Sugarplum Pie on My...

...2^nd Anniversary!

Today marks two years since I started this blog. Happy Blog-iversary to me! Instead of passing around the cupcake tray, I've decided to share a recipe I found over at Emiline's Sugarplum blog (my newest food blog addiction). This recipe has a festive feel to it and it results in a purple pie. A fine choice for a celebration!

Sugarplum Pie (Recipe by Emiline)
Ingredients:
Pie dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 Tablespoons (trans-fat free) shortening
5-6 Tablespoons ice water

Filling:
2 lbs. black plums, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried plums
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (not too coarse)
1 egg whisked together with
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon Turbinado sugar (raw)

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Work the butter and shortening in, using a pastry blender or your fingers, until pea-sized lumps form. Sprinkle in the water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, stirring gently with a fork after each addition and adding only enough of the water to form a rough mass.

Using floured hands, divide the dough in half, and pat into 2 smooth, flattened disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together plums, dried plums, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and pepper, until well combined.

Remove pie dough rounds from refrigerator, and allow to warm up a bit before you start rolling. Roll out one of your pie dough rounds, thinly, on a floured surface, and fit into a 9-inch pie plate; dust bottom of dough with a little bit of flour to prevent the crust from getting soggy. Pour the plums into the pie plate. Roll out the second pie dough round and fit it over the top of plums. Trim away the excess dough, and make the crust look all pretty. Brush the egg mixture evenly over dough.

Bake pie for 40 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. Return pie to oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If your crust or your crust edges starts to brown too quickly, cover with foil.

Cool pie on a wire rack to room temperature before slicing.

Yield: 8-10 slices

____________________________________

But, dear readers, that is not all!

I would like to thank you all for sharing in my journey. This blog started out as a journal/brag book of sorts, and has grown into a window into the world of first-time parenting in which I live, laugh and love.

In the beginning I expected this blog to fill a creative void. And it did (and does). The social aspect of blogging, however, took me completely by surprise. I didn't expect to make social connections: to post opinions and ask for others, to start conversations that often end in observations of things I have never considered before, to grow friendships from tiny seeds of ideas. The social aspect of blogging has made this blog worthwhile. So, hats off to all of you!