Foolproof Vodka Pie Crust and Dad’s favorite Chocolate Ice Box Pie

My mom found an new favorite pie crust and it has an unlikely ingredient: Vodka.

Supposedly the vodka, because it is 80-proof, will mostly evaporate in the oven, meaning that the crust gets the liquid it needs but much of it will not stay. It creates an perfect pie crust with lots of flaky layers.

Worried about the boozy vibe of your pie? Don’t be. My family doesn’t drink and thus we were worried about the same thing. According to Smitten Kitchen, vodka, by definition, is colorless and odorless, so once it’s baked, you’ll forget it was ever in there.

chocolate ice box pie with foolproof pie crust

It was my parent’s 38th anniversary last week, and Mom made my Dad one of his favorite desserts: chocolate ice box pie. While I’ve blogged this pie before, we’ve never had a really good crust that we liked until now.

We usually bake a store-bought crust to save on time. Plus Matt and Paula don’t even like pie crust. They will scoop out the chocolate, or whatever flavor pie filling, and leave the shell of the pie crust behind.

However, for those of us who LIKE pie crust (everyone else in this world besides Matt and Paula), we wanted a good crust recipe and found one!

vodka pie crust — Prick the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork. Line with foil and pie weights and bake for 10-12 minutes at 450 degrees F.

chocolate ice box pie — Look at all those flaky layers in the crust!

Enjoy!

For the chocolate ice box pie recipe, click HERE.

Foolproof Pie Crust

Serves: 8

Recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated, November 2007

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bites
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Instructions

Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour).
Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together.
Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
To fit into a standard 9-inch pie dish, roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer your dough to the pie plate. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Line the pie crust with foil and add ceramic pie weights (rice or beans to will also work) to keep the pie crust from rising.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Notes

Makes enough for one 9-inch double-crust pie.

Gooey Butter Cakes

When I got married three years ago, my lovely cousin Brooke gave me a recipe box as part of my wedding gift. However, it wasn’t any ole recipe box….it was a collection of hand-written recipes from all of my close friends and family members. Each person wrote down their favorite recipe and a congratulatory message on a cute green notecard for me to read.

Brooke’s idea was perfect….not just because I love cooking, but because each recipe card was so personal and meant so much to me! Thanks again, Brooke, if you are reading this!

Now let’s talk gooey butter cakes! This cake has many names… Neiman Marcus cake, St. Louis butter cake, ooey gooey butter cake, etc. My dad LOVES the Neiman Marcus “named” version, but the recipe I am posting today is from my cousin Brooke.

I remember Brooke made these for a party she was throwing one summer. Her husband, Joey, grilled out tasty fajitas (he is a master at the grill), and Brooke had these gooey butter cakes all cut up into bars, for dessert. I remember asking her what they were, since they looked like a white brownie. (I had actually had these before, but they were the “Neiman Marucs cake” version that my mom makes. However, I’ve never seen the cake cut into bars, so I was thrown for a loop!)

Anyways, I ate one of Brooke’s bars and was totally hooked! I think I even had two of them. Obviously, Brooke knew how much I loved these, so she wrote them up for my recipe box. Enjoy!

Combine cake mix, egg and butter and mix well.

Press into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, butter and powdered sugar until combined.

Pour over cake mixture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Let cool and cut into bars. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Gooey Butter Cakes
Ingredients
CRUST
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, melted

FILLING
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
8 Tbsp. (1stick) butter, melted
1 (16 ounce) box powdered sugar

Directions
1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine crust ingredients and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
2. For the filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add butter; beat. Add powdered sugar and mix well.
3. Spread over cake mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not over bake.

Recipe from: my cousin Brooke, who got this from Paula Deen
Yield: 15-20 bars

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie is my all-time favorite cookie recipe in the entire world. Why?

They are super easy and I always have the ingredients.
They only make two dozen cookies.
Neiman Marcus is where I buy all my clothes. (Right, in my dreams!)

P.S. My mother-in-law (Paula), and my husband’s best friend (Kenny) are HUGE fans of these. These are my “go-to” cookies for when I have company over at the house.

Enjoy and I hope I make a Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie fan out of you!

Add the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

Next mix in the egg and vanilla.

Once you’ve added the dry ingredients, expresso, and chocolate chips, form into balls onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, and voila! I like them very chewy, so I bake them for the shorter amount of time.

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use half Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chunks and half Guittard milk chocolate for added sweetness)
1 1/2 tsp instant expresso coffee powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the workbowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds until the mixture is fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla for 30 seconds longer, until well combined.
4. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the mixer, while beating on slow speed.
5. Beat for about 15 seconds, stir in the chocolate chips and expresso powder, and mix for 15 seconds longer.
6. Prepare a cookie sheet with about 2 tablespoons of shortening (or nonstick spray). Using a 1 oz scoop or 2 tablespoon measure, drop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet in dollops with 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into 2 inch circles.
7. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until cookies are nicely browned around the edges. Bake longer for crispier cookies.

Yields: 2 dozen
Recipe from: Neiman Marcus Cookbook by Kevin Garvin and John Harrisson