My daughter loves pie. Occasionally she will randomly articulate the word, will ask almost anyone she encounters if they like pie, uses it as a secret code between her and her friends, and requests we eat it at every available opportunity.
She hasn’t found a flavor she doesn’t adore (except maybe apple), and her favorite usually happens to be whichever one she has eaten most recently. She delights in the filling, but not always the crust. Here are three I have made recently for our family.
KEY LIME PIE
CRUST
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ounces white chocolate, grated
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons canola oil
FILLING
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh Key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
3 egg yolks
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
Heat oven to 350F.
To prepare crust, combine crumbs, sugar, salt and chocolate in a bowl, stirring well to combine. Add butter and oil, stir to combine. Press crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until beginning to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare filling, place yogurt, key lime juice, lime rind, egg yolks and condensed milk in a bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until set. Cool pie on a wire rack, cover and chill at least 2 hours.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, July 2013
www.cookinglight.com/
CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 baked and cooled 9-inch pastry shell
In a saucepan, mix sugar, flour and salt. Add 1 cup of the milk, mix until smooth, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to stir and boil until smoothly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. With fork, beat eggs with remaining milk, gradually stir into hot mixture, then put back over heat and boil again until mixture thickens a bit more, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, chocolate and vanilla. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into baked shell and chill. Serve with whipped cream if desired.
Enjoy!
BANANA CREAM PIE
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
18 square graham crackers
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FILLING
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ripe bananas
1 cup cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Heat oven to 325F.
TO MAKE PIE CRUST
Place graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until there are no large pieces. In a medium bowl, combine crumbs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, nutmeg, salt and melted butter. Mix thoroughly, scrape mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, press the crumbs against the bottom and up the sides of the pan, making the crust as even as possible. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
TO MAKE FILLING
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the 1/2 and 1/2, milk, brown sugar, sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks. Over medium heat, using a whisk, cook the mixture, stirring constantly and taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan, until the mixture starts to thicken and bubble. About 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla and set aside to cool slightly. Chop the bananas and mix into the filling, scrape filling into crust.
Cover pie and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped cream.
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from The Arkansas Democrat Gazette, May 2015
www.arkansasonline.com/news/features/food/
