Grandma Flaugh's Butterscotch Pie

When I was in college I flew out during a break to be with my Aunt Grace's family in Creamery, Pennsylvania. My Grandma Flaugh was there, too. One day my uncle Bill requested that grandma make her famous Butterscotch pie. I came into the kitchen and with paper in hand, wrote down observational notes and asked questions as I watched her make this recipe from memory and scratch! I loved it!!! Today, I was reading through a recipe book my Aunt Grace and her son, my cousin Tom, had compiled for the extended family this year for Christmas. Grace had the recipe in there and mentioned it was my mother's favorite, and that neither Grace or mother had been successful at making this pie. I have made this recipe for my own family and I too love it. So, I quickly found my recipe card and discovered that I had details Grace did not. This recipe includes the crust, a filling, and the meringe topping. So, here I post grandma's recipe, as I wrote it down.

9 Inch Pie Crust Ingredients:
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/3 Cup+ 1 Tablespoon Crisco
2-3 Tablespoons water

9 Inch Pie Crust Directions:
Mix flour and salt. Add crisco and cut into flour mixture. Add in water one tablespoon at a time. Gather into a ball and roll out on a floured surface. Place in pie plate, do edges (I pinch mine). Poke pie bottom with a fork, all over the surface, so air can escape and not dome up the pie while it is cooking. Bake for 12 minutes in a 450 degree oven.

Pie Filling Ingredients:
2 Cups Whole Milk
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
2 Heaping Tablespoons Flour
2 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Pie Filling Directions:
Mix sugar and flour, set aside. Heat butter and milk, add dry ingredients and eggs. Cook and stir until thick. Do not boil. Add vanilla. Cool. Pour into baked pie shell and top with meringue.

Meringue Ingredients:
3 Egg Whites (I use large or extra large eggs)
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tarter
7 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

Meringue Directions:
Place egg whites in bowl, add vanilla, and cream of tarter. Mix until egg whites form tall fluffy peaks. Add sugar gradually while beating. Spread over pie filling. Cover pie filling to the edge of the crust. The meringue must be pushed up to the crust, if not it will pull away while baking. Use the back of a spoon to make lovely peaks in the meringue. Bake at 350 degrees until brown.

When mixed and cooked properly, this pie filling gels and is not runny.

Serve and enjoy!

Martha's Mini Gingerbread House Kit

We have made different recipes over the years. This recipe from Martha Stewart makes five mini Gingerbread House kits. This link has both video demos of mixing and building, templates for the house and the recipe. This recipe made firm gingerbread and was great architecturally. This is perfect for a Christmas luncheon with girls and their moms. Each can then take their creation home!

Teri Beef King

I grew up on Oahu. I can remember going to Kenny's Burger House in the Kam Shopping Center in Kalihi. Kenny's was there for almost a decade before McDonalds got to Hawaii, and in 2002 was replaced with a McDonalds. One dish Kenny's served was a Teri Beef King sandwich. This is my rendition. I know some people had other things on theirs, but I was a kid and a purist. I had the meat, onion, and bun.

Ingredients:
Thin sliced raw beef roast, marinated in my Teriyaki sauce marinade over night.
(I have the butcher shave or thin slice a roast)
Fresh thin sliced yellow onion
Hamburger Buns
Butter

Directions:
Cook marinated meat and onions together, in a skillet. This caramelizes the onions. in teriyaki sauce. Butter bun face and place face down in a hot skillet to toast and crisp the bun surface. Assemble and enjoy. Serve hot.

Donna's Pot Pie

This is great for taking meat leftovers (turkey, chicken, roast beef, stew, or even a thick soup) and converting into a meal. This can be made into individual pies or a large deep dish pie. Pot pies can be made with a double crust; a circle of pie dough can be filled, folded over and sealed; or topped with mash potatoes.

Ingredients:
Donna's pie shells

Filling:
Gravy or cream soup
Mixed vegetables
Diced meat
Seasoning

Directions:

Make pie crust(s). Mix ingredients in a bowl to your desired proportions. Add desired seasonings. Pour into pie crust, top with crust or potatoes. Bake for 1 hour at 400.

Lloyd's Whole Wheat Bread

My friend Lloyd is always experimenting with bread to improve the nutrition and quality of loaf for his large family. By adding ascorbic acid and lecithin the loft and crumb of the bread is better.  The lecithin also provides the needed amino acids to make this a complete protein. This is his current recipe. Yum!!!  Makes 6 loaves, or 4 extra long loaves. (updated 22 May 2010)

Ingredients:
11-12 cups of Hard White Spring Wheat (Golden 86) ground fresh into flour.

6.5 Cups Hot Water

1 Tablespoon Oil
3/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Teaspoon Ascorbic Acid or 1 Vitamin C, crushed (500 mg)-
4-6 Tablespoons Lecithin
1 Tablespoon Salt

3+ Tablespoons Yeast

Directions:
1. Grease pans.
2. Swish 1 tablespoon cooking oil in glass measuring cup and then pour into Bosch mixing bowl. As a side benefit this will make it easier to measure the honey and pour it out.
3. Measure 3/4 cup honey in the same glass measuring cup and then pour into mixing bowl.
4. Measure  in the same glass measuring cup- hot water from the tap as hot as you can get it and pour into mixing bowl. As a side benefit using the same measuring cup will result in rinsing all the oil and honey from the cup.
5. Measure 1/4 teaspoon Ascorbic Acid or crush 500mg of Vitamin C. This acid will bind the enzyme in the wheat that interferes with the yeast rising.  Adding this can make the loaf lighter.
6. Measure 4-6 tablespoons granulated Soy Lecithin and pour into mixing bowl. If you use powdered Lecithin, the powder can be added in with the wheat flour. Soy Lecithin provides Lysine to complete the amino acids to make this bread a complete protein.  This helps make the bread hold together better.
7. Measure 1 tablespoon salt and add in the mixing bowl.
8. Turn on the mixer.
9. Add 2/3s of the fresh ground wheat flour to the mixing bowl. This should make a lukewarm mixture that is like a thick pancake batter.  You want it warm, but not hot, so the yeast will rise.
10. While mixer is still on, add 3+ tablespoons SAF or Fermi-pan Instant Yeast. You may need to add more yeast if it is older yeast towards the end of its shelf life. (Fleischmann's does not perform well in this recipe).
Mix in until yeast is mixed in and cannot be seen.
11. While mixer is still on add wheat flour until dough pulls away from the sides and the center post. Add another 1/4-1/2 cup wheat flour.
12. Continue mixing on medium speed for 7-10 minutes.  If you are to err let it be longer rather than shorter mixing.  Gluten takes longer to develop and loses its elasticity slowly. If the dough gets sticky again it is over mixed.
13. Divide dough into six equal balls.
14. To form loaves, roll into rectangles, and then roll up the rectangle and fold ends under and place in pans.*
15. Cover with lightly floured dish towel. Let rise 30+ minutes (until more than double) in a warm oven (not more than 140 degrees). Place a cake pan of warm water in the bottom of the oven while rising, it keeps the dough from drying out while rising.
16. Remove dish towel and the pan of water from the oven. Turn oven to 325 degrees while bread is still in oven and bake for about 38-40+ minutes. Loaf should sound hollow when thumped.
17. Remove bread from pans while still hot. 
18. Butter loaf tops and cover with towel. Even if the first loaf cut is not as done as you would like, the towel covered loaves will continue to cook on the counter.  This will make six light crusted loaves of whole wheat bread.

If loaves cracked then heating oven with loaves in it was done too quickly.  Next time gently remove and preheat and then return bread to oven for approximately 40 minutes.  If you are not gentle in dealing with risen but uncooked bread, the rise of the bread will drop.So, be careful!

Dough can be used to make rolls or cinnamon rolls.

* Note on Freezing Uncooked Bread Dough: I am presently experimenting with freezing the dough at this point for baking in the future.  My family size has decreased and I no longer need such a large batch. I will post here when I have satisfactorily worked out the results. When freezing bread dough it is usually just after forming into loaves or rolls.  When forming loaves I would put it into the pan and freeze it a few hours then dump out of the pan and store frozen loaf in a plastic bag.  Rolls would be frozen on a cookie sheet and then poured into a plastic bag. When you want fresh bread, remove from freezer and place in prepared loaf pans or on a prepared cookie sheet. Continue with step 15 above.

Donna's Almost Homemade Red Velvet Cup Cakes

For Our Annual Super Saturday Craft's, Day the Relief Society provided lunch and dessert was pot luck. I decided to make red velvet cake but did not have enough time, so I opted for using a box mix, altered to be moist as home made. I topped it with easy roses made of the "original Heavenly Frosting" recipe I use on my Red Velvet Cake.

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet Cake Mix
1 1/4 water
1/3 cup Crisco shortening- melted, instead of oil. This makes the cake moist like homemade.
3 extra large eggs

Directions:
Mix well and pour into 24 cup cake wrappers. Bake at 350 for 19-223 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

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Heavenly Frosting
This is the original frosting used on the red velvet cake.

Ingredients:
5 heaping tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup softened butter ( I have also used margarine or Crisco™ when I did not have butter)

Optional: 1 drop green food coloring

Directions:
Cook flour and milk in a sauce pan on the stove, stirring constantly; with a wire whisk until thickened, like a thick white cream sauce, or pudding. Cool mixture completely. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, beat in vanilla and food coloring. Whip in cooled cooked mixture, on high speed until fluffy like whipped cream.

Easy Decorating:
#20 Star tip from Wilton (six slits)
12 In Wilton Decorator Bag
No coupler needed, just slip the star point down into the bag and out the hole. I use a bag that is already trimmed to use with a coupler.

Fill bag with Heavenly Frosting. Start in the center of the top of the cup cake, squeeze frosting through tip as you spiral outward, moving around the center, ending at the edge. This will make a quick shabby chic rose on the top of the cup cake, no rose pedal tip needed.

Boiled Snow Crab

We like to get crab when it is on sale and freeze it for special occasions. This is a rare treat.

Ingredients:

Snow Crab

Crab boil:

• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• Salt and cayenne pepper

Directions:

Mix spices and pour into pot of boiling water. Toss in crab and cook 5-6 minutes. Fresh non-precooked crab needs to cook about 20 minutes until the crab turns red. Most crab purchased in American supermarkets is already pre-cooked when you buy it in the store, so you are merely heating it through and flavoring it. This can be served hot with lemon and clarified butter, or it can be chilled and served on salad.

Tuna Sandwiches

My aunt Grace asked me to make tuna sandwiches for the lunch held the day of the joint memorial service for her husband and my mother. I made the version below, minus the cucumber slices. Just as I was ready to actually assemble the sandwiches aunt Grace handed me some of her sweet green tomato relish and suggested I add a teaspoon. I dutifully did so. I had never heard of sweet green tomato relish. Secretly, I thought YUK! However, my mom taught me to eat what was served and look for a way to compliment the chef. This time I was the chef, but my aunt was the head chef. I tried the sandwiches, I was surprised and yes I had another sandwich. The flavor was an unexpected delight! That is what I get for being brave;)

Ingredients
1- 6 oz. can tuna drained
1 thin slice of onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
Kraft mayonnaise
onion salt

Optional
1 teaspoon sweet green tomato pickle relish (this adds a sweet zip)

Toppings
cucumber slices
lettuce leaf
whole wheat bread slices


Directions
Drain tuna. Slice and chop the onion slice. Chop the celery stalk. Combine tuna, onion, and celery. Add mayo and mix to desired spreading consistency. Onion salt to taste and mix well. Optional: add sweet green tomato relish, mix well. Spread on whole wheat bread, top with cucumber slices, a lettuce leaf, and a second slice of whole wheat bread. Slice the sandwich diagonally and serve!

Donna's Tuna Salad

Ingredients:
1 lb small shell macaroni (or substitute any other macaroni)
1- 6 oz. can tuna, drained (or 2 cans depending on your preference)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen peas, rinsed
1/8 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Colby, or Colby/Jack)
Kraft Mayonnaise (or half and half with plain yogurt, or ranch dressing)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook macaroni to package instructions, rinse, and drain. Drain fluid from tuna. Chop celery. Rinse peas in cold water to thaw. Finely chop onion. Grate cheese. Mix ingredients in large bowl. Gently stir in mayo/dressing to desired consistency. Season to taste, chill for one hour or longer, serve.

Berry Biscuit Bliss

Ingredients:
Buttery Breakfast Biscuits
1 Cup Blackberries
2 Cups Raspberries
1 lb. Strawberries cored and quartered
Sugar to taste

Directions:
Make Buttery Breakfast Biscuits. Cut in heart shape. Mix berries and sugar. While biscuits are still warm, slice open, spoon berries over biscuits. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Donna's Apricot Leather

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pureed Apricots
1/2 cup Applesauce ( I use unsweetened home canned Jonathan applesauce)
1/4 cup Honey
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions:
Rinse but do not peel apricots. Cut apricots in half and remove pits. Drop apricots with skins on them, into the blender and puree them. Pour puree into stock pot and heat thoroughly, stirring constantly. This step destroys enzymes that otherwise could blacken the puree. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Ladle onto lightly oiled (with vegetable oil) dehydrator leather making trays. Dry until the surface is lightly tacky to the touch. Gently remove from dehydrator sheet while still warm, cut with oiled kitchen sheers, and roll up on a strip of saran wrap. Store in a ziplock bag, large lidded jar, or other kind of air tight kitchen container to store.

Do not own a dehydrator?

Oven method: Dry on lined cookie sheets in the oven on warm. Ovens warm around 180 degrees, and that is about 35 degrees hotter than a dehydrator. Check every few hours.


Sun method: Get a 12 inch wide wood plank.  Place board on two saw horses and place the saw horse feet in cans of water so ants do not crawl up the legs. Place in an area that will get sun all day.  Wrap a wire around the wood so it only touches the edges. of the wood, only.   Make a bug shield. Cut a length of mosquito netting four feet longer than the board. The length should be wide enough to sew a seam and make a long tube that will slip over the board when the wire encircling the board. Tie one end of the tube closed. Cover plank with a long strip of saran wrap. Make leather mixture and pour along the saran wrap covered plank.  If drying fruit or veggies, place on saran wrap or wax paper covered plank. Start at one end and slowly slip the netting tube around the end of the plank and over the top of the wire. The wire should keep the netting off the leather, and the netting should keep the bugs off. the food. Pull tube so netting is not touching food and tie off other end. In the afternoon, untie one end and check the food for doneness. When done, either roll up one long piece, saran wrap/wax paper and all, or cut into desired lengths and wrap and store.

Pork Won Ton

Ingredients
1 lb. Ground Pork
2 Scallions (green onion) Finely Chopped
8 Water Chestnuts Finely Chopped
1 Chopped Garlic Clove
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Ginger Root
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 packages of Won Ton Wrappers

Directions

Thoroughly mix all ingredients except the won ton wrappers. Place 1/4 teaspoon of filling in each wrapper.  Follow directions on wrappers for filling, folding, and frying wonton. Makes about 200.

Freeze for Later
These can be fried until almost light golden. Then dried on a paper towel then frozen for future use.
Place in Ziplock bag or freezable container. When ready to cook, place on a cookie sheet (I line mine with cooking parchment paper) and bake at 350 until a rich golden brown.  Serve and Enjoy !!!

Easy Baked Beans

Ingredients:
2 lb. cans pork and beans
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon prepared mustard
4 slices bacon cooked till crisp and crumbled
1/2 cup sauted diced onion

Directions:

Cook bacon until crisp, cool, and crumble. Reserve a few tablespoons of bacon drippings. Saute diced onion in bacon drippings until translucent, drain. Combine all ingredients in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and mix well. Bake in 325 degree oven for 90 minutes.

Leftover idea: Spoon beans on 1/2 hamburger bun, top with a slice of American or Cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese melts and bubbles. Serve with a tossed salad on the side.

Donna's Blueberry Muffins

Change to: medium muffins US Metric

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Ingredients:
Makes 10-12 Makes 24
1 3/4 cups sifted flour 3 1/2 cups
1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cups
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 5 teaspoons
3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon
1/3 cup melted shortening or salad oil 2/3 cup shortening
1 egg 2 eggs
3/4 cup milk 1 1/2cup milk
1 cup blueberries 1-2 cups (I like to double the ingredients but not
the berries)
 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small dish. Then sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a different bowl combine shortening, egg, and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients blending with a fork just until moist. Carefully fold in blueberries. You will probably burst a few berries, no worries, the juices make a nice color swirl. Fill greased or paper lined muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 400 F for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden.

Donna's Astice Alla Griglia Linguine (grilled lobster linguine)

Ingredients:
Seafood--
3-6 frozen lobster tails (thaw on defrost setting of microwave, 3-5 minutes per pound, and let sit for 3 minutes)
Substitutions: frozen raw shrimp (de-veined) or large prawns.

Grilling Baste-
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (not bottled lemon juice)
1 tablespoon dill
1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (multi-colored peppercorns are the best)

Pasta--
1 pkg. linguine

Cheese--
Asiago cheese, grated

Directions:
Bring water to a boil for pasta. Heat grill to med-high. Cut defrosted lobster tails in half lengthwise and butterfly open (if substituting shrimp or giant prawns , de-vein and butterfly.) Mix: oil, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper in a bowl, brush on tails, shrimp, or prawns. Cook linguine while you BBQ the seafood. BBQ seafood 2.5 -3.5 minutes per side, depends on the size of the tails. Remove tails from shrimp or prawns. Remove shell from lobster and slice. Rinse noodles. Toss with seafood and freshly grate Asiago cheese. Serve with a side of Insalata Di Giardino (garden salad).

Selecting A Ripe Pineapple

Pineapples are picked ripe and can spoil relatively quickly, so they are expensive. They may change color but do not sweeten after picked. Look for fruit that is yellowing and has no soft spots. The crown should not be shriveled. Grasp the center most leaf and pull straight up, do not twist. If the leaf comes out easily the pineapple is ripe.

Donna's Pie Crust

Ingredients:

10 inch Two crust pie
2 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Butter
7 - 8 Tablespoons water.

Directions:
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add butter and cut through the flour mixture until it looks like meal. Add water one tablespoon at a time, sprinkling over dry mixture, and stirring until flour mixture cleans the side of the bowl. Put in a ziploc or airtight container and refrigerate for three hours. Divide in half and roll into two balls. Roll out pie crust on a floured pie cloth, flour sack cloth, or 2 sheets floured wax paper. When between two sheets of wax paper, make sure to flour under the dough and over the dough so it does not stick to the paper. Fold into quarters, flouring surfaces that will touch when folded. Unfold crust in the pie dish.

Fresh Summer Quadruple Berry Pie

Makes one 9-inch two crust pie.

Ingredients:

1 cup raspberries/ loganberries
1 cup blackberries/marionberries
1 cup fresh strawberries (core and quarter)
1 cup blueberries (optional but beneficial to the pie structure and volume)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (not bottled)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pat butter broken up (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare Donna's pie crust and divide into 2 balls. Set in fridge in a ziplock bag.

Combine all pie ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Roll out one ball of pie dough into a large circle line bottom of pie pan, pour in fruit, roll out second ball and cover top of pie. Pinch edges. Cut six 1 inch slits in top of pie. Sprinkle with sugar. Place a 3 inch foil collar around pie and slightly bend in. this prevents crust from getting too dark. Place in 425 degree oven. Place a foil lined jelly roll pan (to catch drippings) under the pie. Bake 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 350 degrees. Bake 1 hour, take foil collar off last 15 minutes to lightly brown the crust. Cool pie on rack.

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream

The blackberries and blueberries give the pie structure. The berries blend well together.

Grilled Lobster Tails

Ingredients:
3-6 frozen lobster tails (thaw on defrost setting of microwave, 3-5 minutes per pound, and let sit for 3 minutes)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (not bottled lemon juice)
1 tablespoon dill
1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (multi-colored peppercorns are the best)

Directions:
Heat grill to med-high. Cut lobster tails in half lengthwise and butterfly open. Mix: oil, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper in a bowl. brush on tails and cook 2.5 -3.5 minutes per side, depends on the size of the tails.

Serving Suggestion: When served with steak, a lobster tail can feed two people.

Cranberry Chicken

I got this recipe from my daughter-in-law Tiffany. She served this when we visiting them in May 2009.

Ingredients:
1 can whole berry, cranberry sauce
1 - 8 ounce bottle Catalina dressing
1 package onion soup mix
Chicken

Directions:
Mix cranberry, Catalina, and onion mix. Pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.

BBQ Pomegranate Italian Chicken

Ingredients:

1 package Zesty Italian Dressing Mix
1/4 cup Pomegranate Vinegar
3 Tablespoon Water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 plump boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

Chicken Breasts are thick, slice them in half to make them thinner, this will give you 8 breasts. Marinate chicken in Pomegranate Italian Dressing for 30 minutes. BBQ on medium heat until cooked and tender. These cook fast because they are thin, so watch out.

Serving ideas:
Serve with tossed salad, steamed potatoes, and corn on the cob.

7 Layer Bars

These were served by Lauren Kammeyer at a Bridal Shower for Julia

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch-flavored chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass baking pan). Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray. In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press mixture firmly into bottom of pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with the back of a spoon. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool. Lift out of pan and cut into bars or diamonds. Enjoy! :)

Donna's Black-Eyed- Susan Button Pies

These little button pies were created and designed by Donna for Julia's wedding. They look like a Black-eyed-Susan that had its petals fall off. They are little bites of bliss.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients of my standard pie crust recipe.

2 small boxes instant white chocolate pudding
2 3/4 cup milk
1 -- 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened)
12-18 ounces of fresh Blackberries (rinsed and well drained)

Optional:

Almond slices
Coconut
Mini Chocolate chips
Other Raspberries, Blueberries, or whole Strawberries
Other pudding flavors can be substituted.

Directions:

Roll pie crust into 1 inch small balls, drop each ball into mini muffin pans. Or, roll dough out about 1/8th inch thick. Cut in one inch squares.  Drop a square in each mini muffin cup. Use the Pampered Chef wooden tart shaper to press down the pie centers and round the sides, or use your thumbs to shape. Dip shaper or thumbs into flour between making each tart. Prick bottoms of the button pies with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees 11 minutes or until golden. Cool pies completely.

Prepare pudding according to pie directions. Whip 2 3/4 cup milk with two small boxes of white chocolate instant pudding. Blend in softened cream cheese. Rinse and thoroughly drain berries. Drop pudding by the rounded teaspoon full into the cooled tart shells. Top with one blackberry. Chill and serve.

Optional:
Are blackberries out of season or too expensive?  These pies can be topped with any berry, kiwi, chunk of pineapple, mandarin orange section, pieces of a candy bar/ sandwich mint, coconut, almond slices, mini chocolate chip morsels, Reeces Pieces, M&Ms, a chocolate curl, or glazed fruit piece mixture.  Once topped with fruit or topping these little pies can have a drop or zigzag of melted chocolate over the top. These are really versatile little pies.