With sixteen pies now under my belt, I can safely say I've gotten into the spirit of pie making. And since my spirits are soaring with several pie successes, I announce this month's pie theme: spirited pies featuring an infusion of liqueurs and assorted spirits.
The following recipe is Ken Haedrich's and it's a winner. Kahlúa, brownies, fudge: these three things are delicious on their own, but watch out when you combine them with a decadent nut crust. If you are a chocoholic or a coffee lover, this pie will send you into the danger zone!
The nut crust was a bit of a challenge to roll out and it cracked during baking. Although the crust wasn't picture perfect, the flavor was impressive and the texture interesting. This pie is deeply complex with the coffee/cocoa/nut combination. I savored each rapturous bite and polished off a big slice with nary a wince at the level of richness. I suggest serving it with a scoop of dulce de leche or coffee ice cream. The texture of the pie is quite gooey which makes cutting neat slices a challenge. Let the pie rest for an hour after removing it from the oven. If your crust is misshapen like mine, the whipped cream garnish will cover any imperfections. Add a scoop of premium ice cream and then be prepared for your guests to swoon.
Nutty Pie Pastry:
1/3 cup walnut halves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon cold vegetable shortening
2-3 tablespoons cold water
Combine nuts and sugar in a food processor, grinding the nuts until almost as fine as flour and making sure to grind all nuts. Add the flour and salt to the machine and pulse to mix. Scatter the butter bits over the dry ingredients and pulse 4-5 times. Add the shortening and pulse again. Drizzle the water over the flour mixture and pulse 5-6 times until the dough starts to form clumps. Dump the contents into a larger bowl. Using your hands, pack the pastry into a ball. Knead once or twice, then flatten into a 3/4-inch disk onto plastic wrap and wrap tightly and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
On a sheet of lightly floured wax paper, roll the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge. Place in freezer for 15 minutes, remove and gently line crust with aluminum foil, add pie weights and then partially prebake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Take crust out of oven, remove foil, prick crust with fork a few times and bake for another 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and cool.
Filling:
1 1/2 sticks butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons Kahlúa*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over very low heat. Chop the chocolate and add it to the saucepan when the butter is almost melted. When the butter is completely melted, turn off the heat but leave the pan in place for another minute or so, tilting and swirling it once or twice so that the hot butter runs over the chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat. Wait 3-4 minutes, then whisk the chocolate until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Place walnuts in a food processor with 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cocoa, flour, and salt. Pulse repeatedly until the nuts are very finely chopped. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until quite light and airy, about 4 minutes. Add the Kahlúa, vanilla, and nut mixture and beat again until smooth. Add the chocolate mixture and beat briefly until the filling is uniformly mixed. Pour the filling into the cooled pie shell.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 35 minutes. There's no test for doneness on this pie. The pie might puff up a bit and the filling will seem loose under the crusted top, but this is normal.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly. The pie can be sliced once is has cooled, but the texture will be better for slicing if the pie is refrigerated for at least an hour and ideally overnight. Garnish with whipped cream , if desired.
*You can substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee granules. Add it to the nuts when you process them.
If you could see me now, there is a little spring in my step. That's because on the official first day of spring, my dear friend Teresa pulled off a Herculean feat by throwing a 50th birthday surprise party for me. My birthday is actually April 8th, but she planned and plotted for months, choosing the Sunday afternoon of March 20th to secretly gather a big group of my friends and family. My daughter sneaked away from college to attend, my husband formulated a rock solid alibi, two pals fabricated a cover story to get me to the party destination. When I walked through the doorway of the Whitefish Bohemian Grange Hall, there stood a large contingent of folks looking anything but Bohemian. Dressed in dapper suits and glamorous little black dresses, in unison they yelled "SurPIES!" I was flabbergasted!
The care Teresa took to attend to each detail was mind-boggling and heart-warming. I walked around in a daze, marveling at all the decorative touches. The color theme was red, black and white, my favorite combination. Red atomic fireball candies (my vice) were paired with white pillar candles. Billowing garlands of red tulle embellished the room. Red, black and white balloons dotted each corner. Red tablecloths sported red tapered candles, red forks and red cups, a perfect backdrop to the guests' formal black attire. Because of my new year's resolution to bake 50 pies, Teresa incorporated this into the overall plan and cleverly called the event a 50th SurPIES Party. Everyone contributed a favorite pie recipe enclosed in a red photo album with a retro cover photo of me at age five. Many guests baked pies which were put on grand display in the hall entryway alongside a stunning centerpiece of white lilies in a red crystal vase. My harp teacher was there to play her exquisite gilded instrument. My lovely friend Tina danced a beautiful hula to my favorite Hawaiian song. My talented friend Brenda chronicled the event with her camera.
I was overwhelmed with the most thoughtful gifts. A large black basket held dozens of cards, some of them sassy, some of them sentimental, all of them dear. Presents to aid my pie quest were popular: a large black recipe box, a white porcelain pie pedestal, a cookbook featuring spring pies, a charming cross-stitched pie sampler, a set of spritely dessert plates. Some gifts were luxurious: tickets to the symphony, a manicure/pedicure certificate, a fine bottle of Chardonnay, chocolate covered macadamia nuts. But truly the best gift of all was the gathering of friends and family far and wide, near and dear who carved time out of their busy lives to bless mine.
So even though the first day of Spring in Montana rarely looks the part and nearly never feels the part, this spring was clearly an exception. The day shone bright with sunny friends that warmed the room and gave me the promise that God bestows upon us: the gift of hope and new beginnings, even to those of us teetering on the precipice of age fifty!
It's time for a piece of pi. Pi represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. No matter how you slice pi, it will always remain a constant 3.14159. Pi (π) is also the 16th letter in the Greek alphabet. I just finished making my sixteenth pie and I have 16 blog followers. Fifty pies divided by sixteen equals 3.125, as close to the pi formula as I'll get on my pie quest. Of course, if all of this had transpired on March 14, World Pi Day, the mathematical stars truly would have been aligned.
On this late March day smack dab in the thick of Montana's "mud season", I'm craving color and sunshine and spring. To counteract the dingy melting snow and the gray skies, I've chosen a pineapple pie to prepare. It's sunny yellow color and bright citrus taste is a sure cure for my spring fever. The recipe is truly as easy as pie with minimal ingredients and simple steps, a quick fix to my winter blues. There is no rocket science involved and no doctorate of mathematics required, but to satisfy the nerds out there, I've dubbed it pineapple pie.
Butter + Cream Cheese + Cream = Yummy. There's no arguing that the result of this equation is a constant deliciousness. I think you'll discover that slicing across the decadent diameter of this pie will definitely add to the ratio of your circumference. So be my guest: celebrate pi with pie!
Pineapple Pie
2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 50 wafers)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces (half of 12-ounce can) frozen Hawaii's Own Pineapple Starfruit juice concentrate
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Combine crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Chill. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, beat cheese until fluffy; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk then juice concentrate until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Pile into crust. Chill 2 hours or until set. Refrigerate leftovers.
I need to contact Miss Miranda, my junior high school home economics teacher. I just baked a butterscotch pie, the last cream pie variation listed on the mimeographed recipe packet she handed out to her class. I've written about the disastrous results of those class pies, but I truly believe my most recent creation would get more than just an "A" for effort. I think this pie merits a gold star with its golden crust, golden filling, sunny banana slices and its fluffy crown of whipped cream. This might very well be the trademark pie of my golden year of pie making.
Wherever Miss Miranda is, I think she'd be tickled to know that I not only preserved her recipe packet but that I've attempted to bake all her pie variations, a mere 37 years later. More importantly, I now have the confidence to continue on my pie baking odyssey. Fifteen pies down, thirty-five to go! Miss Miranda helped launch me and cookbook author Ken Haedrich will help guide me. I just recently contacted him on Facebook, praising him for his book "Pie". He thanked me and invited me to join him and his wife for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie should I ever be in his neck of the woods. How perfect it would be if Miss Miranda, my teacher of pies past could join me with my teacher of pies future.
The recipe that follows is from Ken Haedrich's cookbook and is very similar to Miss Miranda's butterscotch pie recipe. It's embellished with sliced bananas and a whipped cream and is simply scrumptious.
BUTTERSCOTCH BANANA CREAM PIE
Crust:
1 3/4 cup finely ground vanilla wafers (about 4 cups crumbled cookies)
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Big pinch of salt (heaping 1/8 teaspoon)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 1/2" deep dish pie pan and set aside. Combine the ground wafers, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix briefly with your fingers. Add the butter and incorporate well, mixing first with a fork, then with your hands, rubbing thoroughly to form evenly dampened crumbs. Add 1-2 teaspoons water if necessary to bind mixture.
Spread the crumbs evenly in the pan, pressing into the bottom and up the side. Refrigerate 5-10 minutes. Place on the center oven rack and bake for 7 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before filling.
Filling:
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Big pinch of salt
2 3/4 cups light cream or whole milk
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish:
3 large ripe bananas
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped and sweetened with 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium-size saucepan. Add the light cream and egg yolks, whisking well over medium heat until mixture starts to thicken, 4-6 minutes. Turn the heat down slightly and continue to cook for 1 minute, whisking continuously. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla until smooth. Immediately pour the filling into the cooled pie shell and smooth the top with a spoon. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the filing, leaving no gaps or air pockets, to prevent a skin from forming. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Just before serving, slice bananas and place evenly over the filling. Spread a thick layer of whipped cream on top. Slice and serve.
I'm having a blast from my past with this month's retro pie theme. This week's pie mission, should I decide to accept it, is to bake an impossible pie made with Bisquick®. First introduced by General Mills in 1931, this pre-mixed baking product helped cooks shave time off of their cooking preparation. Bisquick® gained a loyal following which spurred a flurry of "impossible pie" recipes, a boon to those who thought making the perfect pie crust was an impossible mission.
Before embarking on my mission, I consulted my trusted pie cookbook. Author Ken Haedrich made no mention of impossible pie which should have been an obvious clue for me to abandon this dubious mission. With no trusted recommendation from the Magi of Pie, I had no recourse but to conduct a self-guided internet reconnaissance. My sleuthing yielded an arsenal of impossible pie variations. Sifting through the multitude, I narrowed it down to a few promising candidates. With pie dossier in hand, I skeptically embarked on my solo mission with no IMF (Impossible Mission Force) to back me up. My homemade pastry crusts have been challenging and time-consuming but worth the effort. The impossible pie recipes make sweeping claims that a crust magically bakes into the pie. I find this impossible to believe.
My first attempt was impossible coconut pie. The recipe touted a mere six ingredients mixed in a blender, poured into a pie pan, and baked for 30 minutes. End result? The pie was quite possibly the most disappointing pie I've ever encountered. It began to self-destruct after only 20 minutes in the oven. It overbrowned and shriveled, its texture blubbery. I halfway expected it to emit smoke in its demise, just like the cassette tape player did in the original Mission Impossible television series. The worst part about this pie was that a magical crust did not appear.
I forged on with my second attempt, impossible cherry pie. This recipe followed the same protocol but with the addition of a streusel topping which gave it some promise. End result? A shrunken pie with a soggy bottom and an overly crunchy topping.
Still not impressed with this genre of pies, I continued experimenting. The third time was a charm, as charming as impossible pies can be possibly be. This recipe incorporated canned berry pie filling and a coconut streusel topping. I chose to bake it in a smaller capacity metal pie pan to minimize shrinkage and encourage a crust to form. End result? Still no obvious crust but the pie kept its shape and had a pleasant flavor.
My investigation into impossible pies yielded this conclusion: impossible pies are imposters. They are secretly cobblers and crisps operating under the deceptive cloak of pies. Be forewarned, impossible pies are a covert bunch, luring unsuspecting bakers into their web of deceit. However, if you are short on time and need to produce a quick dessert, an impossible pie recipe will suffice.
In conclusion, there's an obvious reason Ken Haedrich evaded impossible pies. I imagine his ominous warning: "As always, should you fail in your impossible pie mission, I disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck. This message will self destruct in five seconds."
IMPOSSIBLE BERRY PIE
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup Bisquick® baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 (21-ounce) canned berry pie filling (I used 1/2 can of cherry and 1/2 can of blueberry)
Streusel:
1/2 cup Bisquick® baking mix
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sweetened grated coconut
2 tablespoons firm butter
Mix Bisquick®, brown sugar, cinnamon, and coconut together. Cut in butter until crumbly.
Preheat oven to 400 degress. Grease a 9-inch pie pan. Place all ingredients except pie filling and streusel in a blender and mix on high speed for 15 seconds. Pour into pie pan. Spoon berry filling evenly over top. Bake 25 minutes, remove from oven and top with streusel. Bake for an additional 7-10 minutes until streusel is golden brown. Remove from oven. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Pie #13! A baker's dozen! I'm a quarter of the way through my pie odyssey and I think my Pie IQ has increased, nowhere near genius level but maybe by year's end I'll be a regular "Pienstein". I've tried an all shortening pastry crust, a half shortening/half butter pastry crust and an oil crust, all with respectable results. Last week's shoofly pie crust made with butter, however, was a resounding success! Using that same recipe, this week I attempt the double crust.
Continuing on with my retro pie theme, I am curious about the mock apple pie recipe featuring Ritz crackers. I grew up with Ritz crackers which were a staple in my house. The crackers were perched on top of the refrigerator next to the Carnation Breakfast Squares and the Freakies Cereal. My dad or mom must have been swayed by Andy Griffith as he proclaimed in the Ritz commercial, "Everything tastes better when it sits on a Ritz. Mmmm, good cracker!"
The mock apple pie movement was actually born in the mid 1800's when pioneer woman, appalled at the high cost of apples, invented a recipe using soda crackers. Their mock pies were a hit with their families who craved the real McCoy. Ritz crackers later appeared on the American market in the 1930's with the mock apple pie recipe printed on the box.
As I began to prepare this recipe, I was positive that the results would be disastrous. My bottom pie crust seemed too thin and my top crust too thick. I accidentally put too much lemon juice in the syrup and it looked terribly watery as I poured it over the cracker crumbs. Within the first moments of baking the syrup oozed out of the upper crust, dripped onto the oven floor, proceeded to burn to a black crisp, and made my whole house reek of burnt offerings. Needless to say, I suggest placing a shallow pan under the pie to catch spills.
I watched with trepidation as the pie baked. Would my pie make a mockery of the tried and true mock apple pie recipe? Surprising, my crust didn't shrink, warp, or dissolve into a soggy mess. The initial leak sealed itself. As I pulled the pie out of the oven, I was thankful that it looked okay. But looks can be deceiving. Would it taste okay? After an hour of cooling, my knife slide smoothly into the crust and I extracted a picture perfect slice of pie. It looked like apple pie, smelled like apple pie, and (drum roll please) tasted amazingly like apple pie! I even convinced my husband it was apple pie. I suggest serving it on April 1st. You're sure to fool everyone!
Best of all, I think my Pie IQ (let's call it my Pie-Q) just bumped up a few notches with the success of this pie. I'm beginning to believe this pie quest might just be as easy as pie.
Crust:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup cold water
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, tossing it with the flour. With electric mixer on low speed, blend butter into the flour until you have what looks like coarse, damp meal. Turning the mixer on and off, add half of the water. Mix briefly on low speed. Add the remaining water, mixing slowly until the dough starts to form large clumps. Do not overmix.
Test the dough by squeezing some of it between your fingers. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, if the dough seems dry and not packable. Using your hands, pack the dough into 2 balls. Make one ball slightly larger than the other; this will become your bottom crust. Knead each ball once or twice, then flatten into 3/4-inch thick disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the larger portion of dough into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert over a 9-inch pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, and let the overhang drape over the edge. Put the cracker crumbs from the filling recipe in the prepared crust. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Filling:
36 Ritz crackers, coarsely broken (about 2 cups)
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Grated zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Bring the water, sugar, and cream of tartar to a boil in a medium-size saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Cool to lukewarm. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Slowly pour the cooled syrup over the cracker crumbs in the chilled pie shell. Dot the filling with the butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon. On a separate sheet of floured waxed paper, roll the other half of the pastry into a 10-inch circle. Lightly moisten the rim of the pie shell. Invert the top pastry over the filling, center, and peel off paper. Press the top and bottom pastries together along the dampened edge. Using the back of a butter knife, trim the pastry flush with the edge of the pan. If desired roll out this excess pastry dough and cut decorative shapes with canape cutters. Moisten pie edge with water and place cut outs on pie rim for decoration.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake until the top crust is crisp and dark golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool pie on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
My last pie was a throwback to my past, and in that vein I thought I'd try a shoofly pie. I remember the nursery rhyme about shooflies and also remember the song made famous by Dinah Shore, Shoofly Pie and Apple Pandowdy. I always thought the pie was a homely thing with the added insult of an unappetizing name. Shoofly pie in a pan....dowdy, indeed.
As I began investigating this pie, I discovered that it is traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch. With its Amish origins, I can understand why this pie is nothing fancy. But I shouldn't be too hasty to judge by looks alone. Shoofly pie was prominently featured in the 2009 Pennsylvania tourism board marketing campaign. Apparently this pie, despite its homeliness, is good enough to lure travelers far and wide.
The Amish are known for their stark simplicity, and shoofly pie is true to its plain roots. Consisting of flour, brown sugar, butter and molasses, the recipe is certainly not a head turner. My curiosity was piqued, however, when I listened to Dinah Shore crooning over shoofly pie, "If you want to do right by your appetite, take a choo choo today and head New England way." Being a mere pie novice, I certainly could use the confidence boost of mastering a simple pie. The last thing I need is to get "ferhoodled" over a complicated recipe.
I've always admired the Amish, how they not only survive with just the bare necessities, but how they thrive as a community. I'm not ready to convert to such a lifestyle, but I will readily admit I am now a big believer in shoofly pie. As Laura Ingalls Wilder said, “It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” Shoofly pie fits the bill, for sure and for certain.
This recipe is sweet and may have gotten its name because the molasses attracts flies that must be "shooed" away. I'll add that as you bake this pie, you may have to ward off family and friends in the vicinity. One whiff of the luscious aroma of molasses and cinnamon and they'll beeline straight to your kitchen! When serving the pie, repeat this Amish saying, "Better to bust one's stomach than to throw food away. Eat yourself full."
Crust:
I chose a basic all-butter crust featured in Ken Haedrich's pie cookbook. The pastry dough was a dream to roll out; no cracks or tears in the crust and thus no tears from yours truly! The crust does not require pre-baking which simplifies the simple recipe even further.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold water
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, tossing it with the flour. With electic mixer on low speed, blend butter into the flour until you have what looks like coarse, damp meal. Turning the mixer on and off, add half of the water. Mix briefly on low speed. Add the remaining water, mixing slowly until the dough starts to form large clumps. Do not overmix.
Test the dough by squeezing some of it between your fingers. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, if the dough seems dry and not packable. Using your hands, pack the dough in a ball. Knead once or twice, then flatten into 3/4-inch thick disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling.
On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert over a 9-inch pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, sculpting the overhang into an upstanding ridge. Place in freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Filling:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup unsulfured or blackstrap molasses
3/4 boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Combine the flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub or cut it into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender, mixing until the mixture resembles fine meal. Set aside crumb mixture.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and the molasses. Add the boiling water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Whisk in the baking soda, vanilla, and egg. Pour the mixture into the chilled pie shell. Scatter the crumb mixture evenly over the filling. Do not press down the crumbs.
Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and rotate the pie 180 degrees so that the part that faces the back of the oven now faces forward. Continue to bake until the filling is set, about 25 minutes. When done, the filling should wobble as a whole and the center should not be soupy.
Cool pie on a wire rack. Pie can be served warm or at room temperature.
I was somewhat pie deprived as a child. My Japanese mom did not have a sweet tooth and my dad was a meat and potatoes man from the midwest. I, however, did have a sweet tooth that my mom indulged occasionally by baking Duncan Hines cake mixes and Toll House chocolate chip cookies. My dad would bake sugar cookies and date bars for Christmas and would make a few rhubarb pies in the summer. I hated rhubarb and later on in my pie blog, I will comment further about this prolific stalk of bitter disgustingness.
But for now, I want to share my few sweet memories of pies past. In the 1970s when I was just a teenager, my older married sister would often have my younger sis and me over for the weekend. I admired her for being so fashion forward in her bell bottoms and platform shoes and for being an accomplished cook, a skill that eluded me. I looked forward to the delicious dishes she'd whip up. We'd sit with TV trays in front of the television, tweaking the rabbit ears so we'd get good reception for The Brady Bunch. My sister's husband was the manager of the local Furr's Cafeteria and she'd drive us there in her AMC Pacer to partake in another meal. Being family, we received a big discount. I loved going through that buffet line, choosing such delicacies as salisbury steak, hushpuppies, and bacon green beans. But what I relished the most was the dessert section. At the end of that long buffet line was an impressive array of pie slices. My tray was already groaning from the weight of my entree and umpteen side dishes but I always saved space for the pièce de résistance, Millionaire Pie, a kitschy concoction of cream cheese, pineapple, pecans and Cool Whip.
I've thought of that retro pie often, drooling at the sweet memory. Recently, I went through my old recipe box containing scads of index cards with handwritten recipes from yesteryear. My pie category, predictably, was very sparse. But imagine my delight when I came across the recipe for Millionaire Pie! I can't recall if this was given to me by my sister who clandestinely smuggled the recipe out of the Furr's secret vault. I'm just thankful the recipe emerged from its time capsule just in time to be highlighted in my pie blog.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact origin of Millionaire Pie, but the recipe was first circulated in the 1950's with references to Texas. Perhaps it was named after a wealthy Texas oilman who enjoyed savoring a cool slice after a scorching day in the old fields. In my research for this pie, I have come across recipes featuring a variety of crusts. I decided to try my friend Holly's recipe she inherited from her mother-in-law. Since the pie claims to have Texas roots, I've chosen her oil-based pastry....not crude oil, mind you, but Wesson oil, the one Florence Henderson of Brady Bunch fame promoted back in the 70's and 80's.
So in honor of pies past, put on your bell bottoms, turn the A.M. radio dial to a retro 70's music station, and put some "Wessonality" into that pie!
Crust:
I got great results with this crust! It's a breeze to mix but does take some care in rolling out. Sandwich the dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll thinly. The recipe makes two crusts but you will need only the bottom crust for this pie. With the remaining dough, use mini cookie cutters to cut out shapes you can use to line the rim of the pan. I used flower cut outs which made a fun flower power presentation for this retro pie!
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Wesson oil
1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Pour Wesson oil and milk in one measuring cup but do not stir. Add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir until mixed. Press into a ball. Take two-thirds of the dough and roll between two sheets of wax paper. Place dough in 9-inch pie pan and press evenly. Take remaining dough, roll out, and cut into small shapes with cookie cutters. Brush the rim of the pie pan with milk and press shapes lightly around the rim. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, prick crust with fork, reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes longer, just until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.
Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple, well drained
1 12-ounce tub of Cool Whip
3/4 cup of chopped pecans (reserve some for garnish)
Cream sugar and cream cheese together with electric mixer. Add vanilla extract and pineapple and blend well. Fold in Cool Whip and pecans and spread mixture into cooled pie crust. Garnish with pecans, if desired. Refrigerate for at least four hours.
