Peanut Butter Pie from Gayle Leeson

 






A very warm welcome to Gayle Leeson! Her Down South Cafe series is right up our alley. Don't miss the book giveaway at the end!

In the Down South Café series, the protagonist Amy accuses her elderly Aunt Bess of not realizing there are other food categories besides desserts. However, the older I get, the more I embrace the motto of “Life is short. Eat dessert first.”

The first book in the Down South Café series is called The Calamity Café.  Amy Flowers is ready to end her boss’s reign of terror at Lou Lou’s café (called Lou’s Joint, in honor of Lou Lou’s dad) and offers to buy the place. At first, Lou Lou flat out refuses. Later that evening, Amy gets a call from Lou Lou’s son, Pete. He says he has his mother talked into selling and asks Amy if she can meet them at the café after closing time. When Amy arrives, she and Lou Lou are the only people there. And Lou Lou is dead. Amy has to solve her boss’s murder in short order because she’s one of the police department’s prime suspects.

Silence of the Jams, the second book in the series, revisits all the eccentric characters of The Calamity Café, including George Lincoln, the obnoxious Chamber of Commerce director who is always trying to buy Amy out. George wants to tear down the café and put a bed and breakfast on the historic site. During breakfast at the Down South Café one morning just before Independence Day, George enjoys his last bite of food before collapsing onto the floor. At first, everyone thought it was a heart attack. But the autopsy reveals George was poisoned. And poor Amy has to prove her innocence once again.

The third book in the Down South Café series is Honey-Baked Homicide, and it will be released on December 5, 2017. In Honey-Baked Homicide, Amy comes face to face with the problem of the decreasing honeybee population when she begins selling honey on consignment for local beekeeper Stu Landon. The local honey is popular with café patrons, but no one knows much about the mysterious Mr. Landon…at least, not until he turns up dead in the parking lot of the Down South Café. That’s when his mysterious past begins to come to light.

No Southern café book would be complete without recipes, so all three books include them, and some of my favorites are the desserts. Here is a recipe for the peanut butter pie included in Silence of the Jams. I’ve included photographs and a video by the incredibly talented Kim Davis (https://cinnamonsugarandalittlebitofmurder.com/2017/04/peanut-butter-pie/) because she styles her photos so beautifully (and I, sadly, do not).

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 9-inch piecrust, baked and cooled

2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided

3 eggs, separated

2-1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

Place the confectioners' sugar in a bowl.

Cut in the peanut butter with a pastry blender until crumbly.

Set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish and sprinkle the remaining crumbs into the pie shell.

In a saucepan, combine 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cornstarch, egg yolks, and milk.

Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter melts.

Pour into the pie shell.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining sugar and cornstarch with water. Cook over low heat until thickened. Cool slightly.

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Fold in the cornstarch mixture.

Spread the meringue over the hot filling, sealing the edges.

Sprinkle the reserved peanut butter mixture over the top.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow pie to cool completely before serving.

Yield: 8 servings

Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. I also write as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, I write the Embroidery Mystery series.

The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The heroine, Daphne, has returned to her hometown of Brea Ridge to open a cake baking and decorating business and is wrestling with the question of whether or not one can go home again. She enjoys spending time with her sister, nephew, and niece, but she and her mother have a complicated relationship that isn’t always pleasant. Daphne has also reconnected with her high school sweetheart and is pursuing a rekindled romance while desperately trying to put her past behind her.

Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is “a must read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!”

Says Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author, “One day I found myself happily reading . . . mysteries by Gayle Trent. If she can win me over . . . she’s got a great future.”

 

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