If there’s one thing Dean Winchester from Supernatural loves most (except for his family), it’s pie. So for this year’s Pi Day (March 14), we rounded up some of our favorite pie recipes for our pie lovin’ hunters.
APPLE PIE
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned apple pie? This recipe, provided by Kari, is sure to please any discerning pie lover.
Ingredients
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
In a large pan, melt the butter.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
Once the butter is melted, add the apples and stir until they are coated in the butter.
Add the cinnamon sugar to the apples.
Stir frequently until the cinnamon, sugar and butter form a brown sauce on the apples and apples are tender.
Add to pie shell and bake as directed by the shell’s instructions.
WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CREAM PIE
If you’re not a fan of apples, why not try a different fruit? This slightly fancier recipe by Kari is dressed to impress with whipped cream and fresh raspberries on top!
Ingredients
16 ounces or 1 lb chopped white chocolate (do not use chocolate chips, they have an emulsifier in them that keeps them from melting easily)
2 cups fresh raspberries, pureed and strained through a chinois or fine mesh strainer
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Bring 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream just to a boil.
Pour over chopped white chocolate and let sit for 1 minute.
Whisk until smooth.
Add pureed raspberries.
Whisk until smooth.
Cover with cling wrap so no air is near the mixture.
Refrigerate until cool.
Whip remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
When cool, whip the raspberry ganache mixture until stiff peaks form.
Spread in pre-baked pie shell (follow pie shell’s instructions).
Pipe whipped cream on top in pleasing design.
Garnish with fresh raspberries on top.
CHESS or BUTTERMILK PIE
Did you know that the name “chess pie” has been theorized as a mispronunciation of “cheese pie”? It’s said that the combination of eggs, butter and sugar in chess pie has a similar texture to British cheesecakes. Either way you slice it, this recipe by Margaret is simple and easy!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C).
Place pie crust in nine-inch glass pie dish.
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Add vinegar, vanilla, and milk and mix everything together.
Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust.
Bake for 1 hour.
FLUFFERNUTTER PIE
This one, like Kari’s raspberry pie, requires a few extra pieces, but the end result is so worth it. This recipe comes to us courtesy of Eliza Young, @the_pastry_wench on Instagram.
Ingredients
Pie crust
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold & cubed
~1/4 cup water
Filling
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 – 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter
Instructions (for pie crust)
Stir together dry ingredients
Work cold cubed butter in with your hands until the flour mix is lightly yellow and like sand with a few pea sized butter pieces left.
Add water a little at a time, just enough to where it just comes together, some crumbles are ok.
Put in fridge for an hour (or freezer for 20 mins) before rolling out.
Roll out crust & place in pie tin
Blind bake crust at 350° for 15 minutes until golden.
Marshmallow fluff
Ingredients
90 grams of water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
~3 egg whites
Splash of vanilla
Instructions
Put egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment. Turn on low.
Combine first three ingredients in a pot and heat til it reaches 240°
Increase speed on mixer til whites are at soft peaks, then carefully stream in sugar mixture, making sure not to hit the whisk (mixer is still on). Increase mixer speed to high and whip til stiff glossy peaks, then add in vanilla.
Top pie with fluff and toast with either a pastry torch or the broiler setting on your oven.
PRALINE PECAN PIE
This recipe from Eliza takes the concept of the pecan pie we all know and love from Thanksgivings past and gives it just a little more oomph.
Ingredients
6 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: 1 1/2 teaspoons bourbon
1 cup chopped pecans
Whole pecans for garnish
Instructions
Combine first three ingredients (and optional bourbon) in metal bowl with whisk.
Heat over water bath, whisking constantly until sugar is mostly dissolved and custard is warm.
Remove from heat and stir in chopped pecans.
Pour into baked pie shell & top with whole pecans.
Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes until set. (There will be a slight jiggle in the middle, like quiche or cheesecake).
Let cool, top with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
TAKE YOUR PIE TO THE NEXT LEVEL
These next two recipes will help elevate your pie game.
First, homemade vanilla ice cream is the perfect complement to your slice of pie perfection. This recipe from Kari is simple and can be made in the comfort of your own home without any extra machinery, and features something that should be in every hunter’s trunk: rock salt.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 quart Ziploc bag
1 gallon Ziploc bag
3 cups ice
1/2 cup rock salt
Instructions
Add cream, sugar, and vanilla to quart bag, zip. Be sure to get most of the air out.
Add ice and salt to gallon bag.
Place quart bag inside gallon bag.
Shake the bags until the ingredients in the quart bag harden.
Most supermarkets allow bakers the option of using storebought frozen pie shells or rolled dough instead of making their own pie crusts. For those who want to go the extra mile for a fully homemade pie experience, try this simple recipe from Eliza, The Pastry Wench.
Homemade Pie Crust
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold & cubed
~1/4 cup ice water
Instructions
Stir together dry ingredients
Work cold cubed butter in with your hands until the flour mix is lightly yellow and like sand with a few pea sized butter pieces left.
Add water a little at a time, just enough to where it just comes together, some crumbles are ok.
Put in fridge for an hour (or freezer for 20 mins) before rolling out.
Roll out crust & place in pie tin.
Blind bake crust at 350° for 15 minutes until golden.
And there you have it, folks! These five tasty pie recipes are ready to feed any pie lovin’ hunter you know!
Do you have a favorite pie recipe? Share it with us in the comments!