Summer Pies

 

We decided to mix things up a little with our pie night and do it in the summer instead of the fall. We had a salad bar for dinner and then a bunch of pies for dessert. Here are the ones we tried this time.

Marshmallow Crispy Lemon Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup dry lemon flavor gelative (1/2 of a 3-oz pkg.)
4 cups miniature marshmallows
3 cups rice crispies cereal
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) lemon flavor instant pudding
1 1/2 cups cold milk
5 fresh strawberries, cut in half, optional

Directions:

Microwave butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 30 seconds, or until melted. Add dry gelatin mix and marshmallows; toss to coat. Microwave 1 min. or until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is blended, stirring after 45 seconds. Add cereal; mix well.

Press cereal mixture onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate sprayed with cooking spray.

Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 minutes; pour into crust. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.

Recipe notes: You can prepare using vanilla flavor instant pudding and your favorite flavor of gelatin. You can also substitute raspberries for the halved strawberries.

How to use remaining gelatin: Add 1/4 cup boiling water to remaining dry gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 minutes, until dissolved. Stir in 2 tbsp. cold water. Refrigerate 1 hour until firm.

Yield: 10 servings.

Source: Kraft Recipes. You can find it here.

Notes: This was a fun change from using pie crust. Very kid friendly. Plus, I am always a sucker for lemon.


 

Macadamia Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup crushed shortbread cookies
1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Key lime juice or lime juice
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix cookie crumbs, macadamia nuts and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of a greased 9-inch. pie plate.

Refrigerate 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in milk and lime juice until blended. Transfer to crust. Refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours.

In a small bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form; spoon or pipe onto pie. Top with macadamia nuts.

Yield: 8 servings.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: Ooh, this was good. Tart, but not too tart, and very creamy.

Hoosier Pie

Ingredients:

1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
1 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold edges under; flute.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add half-and-half, and mix well.

Combine whole milk and egg yolks in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk; add to sugar mixture, and whisk to combine well. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture into prepared crust and sprinkle nutmeg over top. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until filling is set and lightly browned. Cool completely before serving.

Recipe notes: This simple custard pie originated in the 1800s as a way to use ingredients typically on hand: butter, flour, and sugar or maple syrup. Similar to the Hoosier Pie is the Pennsylvania Chess Pie; both were created, it's believed, by Shaker and Amish cooks.

Source: MyRecipes.com. Oxmoor House, October 2013. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really good. Very basic ingredients and super tasty.

 

Martha Stewart's Crisp Coconut and Chocolate Pie

Ingredients:

For the crust:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
11 ounces (about 6 cups) sweetened shredded coconut

For the filling:

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 51 percent cacao), finely chopped

Directions:

Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, process butter and one-third of the coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture and combine with your fingers.

Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil and bake until edges are browned, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour into coconut crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour, or up to 1 day.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Source: I originally found this on the Martha Stewart website, but it doesn't appear to be there anymore. You can find it here.

Olive Garden Chocolate Ricotta Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Filling:

1 lb. ricotta cheese
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup toasted almonds
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar together in a bowl. Shape inside 9" pie plate. If crust is too crumbly, ad a small amount of butter so crumbs will hold together. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool.

Combine ricotta, confectioner's sugar, and almond extract in a bowl and set aside.

Combine almonds and chocolate. Chop together in a food processor; do not chop too fine.

Fold together cheese mix and chopped almond and chocolate and chill.

Whip heavy cream until stiff. Fold into ricotta and chocolate mix half at a time.

Spoon into chilled crust and let sit overnight before serving.

Serve with chocolate sauce, if desired.

Source: This is an actual Olive Garden recipe found on their site. You can fine it here. Their recipe site used to be a lot more user friendly than it is now though.

Notes: This was one of my favorites. Very rich, but oh so good.

Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 cookie sheets), divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons egg white
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cooking spray

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1/4 taspoon instant espresso powder (we used Postum)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 3/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

To prepare the crust, reserve 1 tablespoon crumbs for topping. Combine the remaining crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl, stirring well. Stir in egg white an dbutter. Press crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees F for 9 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, combine 1/2 cup sugar, and the next 7 ingredients (through egg yolk) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Place the milk in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until milk reaches 180 degrees F or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil). Gradually add hot milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until smooth.

Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until mixture cools, stirring occasionally. Spoon filling into crust, and cover surface of filling with plastic wrap. Chill for 3 hours or until set; remove plastic wrap. Spread the whipped topping over filling; sprinkle with reserved cracker crumbs.

Source: MyRecipes.com. Cooking Light, May 2011. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really good. The cinnamon and the red pepper added some great flavor.

 Streusel Peach Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
5 cups sliced peeled fresh or frozen peaches, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Dash ground nutmeg
1 egg
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons cold butter
Whipped cream, optional

Directions:

Line a 9-inch. pie plate with pastry; trim pasty to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate and flute edges.

In a large bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, flour, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk egg and cream. Pour over peaches; toss to combine. Place in crust. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over outer edges of pie, leaving center uncovered.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, covering edges with foil to prevent overbrowning, if necessary. Cool on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: Really good, classic peach pie.

Cool and Creamy Watermelon Pie

Ingredients:

1 package (3 ounces) watermelon gelatin
1/4 cup boiling water
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups cubed seeded watermelon
1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Cool to room temperature. Whisk in whipped topping; fold in watermelon. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set.

Yield: 6-8 servings.

Source: Taste of Home. You can find it here.

Notes: This was our kid friendly pie choice. The kids all gravitated towards it.

Above: Did we make enough pies?