Monday, April 18, 2016

Baby Shower Berry-'Barb and Chocolate Pudding Pies



A neighborhood baby shower was just what I needed to slide me into the home stretch toward the 200 pies mark. I made a Strawberry Rhubarb, the first of the season, and a Chocolate Pudding Pie to satisfy the chocophiles. 200 pies, here I come - maybe for my husband's annual Birthday Pies on the Porch party!

Current Pie Tally: 197

7-Layer Bar Birthday Pie



More multi-recipe pie hodgepodge is at work here! My mother came to town for my birthday. Whenever she is in town, she tries to get some limited edition 7-Layer Bar ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. I thought, "Why not make that a pie?". So I did. I assembled it in layers, much like the bar cookie version. First, I baked the non-chocolate graham cracker crust that I use for my Chocolate Pudding Pie recipe. Then, I baked the coconut custard from this recipe in a separate greased pie dish of the same dimensions. When the crust and custard were cool, I pulled a little pineapple-upsidedown action and flipped the custard into the crust. Then I tamped the custard down with a spoon so it was nestled into the crust. Next, I made some chocolate ganache (same as I make for the Banana Cream Pie) and toasted some pecans (about 3/4 cup). Over the custard went the chocolate ganache. The nuts and 1/2 - 2/3 cup of butterscotch chips got sprinkled on top of that. When all that was cool and set, I used the leftover caramel from my Banana Cream pity party and drizzled that over the top. We had some whipping cream at the time, so I dolloped some whipped cream on top of all that. I am definitely making this one again! Happy Birthday to me!

Current Pie Tally: 195