Vintage Jam Tarts

1 cup finely-ground cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1 1/2+ cups milk
1 egg, just the egg white
1/3 cup jam (any flavor(s) you like)
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Into a large bowl, or preferably, a food processor add the cornmeal, flours, salt, baking powder, sugar. To the dry ingredients add the butter. Using a pastry cutter or 30-35 quick pulses of the food processor, blend the mixture until it resembles tiny, sandy pebbles.
Dump the mixture into a medium bowl, add 1 1/2 cups of milk and with a fork stir just until everything is combined. You are going to roll out the dough, so if it is too wet, stir in a couple extra tablespoons of flour, if it is too dry stir in an extra tablespoon or two of milk. You don't want to overwork the dough, or your tarts will be tough, so stir only as much as you have to.
Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface, pull it together into one large mound, and roll out until it is about 1/3-inch thick. Pat with more flour if things get sticky - sticky dough is your enemy in this recipe. Cut the biscuit dough with a medium cutter (the one I used was about 2-inches across), then cut half the rounds with a slightly smaller cutter.
Brush the large rounds with a bit of egg white - this will give the tarts that nice golden color. Place the outer rings on top, brush those with the egg white, and fill with a bit of jam.
Place the tarts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes - larger tarts will need to bake longer. The rimmed baking sheet is important to use because these tarts tend to have a bit of runoff, and you want to prevent a mess in your oven.
Makes about 1 - 2 dozen tarts, depending on the size of your cutters.

Pecan Graham Cracker Crust

2 cups pecans
4-6 soft dates, pitted
1 tablespoon maple syrup or raw honey
2 tablespoons raw carob powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ideally ground fresh nutmeg
1 tablespoon non-alcohol vanilla extract (optional)
Pinch sun-dried sea salt
Soak 1 cup of the pecans in 2 cups fresh water for 2-4 hours. Drain and rinse.
In a food processor, chop 1 cup of dry pecans into a fine meal. Set aside. Chop soaked pecans into a fine meal. Cut or break the dates into pieces. If the dates are dry of very firm, soak them in 1/2 cup of fresh water for 5 minutes to soften. Add date pieces, maple syrup or honey, carob cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla (if desired), and sea salt to the ground soaked pecans and chop until well mixed. It may be necessary to scrape the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula and continue to chop for a thorough consistency. Add the ground dry pecans and chop until well mixed. The dough should be crumbly but sticky enough to hold a shape when pressed. Press the dough evenly into a pie plate or torte pan. It is best to press the dough to the sides of the plate or pan first and then press into the bottom for even depth.
To scallop the edge of the crust: Use the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand to pinch the edge of the dough successively around the rim of the plate or pan. Use the forefinger or your other hand to press against the pinches to keep them neat and orderly. Fill, frost, and serve with love.
Serves 8 to 10.

Peaches and Cream Pie

1 pie crust (recipe for crust follows)
6 peaches
1 cup whole raw cashews (raw cashew pieces can be used)
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon non-alcohol vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
Pinch of sun-dried sea salt
Prepare the pie crust (recipe below). To make the filling: Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Peel the peaches and slice into thin slices. Soak the cashews in 2 cups fresh water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse. In a blender or food processor, blend cashews, honey, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt until smooth. Fold the cashew sauce into the sliced peaches. Spread the peach and cashew mixture into the pie crust. Allow to chill for an hour or two in the refrigerator before serving.

Basic Pastry Dough

Makes enough for a single crust 9-inch pie or a 9- to 11-inch tart, or for a double crust 9-inch pie.
Active time: 10 minutes
Start to finish: 1 1/4 hours (includes chilling)
For a single crust pie or a tart
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons ice water
For a double-crust pie
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingers or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea sized) lumps of butter. For a single crust pie or tart, drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, ad more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.
Turn dough out onto a work surface. For a single-crust pie or tart, divide into 4 portions; for a double-crust pie, divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one. For single-crust pie or tart, press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. For a double-crust pie, divide in half, and then flatten each into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.
Cook's note:
The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Apple Pie

Serves 6 to 8
Active time: 40 minutes
Start to finish: 5 1/2 hours (includes making dough and cooling)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 10 wedges
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Basic Pastry Dough for a double-crust pie (see recipe below)
1 large egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
Put a large baking sheet on middle oven rack and preheat oven to 425F.
Whisk together flour, zest, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. Gently toss with apples and lemon juice.
Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Refrigerate while you roll out dough for top crust.
Roll out remaining piece of dough on lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round.
Spoon filling into shell. Cover pie with pastry round and trim with kitchen shears, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together, then crimp decoratively. Lightly brush top of pie with egg and sprinkle all over with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. With a small sharp knife, cut 3 vents in top crust.
Bake Pie on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more. Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.