Southern Cast Iron – September 2019

47 SOUTHERN CAST IRON

5. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
   Let cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.
   Using excess parchment strips as handles,
   remove from wells, and let cool completely on
   wire rack. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar, if
   desired.

*We used Jif Creamy Peanut Butter and

Braswell’s Red Pepper Jelly.

SpIcY HoNeY-RoAsTeD PeAnUtS

Makes 6 cups

With hints of warm cinnamon and mouth-tingling

red pepper, these homemade roasted peanuts

knock the socks off store-bought.

⅓ cup clover honey

¼ cup fi rmly packed light brown sugar

1¼ teaspoons ground red pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 pound shelled roasted unsalted peanuts

Flaked sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Line a 14-inch cast-
   iron baking pan with parchment paper.


2. In a small cast-iron Dutch oven, cook
   honey over medium heat until melted and
   thin. Remove from heat; stir in brown sugar,
   red pepper, salt, cinnamon, and chili powder.
   Add peanuts, stirring until well coated. Transfer
   peanut mixture to prepared pan.


3. Bake until honey coating is golden brown
   and peanuts are toasted, 25 to 30 minutes,
   stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven,
   and sprinkle with sea salt. Let cool on pan
   for 30 minutes. (Mixture will harden as it
   cools.) Break peanut mixture into clusters; let
   cool completely on pan. Store in an airtight
   container for up to 2 weeks.

ChOcOlAtE PeAnUt PiE

Makes 1 (10-inch) pie

(photo on page 42)

Two of the best fl avors combine in this

peanut-packed pie. If you don’t have a cast-iron

pie plate, a 9-inch cast-iron skillet will work.

All-Butter Pie Dough (recipe follows)

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon warm water (105° to 110°)

1¾ cups sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¾ cup evaporated milk

4 large eggs, divided

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

and slightly cooled

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup fi nely chopped salted peanuts

1¼ cups roughly chopped salted

peanuts

1. Position rack in lower third of oven, and
   preheat oven to 375°.


2. Let All-Butter Pie Dough stand at room
   temperature until slightly softened, 10 to
   15 minutes. On a lightly fl oured surface,
   roll dough into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to
   a 10-inch cast-iron pie plate, pressing into
   bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough to
   ½- to ¾-inch beyond edge of plate. Fold edges
   under, and crimp as desired. Freeze until fi rm,
   about 10 minutes.


3. In a large bowl, whisk together espresso
   powder and 1 tablespoon warm water until
   dissolved. In a medium bowl, whisk together
   sugar, cocoa, and salt; whisk sugar mixture
   into espresso mixture until combined. Whisk
   in evaporated milk, 3 eggs, melted butter,
   and vanilla until well combined. Stir in fi nely
   chopped peanuts. Pour fi lling into prepared
   crust. Sprinkle with roughly chopped peanuts.
   Lightly pat peanuts into fi lling with your hands.
   (Do not submerge.)


4. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg; brush
   onto crust.


5. Bake until fi lling is set and slightly puff ed,
   45 to 50 minutes, loosely covering crust with
   foil halfway through baking to prevent excess
   browning, if necessary. Let cool completely on a
   wire rack.

AlL-BuTtEr PiE DoUgH

Makes 1 (10-inch) crust

1½ cups all-purpose fl our

1 tablespoon sugar

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

• • KiTcHeN TiP • •
  If you don’t have a mini-cake pan, follow
  the recipe through step 3. Reserve ⅔ cup
  of dough; spread remaining dough to
  cover bottom of a 9-inch cast-iron skillet.
  Spread jelly over dough, leaving a ½-inch
  border, and continue as directed with
  reserved dough and peanuts.

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

3 tablespoons ice water

1. In the work bowl of a food processor, place
   fl our, sugar, and salt; pulse 4 times to combine.
   Add cold butter, and pulse until butter cubes
   are ¼- to ½-inch pieces (about 10 pulses). Add
   3 tablespoons ice water, and pulse until a dough
   ball forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly fl oured
   surface, and shape into a disk. Wrap tightly in
   plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

PeAnUt BuTtEr aNd PePpEr JeLlY

CoOkIeS

Makes 7

(photo on page 49)

A Southern spin on the childhood classic of PB&J,

these cookie bars are one of the best recipes to

come out of our test kitchen.

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup creamy peanut butter*

½ cup fi rmly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose fl our

½ cup fi nely ground graham cracker

crumbs

½ cup quick-cooking oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

⅔ cup red pepper jelly*

2 tablespoons roughly chopped salted

peanuts

Garnish: confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 7-well cast-
   iron mini cake pan with baking spray with fl our;
   place a 7x1-inch strip of parchment paper
   across each well, pressing into bottom and up
   sides, letting excess extend over sides of wells.


2. In a large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter,
   and sugars with a mixer at medium speed until
   fl uff y, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape sides
   of bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla.


3. In a medium bowl, whisk together fl our,
   graham cracker crumbs, oats, baking powder,
   and salt. Add fl our mixture to butter mixture
   all at once, and beat at medium-low speed just
   until combined. (Dough will be thick.)


4. Reserve ½ cup dough. Divide remaining
   dough among prepared wells (about
   5 tablespoons each), pressing to cover bottom
   and slightly up sides. Spread jelly onto center of
   dough (about 1½ tablespoons each), leaving a
   ¼-inch border. Crumble reserved ½ cup dough
   over jelly. Sprinkle with peanuts.