(a hybrid from Stella Notte and David Lebovitz)
 
Makes one 9” tart
 
Amaretti crust
 
7 oz. Amaretti cookies
6 tablespoons melted butter
pinch of salt
½ cup blanched almonds (2 oz.)
 
Butter a 9”x1” tart pan with removable bottom and place it on a baking sheet. Place cookies in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse until coarsely ground; add salt and blanched almonds, pulse a few more times to combine the almonds with the cookie crumbs. Add the melted butter, pulse to combine then turn the mixture out into the tart pan. Spread the crumbs evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the pan, use your fingers to pat into place. Chill the tart shell in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the tart shell until set and lightly colored, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool while you prepare the filling.
 
Lime Filling
 
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¾ cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
zest of two limes
3 large egg yolks
3 large eggs
 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine the lime juice, sugar, zest, salt and butter. Warm over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the butter has melted. In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole eggs and the yolks.
Set the bowl with the eggs and yolks on top of a towel so it doesn’t wiggle across the counter. Gradually add the warm juice/sugar/butter mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber scraper until the filling thickens and reads 140 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Be careful not to let it boil. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine mesh strainer. Add the lime zest and scrape the filling into the pre-baked tart shell. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, just until set around the edges. The tart will continue to set up as it cools.
 
Meringue
3 large egg whites, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ teaspoon vanilla

Fresh raspberries to garnish
 
In a non-reactive metal bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar until combined. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture registers 140 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Remove the bowl from the heat. Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the meringue for about 8-10 minutes, until thick and glossy. Add the vanilla, beat to incorporate. Place the meringue in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe decoratively over the middle of the tart. Use a kitchen torch to brown the meringue or place the tart on a baking sheet and brown in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 5-8 minutes, until golden.  Cool before slicing. Garnish with fresh raspberries. 

Biscuits 
1½ cups flour
½ cup cornmeal
⅓ cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 oz.) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
⅔ cup buttermilk
3 cups fresh blackberries, lightly rinsed and dried on paper towels
 
Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
 
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a bench scraper or your fingertips, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles fine meal. Stir in the buttermilk and add the blackberries, turning just to combine. Do not over mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. Dust the top of the dough with a little bit of flour and use your fingers to gently pat the dough into a circle roughly 8”in diameter and about 1” thick. Use a round biscuit cutter (mine measures 2¾”) to cut out 9 biscuits. Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then set this on another baking sheet (called double panning) to prevent the bottoms from getting too dark.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, just until golden and firm to the touch. Prepare the glaze by whisking together the sugar and lemon juice. Let the biscuits cool slightly on a rack and then spoon glaze over the top of each.

Fresh Pineapple Pie                          makes one lattice crust 9” pie
 
(adapted from 250 Pies and Jill Van Cleave’s Progressive Baker)
 
Pie Pastry
 
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
½ cup ice cold water
egg wash made from 1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water
coarse sugar for sprinkling
 
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Using a bench scraper or your fingers, cut in the butter until the dough is crumbly. Add the ice cold water, tossing the mixture to combine, just until the dough becomes shaggy and sticks together when pinched. Gather the dough together and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disc, flatten it and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out. When the pastry has chilled, roll out one disc on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper into a circle about ⅛” thick and 12” in diameter. Fit the pastry into a 9” inch pie plate with 1½” sides. Trim the excess so you have about a 1” overhang then fold and crimp the edges. Refrigerate the bottom crust. Roll out the second disc of pastry for the top lattice crust on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. Roll the pastry about ⅛” thick and 12” in diameter. Using a pastry wheel or a knife, cut the pastry into ten 1¼” strips. Place the parchment with the top lattice on a baking sheet and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the bottom crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights (or dried beans). Blind bake the bottom crust for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees, carefully remove the parchment/foil and pie weights. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork (to prevent it from puffing up) and return the pie shell to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, until lightly golden. Set aside to cool. You can turn off the oven until ready to bake the pie.
 
Filling

1 ripe Jet pineapple, about 1¼ lbs. peeled, cored, and cut into ½” chunks (save the runaway juices) you should have about 2½-3 cups of fruit
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
zest of 1 small lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
 
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, cornstarch and orange juice. Place the pineapple and its juice in a large, heavy-bottomed non-aluminum pot. Add the sugars/cornstarch/orange juice to the pineapple and cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Boil for an additional minute then remove from the heat. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Set this bowl on a towel (so it doesn’t wiggle across the counter) and add a few tablespoons of the pineapple mixture to the egg yolks to warm or ‘temper’ them, stirring to blend. Gradually add the remainder of the warm pineapple mixture to the egg yolks, stirring to combine. Return the yolks and pineapple mixture back to the heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly with a rubber scraper so it doesn’t scorch. Boil for an additional minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, lemon zest and vanilla, stirring gently to combine. Scrape this mixture into a clean bowl and set aside to cool. (The filling needs to cool down before you add the lattice top. You can speed this up by placing the bowl of filling over a larger bowl filled with ice; stir the filling occasionally.)
 
When the filling is cool, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and remove the baking sheet with the lattice strips from the refrigerator. Scrape the cooled filling into the blind-baked pie shell and using an offset spatula to lift the strips, place the lattice across the filling. You needn’t weave the lattice on this pie, simply place the strips on top of each other in the following order:
Place 2 of the longest strips perpendicular to each other across the center of the pie, forming a cross. Then place 4 of the shorter strips along the edges of the pie, parallel to the center strips. Place 4 remaining strips between each edge strip and center strip. Trim off the excess, seal the edges of the bottom crust with the lattice, fold under and crimp. Being careful not to drip egg wash onto the filling, brush the lattice with the egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar and place the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to set the top crust. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue baking until the lattice is golden and the pie just barely bubbles around the edges and in the center, about 35-45 minutes. Cool before serving.

Note: I baked 3 individual heart-shaped pies by dividing the recipe by 3; the pans measure three and a half inches across the top and four inches, top to bottom. You can find the pans at Sur La Table. (1 cup fresh pineapple/2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sugar/2 teaspoons cornstarch/2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons fresh orange juice/1 egg yolk/1 teaspoon butter/pinch lemon zest/a touch of vanilla) For the pie pastry, I used half of the recipe which is what I use when baking a single crust pie. Line the pans with pastry and blind bake for about 10 minutes. Fill with cooled filling, top with lattice strips and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes.

makes one 8” pie
 
Pie Pastry
 
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) cold butter, cut into small pieces
½ cup ice cold water
 
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Using a bench scraper or your fingers, cut in the butter until the dough is crumbly. Add the ice cold water, tossing the mixture to combine, just until the dough becomes shaggy and sticks together when pinched. Gather the dough together and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disc, flatten it and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out. When the pastry has chilled, roll out one disc on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper into a circle about ⅛” thick and 11” in diameter. Place the pastry in an 8” pie plate. Trim the excess so you have about a one inch overhang then fold and crimp the edges. Refrigerate the bottom crust. Roll out the second disc of pastry for the top crust on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper into a circle about ⅛” thick and 10” in diameter.  Trim the excess and refrigerate the top crust on a baking sheet while you prepare the filling.
 
Pear-Cherry filling
 
3-4 firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and sliced ⅛” thick (4 cups)
zest of one small lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ cups frozen, pitted sweet cherries, cut in half, thawed, partially drained  (I buy them at Trader Joes)
½ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
¼ teaspoon cardamom
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
 
egg wash made from one egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of cream or milk
coarse sugar for sprinkling
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, vanilla bean seeds, cardamom, salt and cornstarch. In a large bowl, combine pears, lemon zest, juice and cherries. Add the sugar/spice mixture to the fruit, using a rubber spatula to combine. Pour the filling into the chilled pie shell, cover with the top crust. Trim the excess pastry, seal and crimp the edges. Place the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cut a few steam vents in the center of the pie.
Bake at 400 degrees F on the bottom rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden and juices bubble thickly around the edges and through the middle of the pie. Cool on a rack for several hours before serving.
 
(Note: It’s important to allow the frozen cherries to thaw and drain a bit before using. They don’t need to be bone dry, but you want them soft and pliable, not a solid piece of ice. I save the juice for beverages.)