I never know what to post during Thanksgiving week. I assume your menus are set and that you’ve already shopped and everything—I mean, mine is and I have. Still, I always like to leave you with one last recipe before the holiday.
In years past, it’s been cheese-related, but this year, I’m going straight for dessert. I know I will be making a pie (or two) in the upcoming days, and maybe you are planning to as well, but also…? You might be a little burnt out and not particularly feeling like going through the trouble of making a whole pie for a very small Thanksgiving gathering, even though you’ve already made a bunch of pie dough.
Well, my friends, that’s where Pie Crust Cinnamon Twists come in. Where you’d normally roll out your pie crust, fit it in a pie plate, fill it, chill it several times and finally bake, this recipe takes super buttery pie dough and transforms it into a flaky cinnamon-scented dessert that you can make with minimal ingredients and tuck into in under an hour. It’s the dream.
Start by rolling out your disk of pie dough (this is my All-Butter Pie Dough) into a 12-inch square(-ish shape). Brush the whole thing with melted butter, then scatter cinnamon-sugar on the center 4×12-inch section.
Fold one of the outer thirds over the cinnamon-sugar, then brush on more butter and sprinkle on more cinnamon-sugar. Fold the last blank third of dough over (like a letter) and then refrigerate for 20 or so minutes while the oven preheats. 
Once the oven hits 375F, slice your dough into strips, brush with more melted butter, and twist them do that you can see the two layers of cinnamon swirling all the way down the length of the twists. Yum!
After that, bake for 22 minutes or so until your kitchen smells like butter and cinnamon and everything else that’s good in this universe. Then wait just long enough so that you don’t burn your mouth before digging in, with ice cream if you are better-prepared than I am.
I know I am not the first person to write a recipe for Pie Crust Cinnamon Twists, and I won’t be the last either. Some people just spread the cinnamon-sugar right on and skip all the folding and whatnot, but in my experience, this extra care results in a triple-layer twist that is favorably compared to churros. Churros! I don’t know about you, but the one thing my Thanksgiving menu is missing is a flaky, churro-esque finish.
Pie Crust Cinnamon Twists
makes about 1.5 dozen twists
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 recipe All-Butter Pie Dough, or other good single crust pie dough recipe
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together sugar and cinnamon.
Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Roll pie dough out to a 12-inch square. Paint a thin layer of melted butter onto the dough.
Mentally divide the dough into thirds (perhaps with the help of a ruler), 4×12 inches each. Scatter half the cinnamon-sugar over the central third. Fold one of the outer thirds over the center to cover the cinnamon-sugar, then paint melted butter on top. Fold the remaining third so that it covers the cinnamon-sugar. Use your rolling pin to tamp down the ends so you don’t lose filling, then roll the whole thing so it’s about 6-inches wide. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 rimmed sheet pans with parchment.
Flour a surface and a large, sharp chef’s knife. Unwrap the folded dough and brush the top with butter. Slice it into 3/4-inch strips. Twist each one a few times and place 2 inches apart on prepared sheet pans (I like about 10 per pan). Bake 21-23 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Let cool a few minutes before serving. Leftovers will keep covered at room temperature for a few days.
I had a very difficult time deciding what to post today. The election has zapped any creative energy I had left, and just…what do I want to talk about post-Election Day? Do I go straight into 
Instead though, I’m going with 
While Pimento Cheese Tarte Soleil sounds fancy, it’s really quite simple, as most things made with puff pastry are. As usual, I went with easy from-scratch 
No matter which dough you use, roll your sheets out about as big as you can (mine were 12×14”) and cut out two 12-inch circles. Top one with a batch of homemade pimento cheese, then seal the edges together with a swipe of water.
Next up, create the soleil (sun shape). Place a 2.5-3 inch cutter or vessel in the center of your pastry circles, then use a sharp chef’s knife to slice the edges into sixteen rays. Twist them up for beauty reasons, then brush the whole tarte with egg wash and bake until golden all over.
This tarte, y’all. This. Tarte. I love that it’s both low brow and high brow–“
I usually post something to be a part of a Thanksgiving 
Full disclosure: I’m not posting any new Halloween recipes this year, but I did update my 
I spent one morning last week loading my freezer with 
Again though—not yet. Not today, not Friday. But also, if you made these Apple Turnovers a part of your Thanksgiving dessert spread, I don’t think you’d have any complaints. Flaky pastry folded around perfectly-spiced apple filling? Oh hell yes. Pass ‘em my way, please.
But why wait til Thanksgiving when you can have apple turnovers today? Or this weekend? Or on election night? I always like to have a cooking or baking project on election night to keep myself from spiraling, and that goes double this year. I pickled carrots in 2012 and made 
I make turnovers approximately once every 
Oh, and they’re so delicious—crisp, buttery, flaky and chock-full of apple filling. They’re a comfort pastry if I’ve ever had one. Is that a thing? Comfort pastries? It should be a thing. Let’s make it a thing.
Another 
If you know the magic that is a warm, fresh 
They’re super soft and tender and filled with anything from prunes to 
Maybe it’s because my birthday is next week or because I keep waking up in this alternate reality where I may not get to see my family for a while or because I haven’t driven the expanse of I-35 between Fort Worth and Austin in a few years, but these Strawberry Rhubarb Kolaches are filling a Texas-shaped hole in my soul.
Nowadays you can get your kolache fix all over the state of Texas and in many other places including Brooklyn, New York, and yet here I am kneading up sour cream dough and simmering fillings late at night and cutting pastries in the morning. Why? Because nothing—nothing—beats the smell of fresh kolaches baking in your own kitchen.
Oh, and the flavor! Soft, rich, buttery pastry with a warm puddle of filling right in the middle—they’re heaven. This Strawberry Rhubarb situation is particularly good. Tangy with hits of lime and ginger, it’s the perfect foil to the sweet pastry and posypka (crumble).
I had never seen 
I love tarts like 
Regarding the crust, you can follow my lead by making your own flaky, buttery rough puff, or make it easy and use thawed frozen puff pastry. Don’t have European butter in this pandemic? Neither do I! Use whatever you have.
The filling couldn’t be simpler. Rhubarb stalks are sliced into thin pieces, arranged on the pastry in whatever fashion makes you happy, sprinkled with sugar and dotted with butter. Bake the tart until the crust is golden and the rhubarb is soft, then paint on warm honey for a little extra sweetness and shine. Since this tart doesn’t have any berries to offset the tanginess of the rhubarb, that hint of honey goes a long way.
Where pies are thick and take hours to cool, this tart is so thin that it only needs 45-60 minutes to reach room temperature. The flavor is more tangy than it is sweet, but the flaky crust and a dollop of 
Need a reason to make a Rhubarb Tart? Well, first of all, we are in a pandemic and you can have whatever dessert you want and anyone who says otherwise is flat wrong. But also, it’s perfect for celebrating literally any day of the week or that you put on real pants or that you didn’t see anyone not wearing a face-covering today.
e2 bakes brooklyn 