a year of pies

Deep Dish Apple Pie

September 5, 2014

I feel like I’m breaking the rules today.

I’m wearing white pants! And it’s after Labor Day! Whatever, I think that rule is kinda old fashion but still I do feel like I am breaking a rule.

But it’s gonna be 90 today!!! HOT AND HUMID! So it doesn’t feel like summer is ‘over’ so I’ll enjoy my white capri’s today!

It has been hot and humid all week and I’ve loved it. Well, I didn’t love having our cranking away at 375 for an hour and 15 minutes for this pie. But once the pie, and I, cooled off it was all worth it. That first bite was killer.

Anyway, what are you doing this weekend? I have a deadline on Monday so I am going to work tomorrow for a few hours for blissful uninterrupted work. Then our Sunday is pretty open. I’m hoping that we complete the refinishing of our dining table chairs that we started a few weeks ago. Fingers crossed. One thing I do know about the weekend is that we are definitely going to enjoy this apple pie!!

I think you can’t beat 4 1/2 pounds of tart apples that are coated in cinnamon and sugar and piled high in a homemade buttery pie crust. Yep, you read that right… 4 1/2 pounds of apples!! That is how you get a deep dish apple pie! You need lots of apples!!

And you need to make the pie crust. As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of pre-made store-bought pie crust but this pie just deserves it. I swear.

I just bought these granny smith apples at the grocery store but I’m telling you I can’t wait to go apple picking. We had a blast last time we went so I’m really looking forward to going this fall. And of course, the best part about apple picking (besides the fresh apple cider donuts!) is the cooking and baking afterwards. Yay! More pies!!

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Makes a 9″ Pie

Ingredients

Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, chilled
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Filling

4 1/2 pounds of granny smith apples
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Process

To make the crust, in the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.
While the dough is chilling, combine the sugars, flour, and cinnamon together in a small bowl, set aside.
Begin to peel the apples in about 1 pound batches. Cut the apples into 4 pieces around the core, then slice each piece into 1/4″ thick slices. Add the slices to a large bowl and add some of the sugar mixture, mix well to coat all the pieces. Repeat with all of the apples.
Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with wax paper.
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks to be large enough to fit your deep dish pie dish. Place the pie dough in the dish and trim so there is an extra 1/2″ beyond the edge of the dish.
Scoop the apple pie filling into the pie plate. Leave any juices behind in the bowl. Top off the apples with a few small pieces of butter.
Roll out second pie crust to be large enough to cover the pie. Carefully lay the crust over the apples. Fold the top layer edge under the bottom edge, then pinch together around the pie. Cut 8 small slits around the pie and make a tiny cross slit at the top. is golden brown.
Place the pie on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for for 75-90 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender.
Place the pie on a cooking rack and allow to cool before slicing and serving. Store any remaining pie in an airtight container for up to several days.

Crust Sourced from Martha Stewart

Streusel Topped Peach Pie

August 22, 2014

Streusel or Strudel… I always mix them up. Always.

So when I was going to tell Price I was making a Streusel Topped Peach Pie I practiced it in my head over and over again. AFTER googling it to make sure I was right.

It’s just one of those weird mind farts I have. And I’m okay with it. I do imagine a strudel topped peach pie would be good too… ha!

Anyway, right now peaches are crazy good. I have always loed peaches but I fell head over heels in love with them while I was pregnant last summer. I developed the craziest sweet tooth. Instead of grabbing for donuts and cupcakes I had a bit of restraint and went after fruit, and lots of it! Peaches were my crutch as I ate insane amounts of them. They are hard to resist when they are perfectly ripe, sweet, and juicy late in the summer. Bliss.

Well, I still really love peaches so I wanted to make a peach pie with them. And then I thought I would put some ~~strudel~~ streusel on top. It’s kinda like a weird marriage of peach pie and coffee cake. The crumbs on coffee cake are the best part. The bigger the crumb the better, too.

This pie starts off really high, but falls as it bakes so don’t worry about it being too tall. Or having too much streusel prepared. You do use it all up as you place small mounds on the peaches and then gently even it all out and get the crumbs in the nooks between the peach slices.

I used almond meal in the Streusel to add some more flavor to the crumbs but if you can’t find it then just use flour. I just love the flavors of peaches and almonds together, you know from all the strudels I’ve had. ha!

Enjoy this pie within a day or 2 as the juicy fruit will soften the butter crumbly topping and then it just gets soggy and no one likes soggy streusel.

I suggest serving this pie by warming it slightly and topping it off with some vanilla bean ice cream. And of course you should sit outside with your feet in the grass as you enjoy the evening cool down. Damn, I love summer.

Streusel Topped Peach Pie

Makes a 9″ Pie

Ingredients

1 pie crust to line a 9″ pie plate, or a store-bought 9″ pie shell
2 1/4 lbs fresh peaches
3/4 Cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 heaping Tablespoons cornstarch
8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (1/2″ Cubes)
1/2 Cup almond meal
2/3 Cup flour
1/2 Cup sugar

Process

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the pie crust in the pie plate. Place the pie plate on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.
Cut peaches into thin slices. Combine the peaches, sugar, vanilla extract, and cornstarch in a large bowl, mix well.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the butter, almond meal, flour, and sugar. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter to created large crumbles.
Place the peaches in the pie crust. Pile the struesel crumbles onto the peach slices.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the crumbles are golden brown and the when a knife is inserted into the pie there is little resistence from the fruit.

Mixed Berry Rustic Pie

August 1, 2014

While we were in Maine last weekend, Price made blueberry pancakes for breakfast one day. Of course they were Maine blueberries. On a whim we gave Autumn some. I say ‘on a whim’ because she is not a breakfast ~~person~~ baby. Her morning bottle is eaten in 2 parts and it’s the smallest bottle of the day. So I didn’t think she would be interested in it.

Well, I was wrong. Really wrong. She gobbled it up. And then we made more and saved them for lunch for her and she ate them up too. (Just to clarify there was no syrup involved!)

We had occasionally given her berries prior to this but this has definitely awakened something in her because since then she eaten a lot of blueberries and had some

Mixed Berry Rustic Pie_09

So I can see that she is going to L-O-V-E this Mixed Berry Rustic Pie when she is older.

There are 4 different kinds of berries in this pie- blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. It’s loaded up with berry goodness. When Price had his slice (for breakfast- better lighting!) he said it was ‘berry good’. ba-dum-tss!

Because there is not much too it I would really urge you to make homemade crust for it as it adds to much good texture and flavor. Plus, I think it would just look better with its handmade edges vs its factory cut circle-y edge. I am a big fan of store-bought crust, but I think this one needs a handmade one.

As well, I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to putting in cornstarch to thicken the filling. I think it’s sooo much worse to have a soupy pie than one that is a bit too thick. It affects the bottom of the crust and how you get the slice out of the plate. So if you think you’ve used enough, add some more!

Other than that… this recipe is a piece of cake! 🙂

Mixed Berry Rustic Pie

Makes a 9″ Pie

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1/8-1/4 cup ice water

For the Filling

1 pint blueberries
6 oz raspberries
6 oz blackberries
12 oz strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
2-3 Tablespoons cornstarch (depending how juicy the fruit is)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Process

For the Crust

In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. Cut the cold butter into very small pieces, put back into the refrigerator to keep extra cold.
Using a food processor/pastry cutter, or your hands, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture crumbly and looks like sand.
Slowly add in the water until the mixture holds together.
Pat and form into a loose ball. If the mixture is too warm at this point then put it back into the refrigerator for a few.
Flour work surface and roll out crust two inches larger than pie pan. Place crust in the pie pan.

To make the Pie:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in large bowl.
Add berries to pie crust. Then fold edges of crust over filling, creasing as needed.
Bake at 30-40 minutes or until filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Serve warm with ice cream!

Inspired from Tidy Mom

PayDay Pie

July 25, 2014

Hey today is my payday!

Woohoo! Time to pay some bills! Ugh.

Well, it’s your payday as well. I created a PayDay Pie just for you.

Price really likes PayDay bars. I do not. There is no chocolate. So I insist they are a waste of a candy bar. He can eat all the PayDay bars he wants out of Autumn’s Halloween bag when she is still of the age that we get first pass at the goodies. I’ll take the Snickers Thank.You.Very.Much.

So here is a simple pie that you can whip up while trying to pack for a long weekend. Take cans out of the slow cooker – pack bathing suits & sunblock & a hat Autumn will refuse to wear – process the cookies to make the crust – did I pack socks already? – pulse the melted butter into the crumbs – ah, yes, I did pack socks -create the crust and put it into the fridge- wipe down the counters and load the dishwasher – whip together the caramel and cream cheese – pack up the dogs stuff – fill the pie.

While the caramel is super easy to make just be aware you can still burn it. Well, at least over cook it. Just be aware of how your slow cooker runs and you should be set. If your slow cooker is on the low side then cook the caramel for 8-10 hrs. Or if it runs hotter, like mine, then stick closer to the 6-8 hrs.

The cream cheese helps cut some of the sweetness from the caramel, and makes it extra dreamy & creamy. If you want add some vanilla extract. I just believe it can never hurt.

Just like it can never hurt to have a big glass of wine while sitting under a tree. I’ll totally be doing that this weekend while we visit Price’s mom in Maine. And of course trying to keep a hat on Autumn’s head since she hates them. HATES.

But you won’t hate this pie. Nope, not one bit.

PayDay Pie

Makes a 9″ pie

Ingredients

2 14.5 ounce cans of condensed milk
8 oz Nutterbutter cookies ( 1/2 a package)
4 Tablespoons of butter
8 oz cream cheese
salted peanuts

Process

Place 2 cans of condensed milk into a slow cooker. Fill the slow-cooker with water to completely cover the cans and have plenty of water above the cans. Turn on high, cover, and cook for 6-8 hours.
Remove the cans from the water and let cool until you can handle the cans.
While the cans are cooling, place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor. Process the cookies until they are crumbs. Add the melted butter and quickly pulse until the butter is evenly incorporated.
Pour the cookie crumbs into the bottom of a pie plate. Gently press into the bottom and up the sides to form the crust. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Open the cans and pour the caramel into a bowl, add the cream cheese. Beat until completely blended.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle the peanuts on top of the filling. Chill for at least 2 hours to set up.

Process for creating the pie filling was adapted from Beantown Baker

Reese’s Cup Marshmallow Peanut Butter Cookie Pie

July 18, 2014

I’ve been in a cooking funk.

I’m currently in a ‘nope don’t wanna cook anything’ phase. Basically, all I make anymore is pies. And that is just to have something to post on Fridays. I guess I could post about making Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwiches since I’m a rock star at at making them. But I should be since that is about all I’ve been making lately- breakfast sandwiches, bowls of cereal, and making calls for take out.

Shouldn’t I be super inspired to make some great meals now since some much is in season and we love summer time grilling? It be great for some BBQ chicken breasts with some grilled veggies. Or some of these pork kabobs? What about a juicy steak? Or skip the grill and at least make a great fresh salad, no?

But truthfully, we’re beat. Autumn hasn’t been sleeping that well. Thanks teething. And whatever else is going on. Blah.

And I recently got a Fitbit Flex so I’m all about walking while it’s still nice (I shudder thinking about winter already) and before Autumn’s bedtime so getting out of the house for a 2 1/2- 3 1/2 mile walk at night it my top priority. It’s sooo nice to be able to get out to stretch our legs. But it just means something has to give and that has been making a real dinner.

At least all that walking has helped balance things out when I shovel mouthfuls of warm ooey gooey pie into my mouth. RIGHT?!? That’s what I figure when I walk over 15,000-18,000 steps in a day.

When I was taking photos of this pie in front of our house (best lighting) my neighbor started to say hi and ask what I was doing. He doesn’t know English that well, so instead of trying to explain what blogging is to him I told him to go back inside and get a plate. He then came over with this plate and I slapped a piece of warm pie right on it. I think his eyes bugged out of his head a bit when he really saw this baby.

And then a guy driving by in a truck slowed down and stopped saying “You taking a picture of a pie?” I shouted back “Yep!” He still looked a bit confused but went with it “Okay…” and then drove on.

That’s right, this pie is attention getting!!

How could anyone ignore this Reese’s Cup Marshmallow Peanut Butter Cookie Pie?!?! I mean, come on, a peanut butter cookie crust, chocolate chips, Reese’s Cups, and mini marshmallows. Ridiculous.

The crust is easy to make but if you find a roll of refrigerated peanut butter cookies at your grocery store then feel free to give that a try. Then it’s all about raiding the candy aisle and dumping that into this pie. The candy make the filling ooey gooey so just accept some sloppy slices, but it’s worth the mess. I swear.

Reese’s Cup Marshmallow Peanut Butter Cookie Pie

Make a 9″ deep dish pie

Ingredients

For the Crust

1/2 cup of unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup smooth creamy butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups self rising flour

For the Filling

1/2 cup chocolate chips
12 Reese’s peanut butter cups
1 1/2 to 2 cups of mini marshmallows

Process

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a deep dish pie plate by spraying with non stick cooking spray.
To make the crust, cream together the butter and brown sugar together. Add the peanut butter, egg, and flour and mix to thoroughly combined. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and up sides of the pie plate. Place the remaining dough into the refrigerator. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until it’s just starting to set up.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the semi-cooked bottom. Place the peanut butter cups over the chocolate chips. Lastly, sprinkle the marshmallows over the top.
Roll out chunks of dough to create 1″ round balls of remaining dough into the palm of your hand, press to create a 1/4″ thick disk. Create the top crust by placing the pieces on top of the marshmallows (pieces can overlap).
Bake for an additional 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. The center of the pie will still be very jiggly as the filling should be very gooey.
Cool for at least 30 minutes for the perfect piece to come out. Serve warm.

Crust adapted from I am a Honey Bee, filling from Oh Sweet Basil

Twix Bar Cheesecake Pie

July 4, 2014

**HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!**

I’ve had such a productive week. It feels so damn good to get things done and handled. My to do list is never ending so this week has taken a nice chunk off my shoulders. Check this out.

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Lemon Chess Pie

June 20, 2014

Yesterday was such a great busy day.

I worked from home in the morning. Then Autumn had a Physical Therapy follow-up appointment at Children’s Hospital for her Torticollis that flares up when she is not feeling great (a cold, teething, etc.) Then we drove out to Newton to do a big drop off at Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast. (I’ve now donated just over 1,300 oz (10+gallon) to help out premies!) A quick trip to the grocery store and then we head off to watch The Big G’s softball game. While I don’t play, Price plays along with my office as his office doesn’t have a team.

Autumn loved hanging out on our picnic blanket with a fresh juicy peach for a snack while everyone fawned over her blue eyes. And overall cuteness. 🙂

The game was a success! The team forged a comeback and ended up winning 16-17! We all went a little nuts as everyone was proud of the come back win. Plus, our team has had a bit of a history with the other team. They beat us pretty much beat us every time, but the worst is that they beat us 2 years ago in the championship game so this was such a sweet win!

Ah, it all makes me just love summer so much.

Perfect for summer is this Lemon Chess Pie!

The color and flavor is jsut to bright and happy to me. I would love to serve this at a BBQ or picnic with some fresh berries and whipped cream.

The pie is very light and very lemony. While it’s tart it’s still pretty sweet so there is a nice balance there. The whole thing takes about 5-10 minutes to mix up and then just 40ish minutes to bake. I do suggest that you give it several hours to cool and set up. I know it’s hard to resist the wait but you’ll get a perfectly set, creamy pie then.

Enjoy!

Lemon Chess Pie

Make 1 9″ Pie, 12-16 servings

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie crust
3 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice (preferably use Meyer Lemon)
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Place the crust in a pie pan and the crimp edges. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, vinegar, and vanilla extract until blended. Once combined, gently fold in the egg whites until there are no more white streaks.
Pour the filling into the pie crust.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean and is browned on top.

Slightly Adapted from The Spiffy Cookie

Key Lime Pie Sugar Cookie Cups

May 30, 2014

We took Autumn for her first swim class on Sunday. OMG! So adorable!!!

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Strawberry Pie

May 22, 2014

Happy Friday!!

I hope you are excited about the long weekend just as much as I am!

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Chocolate Ganache Topped Crunchifed Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie

May 16, 2014

Oh, what a week it has been!

Our poor pup starting throwing up on Monday night and has been sick since. We had hoped his stomach issues would clear up on their own but no luck. As Price was hand feeding him rice on Wednesday night we decided he would go to the vet as soon as the opened on Thursday morning. So Kemper spent the day at the vet getting tests run to figure out what was wrong with him. Thankfully, he tested negative for giardia but he definitely has a stomach bug.

I’m hoping that his pill, powder for his food, and his prescription food help him feel better quickly. Especially since I stepped in some poo this morning before I put the lights on. It’s not like him to have accidents so I know he is sick so I can’t get mad but man, what a way to start a Friday morning.

But it’s Friday, so that means it’s time for pie!!!

I had been thinking of making a pie with a pretzel crust for a bit now. I’ve done the graham cracker crust. And the chocolate cookie crust. So I wanted to try something different and I just love the sweet and salty combo of things.

This Chocolate Ganache Topped Crunchifed Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie will leave you weak in the knees. It’s really rich. It’s the perfect triple threat of pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate.

I highly recommend pulling out your food processor to make this crust. I’m sure that you can crunch up the pretzels in the ziplock bag using a rolling pin but I just don’t think you’ll get the pieces small enough for the crust to hold together well.

The peanut butter filling is really light and crunchy. Using crunchy peanut butter adds a little extra crunch to the pie. If you don’t have crunchy peanut butter on hand then just use creamy. Don’t hold off on making this pie just for that.

But the chocolate ganache that tops off the pie is the finishing touch! It’s silky, rich, and chocolately. And then jazzed up some more with the chopped up peanuts and pretzels that are sprinkled on top.

Plan ahead when making this pie. This is not a last minute project as it needs to chill for a few hours. I suggest making it the morning that you want to serve it. Or even the night before so it sets up really well.

Thankfully, I am kicking it out of my house before I eat it all. Five slices will be on their merry way out the door today when our dog walker comes for Kemper today. She is the best but her flexibility this month has been incredible. There have been so many last minute changes from the typical M-Th schedule with extra vet appointments for Kemper to have a cracked molar extracted, to days I’ve worked from home because of appointments for Autumn, and now this latest adventure. I just hope they enjoy it for dessert tonight as much as we did! 🙂

Chocolate Ganache Topped Crunchifed Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie

Makes a 9″ Pie

Ingredients

Crust

7 ounces/200 grams of pretzels
1/4 cup brown sugar
10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache Topping

1 cup of heavy cream
8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate

Garnish

1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup pretzels, chopped up intosmall pieces

Process

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Put the pretzels in a food processor and process until the pretzels are crushed enough to resemble crumbs.
Combine the ingredients, and press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides a lightly greased 9″ pie pan.
Freeze the crust for 15 minutes (which will prevent over-browning).
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until it’s lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
To make the whipped cream for the filling, whip the heavy cream until there are stiff peaks. Set aside.
To make the filling base, beat the cream cheese for 3 minutes, scrape the bowl every minute. Add the confectioner’s sugar and beat for another minute, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract, beat for another 2 minutes.
Completely fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture.
Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust. Smooth out the top and then put the pie into the freezer.
Prepare the ganache but setting a heat safe bowl over a pot with some water in it. Do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat the water to a simmer and add the heavy cream. Heat the cream until it is warm and add the chocolate. Mix the chocolate until all of it is melted into the heavy cream. Remove the bowl from the top of the pot and let cool for about 10 minutes.
Mix the ganache one more time and then pour it on top of the chilled filling. Tap the pan to even out the top and to remove any bubbles in the ganache.
Sprinkle the top of the ganache with the chopped peanuts and pretzels.
Return to the freezer for at least 4 hours. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes prior to serving. Slice and enjoy!

Inspired by Baking the Goods

Caramel Pie

April 4, 2014

I had really planned on sharing a pie post last week. So bummed I missed sharing a great pie but I’ll be sharing it next week instead so not is all lost!

It’s just that the week got away from me. Such a busy week for work and stuff going on with Autumn. Price took Autumn to the Dr on Wednesday for her 4th month check up so it gave me the chance to stay really late to catch up on hours at work. Which, of course, put things behind for me for blogging.

Then I worked from home on Friday since she then had 2 appointments at Boston Children’s Hospital. But those came with good news as they cleared her from having to use her hip brace! Horray!!

Anyway, she’s still our little bean. When Price took her to the Dr’s they said she’s 50 percentile for length and head circumference but 5 percentile for weight. She weighs a whopping 11lbs 2oz. I think I’ve eatten bigger burritos than her (I kid!). So the 0-3 month (8-12 lb) stuff still fits just fine and she’s 4 1/2 months.

I think she needs a slice of pie to help her gain some weight! ha!

Anyway, this Caramel Pie is LEGIT.

Tomorrow is National Caramel Day so I had to make a caramel pie. Obviously. And let me tell you that this pie is awesome. Really sweet but really awesome. If you are the kind of person that doesn’t like sweets then just cut a smaller slice since you might find this too sweet but you should not pass it up.

Plus, it’s super easy. It takes time to prepare but it’s so easy.

The caramel is made by putting cans of sweetened condensed milk into a pot of water and simmering it for 3 hours. Yes, that takes a l-o-n-g time but that’s it. You just have to make sure that water is always covering the cans, but that’s it. Then the rest is just about baking a pie crust and thawing up some prepared whipped topping prior to assembling it all together. Sure, you can make your own pie crust and whipped cream but I’m all about ease at this point. You do what works for you.

In fact, I prepared the caramel filling the night before I assembled the pie because that is what fit into my buys schedule. The filling was chilled and therefore denser than if it was still a bit warm so I just ended up scooping it out of the cans and putting it in the still warm pie shell. That helped soften it up to be able to smooth things out.

Whip up this pie and you’ll be in love with every bite!

Caramel Pie

Makes 1 9″ deep dish pie

Ingredients

2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 (9-inch) prepared pie shell (I used a Marie Calendar’s Pie shell)
1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
Garnish- chocolate chunks/mini chips

Process

1. Place the unopened cans of condensed milk in a large pot. Add enough water to completely cover cans. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 3 hours, adding water as necessary to keep cans covered. Carefully remove from water and then set aside to cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, bake your pie shell according to directions; set aside to cool. As well, thaw the whipped cream topping just prior to assembly.

3. To assemle, open the cans and pour the caramel into the pie crust. Even out the top of the caramel prior to spreading whipped topping over the filling. Top with the chocolate and then chill for 1 hour or overnight.

Sourced from Culinary Covers