Week #39 May 23 - 29

I made two pies this week. The first pie I made was a request. A friend sent me this recipe for a chocolate chip cookie pie. I tweaked the recipe slightly. I only used 1/2 cup of butter, and didn't put nuts in it. I also added a pinch of vanilla and pinch of salt.

It literally tasted like a chocolate chip cookie. One thing I noticed was that the chocolate chips fell to the bottom of the pie, but besides that, it seemed to be a crowd favorite.

The second pie I decided to take on was a strawberry pie. I got the recipe from Cooks Illustrated. It worked out well. It was really full of strawberries, and they held together decently.

Week #38 May 16 - 22

I was feeling ambitious this week and made two pies. The first was just a random idea I had for a Chai Pie. You know, like chai tea. Well, I looked online, and found this fellow.

Instead of making an almond crust, I just made a regular graham cracker crust. The taste was good, but I had a few problems. The first was that the pie didn't really get too firm. I know it isn't going to be a real firm pie, but it just didn't hold it's shape like I would have hoped. The second issue I had came with the chai whipped cream. For the life of me, I had a tough time getting this into a real "whipped" cream form. I made it twice, and both times, a fail.


The second pie I made was a chocolate raspberry. I like raspberries, and think they usually get shoved to the back because our friend the strawberry is more popular. I just googled "chocolate raspberry pie", and this beauty came up.

I have to say, I was impressed by this pie. Normally I am not a huge chocolate fan, but something about the thin layer of chocolate on top really was a nice touch. There was no one ingredient overbearing. Just a nice blend of chocolate, raspberries, and cream.

Week #37 May 9-15

I took this week off. I was home for Sandy's graduation.

Week #36 May 2 - 8

For my pie this week, I was feeling a berry pie. I decided to go with blueberries, as they are just about to come into season. I found a recipe in my Bubby's Homemade Pie's book, and the rest is history.



I know I've said it before, but berry pies are some of my favorites. I am still trying to get the right amount of corn starch or other thickener in them to be correct. But overall, I would say that I nailed this one pretty well. The blueberries weren't too tart, however it wasn't overly sweet. My co-workers enjoyed this pie, and I would say it will definitely be made again.

Week #35 April 25 - May 1

I had a request this week, for a dirt pie. For those of you that do not know, this is a staple at summer potlucks, with crushed Oreos, vanilla or chocolate pudding, and topped with gummy worms. I put my own spin on it:



I didn't like the graham cracker crust, so when I made it again I used an Oreo crust. Even though you can't see a slice, the vanilla pudding is layered with the crushed Oreos.

I tell people that everything in my pies is made from scratch. Except the Oreos. They are quite the useful food when it comes to pie making.

Week #34 April 18 - 24

This week I went with what was sure to be a crowd favorite: peanut butter Oreo. Anything with the peanut butter/chocolate combo, people tend to devour. This pie was no exception.

I've realized in the last month or two that with all the pie making, I am able to now tweak and mold recipes to the way I like them and my cooking style. I incorporated a two different recipes for the crust as well as the filling.



Overall, this pie was a winner. The filling was creamy, and the Oreos gave it a nice crunch. Please note that from what I've read, there were peanut butter Oreos on the market a few years ago. I'm not sure if they still are, but I couldn't find them and didn't use them. Here is the recipe for the crust:

CRUSH 26 of the cookies; mix with butter until well blended. Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

And the filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Using an electric mixer or a lot of elbow grease, combine the cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until firm. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and pour it into the prepared pie crust. Chill the pie for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Week #33 April 11 - 17

This week I continued with the cream pie theme, and made a recipe that has been staring me in the face for a long time. It is a hybrid between a banana cream and coconut cream. Or aptly titled, "Banoconut Cream Pie". This recipe comes from Chow, one of my favorite food resources.

The recipe calls for a layer of bananas on top of the crust. Then the next layer is the coconut filling. Followed by the standard whipped cream. And to top it off, a sprinkle of toasted coconut.



This was definitely one of the better looking pies I've made. I may have put too much whipped cream on top, but I didn't hear any complaints. As opposed to the last banana cream and coconut cream pies I made, this one turned out pretty well. If I were to have one complaint about the taste, it is that the coconut filling wasn't strong enough. But overall, when I hear, "This is my favorite pie you've made so far young man" it's a good feeling.