[1] Apple Pie cookies: crust on the bottom, streusel on the top. There are also Chocolate, Pecan and Triple Berry flavors (all photos © Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods).

[2] There are also traditional favorites, like Chocolate Chip…

[3] …and Chewy Triple Ginger.

[4] The gift box we want—anytime!

[5] Triple Berry Pie Crust Cookies.

The formal name of this business is Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods.

When Janie was down and out, without direction, she baked the Pie Crust Cookies that changed her life.

What is a pie crust cookie? Janie explains:

Her quest began with trying to make perfectly proportioned bites of pie.

In the process, she invented a cookie where every bite achieves that perfect balance: a flaky crust on the bottom, delectable filling, and buttery, caramelized streusel on top.

The Pie Crust Cookie has won Janie numerous awards, made her a Food Network “Chopped Sweets” Champion, and has guided her mission in life.
 
 
JANIE’S CURRENT COOKIE MENU

In addition to pie crust cookies, Janie bakes excellent traditional cookies. Both are superb and must-try!

There are standard as well as seasonal flavors. The options currently include:

Pie Crust Cookies

 
You’ve got to experience them!

Traditional Cookies

 
And drat: We missed out on the Limited Edition Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies and Caramel Brownies, which quickly sold out.

That’s the reason to sign up for Janie’s email list!
 
 
MORE BAKED TREATS

If you live in New York City, there’s an irresistible selection of pies and tarts for delivery.

The current lineup includes Apple Cranberry Ginger Pie, Chocolate-Caramel Tart and Chocolate Espresso Pecan Pie.
 
 
JANIE’S COOKIES FOR YOURSELF & FOR GIFTS

There are deluxe gift boxes and single-flavor boxes that make great stocking stuffers.

And you can treat yourself to any and all!

You can’t buy too many of Janie’s cookies. They freeze well.

“But for a truly life-changing experience,” says Janie, “pop them in a 350° oven for 3-5 minutes. Trust us, you’ll thank us.”

Resistance is futile.

Head to JanieBakes.com.
 
 
JANIE GIVES BACK

As a recipient of grants and scholarships that helped her up the ladder to achieving her goals, Janie wants to help bring others up that ladder.

She provides second chance employment, teaches baking classes to underprivileged youths in East Harlem, and donates time and cookies to local community centers and homeless shelters.

You can read her inspiring story on the website.

We’ll always be fans!
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF COOKIES
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES

A gift for your favorite lover of luxe black truffles: truffle croissants!

Baked exclusively for Williams Sonoma by San Francisco’s Le Marais Bakery, these handmade, small-batch croissants are indeed a treat.

They arrive frozen, to be baked fresh at home for an experience that instantly transports you to Paris.

Light and flaky, these savory croissants are filled with:

 
They’ll make a holiday breakfast or brunch a very special experience.

Perhaps with these truffled scrambled eggs?
 
 
GET YOURS HERE

Exclusive to Williams Sonoma for the holiday season, the package of 10 croissants is available at Williams-Sonoma.com.

Are you sure you want just one package?
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUFFLES

[1] Truffle croissants from Williams Sonoma (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[2] Truffles are sliced with a special truffle shaver. Both are available from Gourmet Attitude (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[1] Save time making and par-baking a pie crust, with this beauty from Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] The pie crust is delivered frozen, to store in the freezer until you’re ready to bake your pie (photos #2 and #3 © Three Babes Bake Shop | San Francisco).

[3] Voilà: your pie!

This article features a par-baked pie crust that you can buy, ready to fill and re-bake (photos #1, #2 and #3—see details below).

It’s appropriate for pumpkin pies and other pies of the season.

Inveterate pie bakers will have come across an instruction to “par-bake” the crust.

Par-baking means to partially bake an empty pie shell before adding the filling.

Blind baking and pre baking are synonyms for the same technique.

Par-baking is called for when the filling takes less time to bake than the crust—such as custard pies, cream pies, quiche, all with lots of eggs in the filling.

You may even have seen pie weights—stainless steel balls or ceramic beads that weigh down the bottom of the crust.

Why? So that the dough keeps its shape and doesn’t puff up, only to slump down in a mess when the par-baked crust comes out of the oven.

But you don’t need special pie weights.

Dry beans from your pantry do just fine, and can be reused to bake more pies.

No dry beans? No pie weights? Use uncooked rice!

No matter what you use, place a round of parchment paper or aluminum foil between the crust and the weights/beans/rice. And allow the pie shell to cool completely before adding the filling.

Note Re Beans & Rice

 
Your recipe will no doubt provide the instructions for par-baking. But if you need a tutorial, look here.
 

BUY A DELICIOUS PAR-BAKED PIE SHELL

Good Eggs, a Bay area grocery delivery service that provides fresh groceries, including baked goods and sustainable meat, dairy and eggs, from top Bay area producers. Here’s more about Good Eggs.

One of their time-savers this holiday season is this par-baked pie shell (photos at left) from Three Babes Bake Shop in San Francisco.

Good Eggs only delivers locally, but you can order the crusts directly from Three Babes Bakeshop, which ships nationwide.

Save time with this beautiful, par-baked, ready-to-fill crust.

Keep it in the freezer until ready to use. Then, just fill the frozen pie shell and bake as per your recipe’s instructions.

It’s a prettier fluted crust than we could ever hope to make.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF PIE

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PIE & PASTRY

This festive mocktail is a refreshing apéritif for the holidays—and can be made into a cocktail with a splash of gin, tequila or vodka (we like gin or flavored vodka best).

Or, see the tip below to add spirits, including flavored vodka.

Thanks to Pampered Chef for the recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: CRAN-RASPBERRY FIZZ

Let the sorbet soften at room temperature as you prepare the other ingredients.
 
 
Ingredients For 16 Servings

 
Preparation

1. SLICE two of the limes into wheels for garnish. If you have a mandoline with a v-shaped blade, it’s much easier. Set aside.

2. POUR the cranberry juice concentrate and water into a large pitcher.

3. JUICE the remaining limes and add to the pitcher. If you have a citrus press, you can juice them right into the pitcher.

4. SCOOP the sorbet into the pitcher using an ice cream scoop; whisk to combine.

5. ADD the ginger ale and the lime slices. Stir gently to mix (you don’t want to burst the bubbles). Serve over ice.

[1] This Cran-Raspberry mocktail can be easily turned into a cocktail (both photos © Pampered Chef).

[2] This Large Plunger Pitcher from Pampered Chef does the mixing for you.

[1] Butternut squash (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Sweet potatoes (photo © North Carolina Sweet Potatoes).

[3] You can mash either butternut squash or sweet potatoes. The choice is yours (photo © Chef Ingrid Hoffmann)

It’s the time of year where lots sweet potatoes and winter squash are served up.

They’re both orange, a color that owes thanks to lots of the antioxidant† beta-carotene.

They’re both yummy.

But are they equally nutritious? Nope.
 
 
SWEET POTATO SHOCKER

Sweet potatoes have about double the calories, carbs, and sugar than than butternut squash (see the chart below—source).

While sweet potatoes do have more fiber and protein than butternut squash, the numbers are not significant like the calorie and carb numbers:

 
We side with the squash.

And actually, cup for cup acorn squash is the most nutritious of all the winter squash varieties—but it’s smaller and thus yields less meat‡.

It has more calcium, folate, magnesium (nearly one-third of a day’s worth in one cup) and potassium than butternut, hubbard and spaghetti squash.

Of course, all winter squash varieties deliver on nutrition. In addition to fiber and protein, their nutrition includes:

 
So at it’s basic best, winter squash is health food!
________________

*There are 11 types of winter squash: acorn, banana, buttercup, butternut, delicata, hubbard, kabocha, pumpkin, spaghetti, sweet dumpling and turban squash. Summer squash has a thin peel that can be eaten. Yellow squash and zucchini are examples.

†An antioxidant is an enzyme or other organic molecule that reduces the rate of particular oxidation reactions and can counteract the damaging effects of oxygen in tissues. Here’s more about antioxidants.

‡In addition to referring to the flesh of animals used as food, “meat” also designates the edible part of anything, e.g. a fruit or nut.