Bake the Book: Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie from Four & Twenty Blackbirds

Last week was J's birthday, and the rule in our family is that you get any meal you want on your birthday. It took him a few days to select his preferred dinner menu (he eventually settled on homemade crab cakes, sautéd spinach, and parmesan angel hair pasta...and the messiest kitchen in the history of our apartment), but he'd been talking about the dessert for months. His request? Black Bottom Oatmeal Pie from Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Why? Because last fall our friends got married and served a medley of Four and Twenty pies at the reception, and that was one of their offerings - and our favorite of the evening. Luckily though, I was already in possession of their eponymous cookbook, which provides step-by-step instructions on every aspect of the pie-making process.

Not only was the resulting pie absolutely delicious, is was also really fun to make. Toasting the oats elicited a surprisingly maternal and homey feeling within me, and there was just enough chocolate ganache left over for me to enjoy a yummy taste or three.

This recipe is taken directly from the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book:

For a single-crust pie:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 pieces
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup ice

Sitr the flour, salt,and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain; be careful not to overblend.
Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a large measuring cup or a small bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture, and mix and cut it in with a bench scraper or spatula until it is fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, using the bench scraper or your hands (or both) to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Squeeze and pinch with your fingertips to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of the ice water mixture, if necessary, to combine. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight, to give the crust time to mellow.

To prebake the crust:
Remove the crust from the refrigerator and let stand for at least 10 minutes. Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface to 1/8" thickness and 1" larger than your pie plate. Place in a buttered pie dish and crimp the edges as preferred, and then place the crust back in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When it's fully chilled, use a fork to prick all over the bottom and sides, 15 to 20 times. Place crust in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Preheat oven and a baking sheet to 425 degrees. When the crust is frozen, line it tightly with aluminum foil. Make sure the crimped edges are completely covered and there are no gaps between the foil and the crust. Pour pie weights (or dried beans, which are cheaper and easier to come by) into the pan and spread them so they are concentrated more around the edge of the shell than in the center. Place the pan on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are set but not browned. Remove and cool completely before filling.

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped into 1/4" pieces (I used Lint 70% Dark Chocolate and it was wonderful)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup dark corn syrup (I used light corn syrup because that's what I had on hand and it seemed just fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
4 large eggs

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the oats on a rimed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees.

To make the ganache layer, bring the heavy cream just to a boil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Remove from the heat and pour in the chocolate pieces. Swirl the cream around to distribute and cover the chocolate; let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth. Scrape the ganache into the cooled pie shell and spread evenly over the bottom. Place the shell in the freezer to set the ganache while making the filling.

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ginger, salt, and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, vanilla, and cider vinegar and whisk to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Stir in the cooled oats.

Place the ganache-coated pie shell on a rimmed baking sheet and pour in the filling. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 55 minutes, rotating 180 degrees when the edges start to set, 30 to 35 minutes through baking. The pie is finished when the edges are set and puffed slightly and the center is slightly firm to the touch but still has some give (like gelatin). Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

The pie will keep refrigerated for 3 days or at room temperature for 2 days (that's assuming you have leftovers, which we very nearly did not).

This pie in other places: Smitten Kitchen has some delicious-sounding variations!

Bake the Book: Strawberry Balsamic Pie from 4 and 20 Blackbirds

I like hosting holiday dinners. I get to control the menu, try some new recipes, revisit old favorites, and let's be honest, enjoy the leftovers for the rest of the week. This past weekend, J and I invited two friends over for a casual Easter dinner, and while the menu wasn't anything out of the ordinary (glazed ham, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, and a cheesy broccoli casserole), I took the opportunity to bake a pie (something I hadn't had time to do in quite a while!)

I went straight to my newest cookbook - written by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen, the two sisters behind Brooklyn's famed pie shop Four and Twenty Blackbirds, The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book is filled with both beautiful pictures of every recipe and clear tips and instructions to help you make a successful pie. One of my favorite aspects of the book is that it's organized by seasons - right off the bat it's stated that there's no point in using ingredients that are not fresh or grown in your region. So when it came time to pick which pie I was going to bake, I turned directly to the "Spring" section and didn't even bother with the other three seasons. Since the pie shop is located about ten miles from my apartment, I can safely assume that their freshly available ingredients are also my freshly available ingredients - and as it turned out, the fresh strawberries I bought were some of the most beautiful I'd ever seen.

I followed the recipe to a near-perfect T, ultimately having to substitute regular cornstarch for ground arrowroot (both are thickening agents, and while arrowroot is more organic and better for mixing with citrus and fruit, I couldn't find it at my local grocery and didn't feel like trekking to Whole Foods). This was a blissfully uncomplicated pie to make - your basic fruit pie in a butter crust, but the addition of balsamic vinegar was a surprising twist that quite honestly made the whole thing taste like a giant strawberry Pop-Tart - which was awesome. Our two guests had second helpings, and the pie didn't last much longer in our refrigerator. The glazed carrots are still sitting in their Tupperware, but my pie dish has already been washed and waiting to house its next pie.

Strawberry Balsamic Pie - recipe taken directly from the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book
For a Double-Crust Pie
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 cup ice

Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula. With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (taking care not to overblend).
Combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice in a small bowl. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture and mix and cut it in until it is fully incorporated (a spatula or bench scraper is good for this, I personally use my hands). Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing until the dough is fully formed. Divide and shape the dough into two flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour (overnight, if possible) to give the crust time to mellow.

Strawberry Balsamic Pie
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries, rinsed and quartered (about 5 to 6 cups)
- 1 small baking apple (such as Northern Spy or Golden Delicious)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 dashed Angostura bitters
- 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground arrowroot (*I substituted an equal amount of corn starch)
- 2 grinds fresh black pepper, fine setting
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 1 teaspoon of water and pinch of salt)
- Demerara sugar, for finishing

Have ready and refrigerated one pastry-lined 9" pine pan and pastry round or lattice to top.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar over the strawberries. Stir gently to combine and allow the fruit to macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Peel the apple and shred on the large holes of a box grater. Drain the strawberries of excess liquid and combine with the shredded apple. Sprinkle on the balsamic vinegar and Angostura bitters.

In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, arrowroot, black pepper, and salt. Gently fold the sugar mixture into the strawberry mixture. Pour the filling into the refrigerated pie shell, arrange the lattice or pastry round on top, and crimp as desired.

Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to set the pastry.

Meanwhile, position the oven racks at the bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Brush the pastry with the egg wash; if your pie has a lattice top, be careful not to drag the filling onto the pastry (it will burn). Sprinkle with the desired amount of demerara sugar.

Place the pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack of the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is set and beginning to brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees, move the pie to the center rack, and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling throughout, 35 to 40 minutes longer (*due to my "apartment-sized" oven, I didn't move the pie to a different rack, and it still turned out great).

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature; The pie will keep refrigerated for 3 days (*if it lasts that long!) or at room temperature for 2 days).

Slice of the Week - Four & Twenty Blackbirds

Hi, I'd like to order four slices of pie.

Ok no problem, is that to go?

... No.

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When I first started this blog, I made a list of all the best places in the city to get pie. Pulled mainly from a "best pie NYC" Goggle search, results like this and this made a few things clear. First, that there aren't actually too many bakeries in this city devoted solely to pie. Second, that Brooklyn seems to be a hub for not just shaggy hipsters with ironic clothing choices, but for all things pie. And finally, I learned that there is a place, a mecca if you will, deep in the heart of Gowanas that is the epitome of pie. Enthusiasts from near and far whisper it's name with awe, tomes have been written about it, soccer moms name their firstborn after it.

     (Ok, that last one might be an exaggeration. But then again, it might not.)

Anyway, Four & Twenty Blackbirds immediately moved to the top of my Pie to Try list. The problem, however, was that it's located off of the 9th Street stop on the R train in Brooklyn - about an hour away from my apartment, and in an area I never have a reason to frequent. My roommate and I started to refer to the trek to Four & Twenty as our Pie Pilgrimage, and decided to make the trip a reality as soon as possible.

10 months later, she and I finally found a four-hour block of time in which we were both in the city but without work or rehearsal. Sometimes I marvel at how artists ever get ANYTHING scheduled or accomplished.

So, on a rainy Tuesday in October, Amanda and I took the subway to Brooklyn and ordered slices of four of the five available sweet pies. Was this a healthy idea? No. Did we almost go into anaphylactic shock halfway through the meal? Possibly, but I don't really know what anaphylactic shock is. Was this the most delicious pie tasting ever? Absolutely.

Salted Carmel Apple

Soft, sweet apples nestled under a buttery salted crust. At first, this pie isn't anything special, just a really good apple pie. Then comes a burst of salty goodness. It's a crazy, surprising juxtaposition of flavor.

Brown Butter Pumpkin
Everything about this pie is so light and airy that you assume it's made with angel kisses (or at the very least, that it must be fat-free). Consisting of the fluffiest pumpkin puree known to man and a flaky crust that actually melts in your mouth, this slice was Amanda's favorite.

Black Bottom Oat

This pie is the lovechild of Mr. Shaker Oat and Ms. Nestlee Tollhouse. Both decadent and comforting, it's dessert at its' best. Shortbread crust, crunchy oat topping, a thick layer of chocolate on the bottom - there is nothing this pie can't do. We named it the "break-up pie" and told our server that this pie will be replacing the requisite tub of ice cream for all our future heartbreaks. 

Bourbon Pear Crumble

With tart pear slices and brown sugared oats, I was surprised to call this pie my favorite (I'm not a huge fan of pears). It wasn't overly sweet and I appreciated the crunch of both the crust and pears.

It's safe to say that I will go back to Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Not only do they change up their pie menu on a daily basis, they also feature a selection of savory pies that we didn't even attempt to try. The slices also weren't even that expensive - about $5 each, and they were served on actual plates with real silverware (low standards? Maybe, but realize that the last pie I tried was in a cardboard box in a train station).

food coma.