I recently opened my freezer and found it overflowing with cookie dough. Rather than make yet another batch of cookies, I decided to get creative with a fruity dessert version of a potpie.
The result: a simple berry pie filling topped with a giant snickerdoodle. The sweet cookie’s crisp edges give way to a soft, doughy center covering bright, cinnamon-spiked berries soaked in mascarpone and maple syrup.
A quick note: You will have leftover dough, especially if you make your cookie top on the thinner side. Keep an eye out for the next Baked column on Feb. 18 for more ideas of how to use it. Enjoy and happy baking!
Snickerdoodle Berry Potpie Makes 1 9-inch pie
1½ cup sugar
1 stick softened butter
¼ cup canola oil
2 large eggs at room temperature
2¾ cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ginger
? tsp. nutmeg
? tsp. ground cloves
? tsp. ground cardamom
1 cup mascarpone cheese
¼ cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1½ lbs. mixed blueberries and raspberries, rinsed and thoroughly dried
? In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the canola oil and the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition to incorporate.
? Use a spatula to fold in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom until just combined. Mold the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
? Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
? In another large mixing bowl, whisk the mascarpone, maple syrup and the vanilla extract together until combined. Fold the berries into the mixture and pour into a 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.
? Roll the dough out onto parchment paper into a 9-inch round about ½-inch thick. Lift the parchment paper and flip the dough over onto the pie pan and peel away the parchment. Tuck the edges of the dough into the pie pan and trim any excess. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are nicely browned. Let cool and serve.
This article appears in February 2015.
