, delicious desserts, so I am just humbled. I am so so thrilled that I did win, though-definitely a highlight of my time as a baker/food blogger :).

And now I get to enjoy the awesomeness that is Michael being adorable and saying things like "A kiss for the winner!" "I love you my little champion", etc. etc. :) :) :)
(not to mention the awesome prizes I won. Including 2 tickets to the Summer Fancy Food Show-which I'm super excited about!)

On Monday I (along with 8 other food bloggers, including my friends Susan from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen and Mallory of Total Noms) brought our recipes, featuring Walkers Shortbread, to the NASFT center in Manhattan. We all had to bring 1 copy of the dish for the 3 judges, and 1 for everyone there to try. This whole thing has been in the works since the fall, so we had all been thinking about our recipes for quite some time. I'll be posting a bunch more about the actual event later. For now, let's talk pie:

I decided to make pie. In my head, shortbread is warm and comforting tasting. So I thought that vanilla and honey were two flavors that would compliment that. And then I sort of just had a vague idea of what to do. And then I decided to just wing it the Sunday before the contest. Because I'm insane, I guess?

Anyway, the recipes I was sort of adapting the elements from didn't behave the ways I thought they would so I really had to think on my feet to make it all work. But it did! And the plus side is, the recipe is now 100% Kayle original :). Lemme sum it up for you:

1. A buttery shortbread crust with honey and peanut butter (although 1 judge, Corina, suggested omitting peanut butter from the crust, as it can overwhelm the other flavors-so feel free to mess around with it).
2. A rich, vanilla-honey pudding filling.
3. Whipped cream on top! (I used honey & a lot of vanilla in mine)

The aforementioned judge, Corina, said it was like "eating a hug", and she made an audible noise of happiness when she took a bite. Best compliment ever :).

Oddly enough, the first time I tasted the entire pie together was while at the contest. I was pretty happy with it, tasted good to me. And Michael really really really liked it (he said it was extremely flavorful without being overwhelming). You will too. It is pure joy in pie form. 

I've got a ton left over, feel free to come on over and have some.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

So, I want to start this post with a question: Should I do themed/update/round-up posts? You know like some blogs post "Muffin Monday", others do "Tuesday Tutor", and lots of others share links of their fav. recipes from other blog's for the week, or a round-up of their recipes + some fun little life bits. Should I do something like this? Would you guys like me more? (could I sound more needy?) Is there anything specific you would like to see from me on a more regularized basis?

Just something I was thinkin' about.

Now that that little piece of business is finished, I have sort of a basic recipe post for you today: Graham Cracker Pie Crust. Now, obviously you can always easily buy these crusts. But...who knows what's all up in those, you know? And I want to feel as unprocessed as possible as I eat my peanut butter pie! ;P But seriously, it's so not hard to make homemade graham cracker crust, and it tastes like a bjillion times better. Last time I made that peanut butter pie we love I decided to attempt to make my own and, using a couple different graham cracker pie crust recipes I had that were for different pies, I sort of created my own little recipe (that's not quite as heinously bad for you as some), and I really loved it. It's super delish. And, a great basic recipe to just have, in case you need it. So here ya go!

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Adapted from evil shenanigans' crust for "Peanut Butter Cream Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream"

Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust-Holiday Recipe Exchange: Week 15 (Pie) UPDATED PHOTOS

Can I tell you something?

I used to be afraid of homemade pie crust.

I had two reasons.

1. My mom always ranted about what a hassle it was, and how store bought is just as good without ALL that hard work.
2. My boyfriend's mom (my Mama Maria) is, like, the queen of pie. Her pie crust is spoken of in reverent tones. So, you know, intimidating.

For my birthday, Mama Maria got me (in addition to a lovely apron) the new edition of The Betty Crocker Cookbook. Until that point I hadn't even bothered to look for a pie crust recipe, because I knew only hers would do. However, she informed me her recipe was in that book-yay!

Fast forward a month (because I got my present early) to Thanksgiving. I was making 3 pumpkin pies for myself (and, I thought, Brandon) and some mini apple pies for Michael (recipe coming soon!). Well, first of all--when I found the recipe for the mini apple pies, it had the crust recipe for it too, and it had a way for me to make it with a food processor, and it was all butter (no shortening-thank God! I hate shortening. I don't have any and I don't want to get any.) So I was pretty excited about that, actually. But, for the pumpkin pies, I had decided to do what my mom did and just buy Pillsbury pre-made crusts.

Baking day came. Everything was ready. I had just mixed up the pumpkin filling. Then I took out the crusts and....realized they were the wrong kind. My mom's instructions hadn't been quite specific enough. So, I was stuck with these two pre-made pie crusts that were in their own little tins (thusly needing no pie plate) and were FAR too small for the amount of filling. I knew I'd need at least one more pie. So-I did what I had to do. I looked in the Betty Crocker Cookbook-but, unfortunately, there was no pie crust recipe that didn't have at least some shortening. I googled, in search for an all-butter pie crust recipe I could use. And I found one. And I used the food processor method I had read about for the mini apple pies to make it super easy! In the end-my oops was a happy HAPPY accident! With that extra pie crust, the filling filled all three pies up PERFECTLY. And after baking it was obvious which pie was the prettiest (and after tasting it was obvious which pie was the tastiest). 

But there was one more hurdle. Michael's the one who likes fruit pies. He's the one who, more often than not, would be wanting the pies that had this sort of crust. Would it compare to his mom's?

Answer=Yes! He proclaimed the crust was just as good! 

Yay! I don't have to use shortening! 

And neither do you--use this recipe. Because, seriously, with the food processor method, I don't know what my mom was talking about. This is in no way difficult, and it is definitely worth it!

(Holiday Recipe Exchange posts: Week 1 Parts 1 and 2, Week 3, Week Six, Week Seven, Week Nine , and Week 10 Parts 1 and 2,Week 11 Parts 1 and 2, Week 12 Part 1 and 2 and Week 14 Parts 1 and 2)

Perfect All-Butter Pie Crust

Very slightly adapted from Food For My Family