Seventeen Pies for Pi Day

 

Pies for Pi Day. Genius!

Pi Day, where have you been all my life? I had never heard of it before. Well, I mean, I was aware of all of the components: I knew that pi is 3.14 . . . and I knew that 3/14 was a yearly date on the calendar, and I certainly knew that any and every reason to eat pie is a good reason. What I didn't know is that some brilliant person put all of that together and started the yearly Pi Day celebration.

I was first enlightened when my kids were in elementary school. The was a celebration planned and any parents who could were asked to send in a pie. The results would be a mile long (OK, I may be exaggerating a little, but it was a sight to see) table full of an epic pie smorgasbord.

Sign me up. The boys picked their favorite pie for me to send in, and I made another for our family for dessert that night.

It doesn't matter if you're a Pi Day veteran, or a Pi Day newbie, if you have favorite pies, or are looking for some new ideas, whatever the situation, I am SO here for you.

Whether you prefer fruit, chocolate, nuts, ice cream, alcohol infused, or lead free, baked or no baked, I've got options for you. Today I'm sharing 17 of our favorite pi(e) recipes, hoping some of them become your new favorites too.

Oh, and why 17? Did you figure it out? 3 + 14 for 3/14, of course.

Links to all of my recipes are listed below, from the top left (#1) to the bottom right (#17)

1) Caramel Apple Crumble

Tart (or semi-tart) apples offset the creamy caramel candies melted into this crumble. Baked with, of course, a crunchy brown sugar topping.

2) Nutella Krisp Pie

The filling in this single crust pie includes Nutella, crispy chocolate cereal, and butterfingers bits. A chocolate lovers' dream.

3) Spiced Pie with Pecans

This adults only version of pecan pie is spiced and spiked.

4) Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Pie

This ice cream pie features raspberry flavors along with the crunch of chocolate cookies. Easy to assemble, perfect for making ahead.

5) Chocolate Peppermint Pie

The flavor of a peppermint patty in pie form. The crust can be made a day in advance, and the filling is no bake.

6) Strawberry Biscoff Ice Cream Pie

This beautiful ice cream pie pairs strawberry and speculoos (cookie Butter).

7) French Toast Pumpkin Pie

As delicious as it is pretty, this pumpkin filling is mixed with a hint of cream cheese, and baked in a circle of cinnamon French toast sticks.

8) Brownie Butterfingers Pie

This pie is a dressed up option to brownie squares. A walnut crust and brownie filling with bits of butterfingers.

9) Berry White Chocolate Chip Pie

This pie features yur choice of berries, baked into a pie crust and topped with a white chocolate chip crumble.

10) Spiked Caramel Pie

Amaretto is paired with caramel in this decadent pie.

11) Berry Key Lime Pie in a Nut Crust

Witth a unique crust and the addition of berries, this pie is a delicious take on a classic pie.

12) Apple Wassail Pie

Add the flavors of the traditional hot apple drink to your apple pie.

13) Tropical Fruit Pie

A walnut crust has a creamy orange pineapple center and is garnished with toasted coconut.

14) Almond White Chocolate Cranberry Pie

Almonds, cranraisins, and white chocolate chips provide the flavor in this easy to make dessert.

15) Peach Pecan Pie

A classic pie with a fruity spin. So easy, the filling is mixed up in just one bowl, then pour into the crust and bake.

16) Brownie Crusted Mint Ice Cream Pie

Mint chocolate mix-ins are folded into ice cream and frozen in a brownie crust.

17) Raspberry Prosecco Pie

This unique pie features raspberry and Prosecco, a perfect pairing.

Happy Baking! Happy Eating! Happy Pi(e) Day!

The Donuts and the Box: Fly on the Wall

 

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

PurDude texts me every day, just a quick check in. Monday through Friday, it's at around 11:00 am, and on the weekends, it's when he gets out of bed, around 4:30 pm (unless he's going skiing).

It was afternoon on a weekday and I hadn't heard from him. So I texted him, just a quick "how are you?"

PurDude: I'm sorry, I was tied up with meetings this morning. I didn't expect you to get so angry.

Angry? I kept reading his response, why did he think I was angry? And then I read my initial text to him, and saw the added "d." Apparently I hadn't texted "how are you?" I'd texted "how dare you?"

We'd been watching a baseball game when a player who hadn't played for a while due to injury came up to bat.

Hubs: He looks really little.

Me: Yeah, he's short.

Hubs: You're on your laptop, Google his height.

Me: He's 5'8".

A little later, another player came up to bat.

Hubs: He looks really little too.

Me: He isn't tall, but he doesn't look as short as the last guy, I bet he's 5'11" or so.

Hubs: I guess so, maybe around 5'`10". Google him and see how tall he is.

I do. And start to laugh.

Hubs: What's so funny.

Me: Either everyone's 5'8", or Google thinks everyone's 5'8".

Another night, another Sox game, and this time the Sox were on a losing streak. During the game, the announcer addressed the situation:

Announcer: Before the game, Cora (the manager) was trying anything to change their luck. He was even seen in the dugout beating the monster.

Me: What??? That's X rated, they can't say that on TV.

Hubs: Say what?
Me: That Cora was . . . you know . . . beating the monster in the dugout.

Hubs: Feeding. He was feeding the mascot head. 

Me (in my best Rosanne Rosenadanna voice): Oh. Never mind.

So, here's the story. The Red Sox mascot is Wally the Green Monster (named for the famous the monster sized green wall in Fenway Park). This year, there has been a large mascot head in the dugout. When a player gets a home run, he puts on the head and walks through the dugout.

Apparently, before this particular game, Cora was throwing food into the large open mouth on the Wally head. I guess sort of like making an offering to the gods.

And as strange as this may be, it's a whole lot better than what I thought he was doing.

I was trying out a new recipe. It wasn't mine, something I'd seen online. The recipe was pretty vague, giving the basics, but no specifics, allowing for interpretation. 

 

I prepared the chicken as per the recipe, then mixed the 3 ingredients specified for the topping, but from there, it was up to me. I chose what I wanted to enhance the sauce with, spread it on the chicken and put it in the oven.

 

I was hopeful, but as it cooked, I started to have my reservations. Then Hubs walked in the door and said the quiet part out loud.

 

Hubs: What smells like armpits?
Me: That would be dinner.

 

Dinner was OK. Not bad, but I wouldn't make it again. Dessert though, the Apple Crumble Tartlets were delish! 

Apple Crumble Tartlets

This is a perfect example of hedging your bets.

Hubs looks at the weather report and swears by it. I'm more skeptical, following years of seeing meteorologists frequently getting it wrong, and because I can get more viable information by just . . . you know . . . looking out the window.

So weather reports, for me, are either mostly confirmation of what's going on outside or, often, a way to get a good laugh.

Like today.

It's really cloudy outside, getting cooler, feels like a storm is going to come through. It's 8:00 am, and I look at the weather report, which both tells me that the chance of rain is 90%, and the UV index shows I should wear sunscreen from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Sorry guys, you kinda can't have it both ways.

Although I could end up having another chuckle if Hubs lathers up in sunscreen to go out in the rain.

I love those little Dunkin' munchkins. Hubs, every now and then will come home in the morning with a box of them. I think it's great that you can pick which flavors you want and how many of each. It's like a mini donut smorgasbord.

Hubs is an intelligent guy, but handy, he is not. That may be an understatement.

Exhibit one:

He cannot work the munchkin box. 

And honestly, I'm not sure what's more fun, being surprised with the Dunkin' treats, or watching him trying to figure out how to close the box.

I guess I've got my puzzle games, and he's got his.

 

So . . . donuts . . .

Once again, I was trying a recipe that wasn't mine. It was for donut twists made in the air fryer, and without yeast. I'd made baked donuts before (Vanilla Glazed Baked Coffee Donuts, Baked Caramel Apple Donuts, Baked Chocolate Lovers' Donuts, Baked Cinnamon Carrot Donuts, Baked Cookies and Creme Donuts, Baked Key Lime Donuts), and I'd also used the basic yeast free dough mentioned in this donut twist recipe before in my Rosemary Infused Shrimp Scampi Pizza, both of which had been successful. So I decided to give it a try.

I wasn't happy. First they weren't baking as twists, so I rolled them into 12 round (what I hoped would be) donut holes. They browned, but still not happy.

Me (calling down to Hubs in his man cave): Want to come and see if these are edible?
Hubs (coming up the stairs): What are they?

Me: Well, they're not donuts.

Hubs: OK, they aren't donuts, but what are they?
Me: I don't know.

Hubs: You don't know what they are?
Me: I know what they aren't and they aren't donuts.

Turns out what they ended up being was food for the kitchen trash compactor.

If you were a fly on the wall at my house this past month, you would have been witness to a few things that just didn't work out for me.

1) Sneezing while applying nail polish.

2) Walking down the street to the mailbox without the key.

3) Plugging the charging cord into my laptop without plugging the other end into the wall.

4) Putting dinner on the grill and leaving a clean plate and spatula next to the grill while I went in the house to work on the sides. Then coming back outside to find that a bird had . . . well . . . let's just say I needed a new clean plate and spatula {{gag}}.

5) Reenacting an old cartoon scene where I play Bugs Bunny when Yosemite Sam shot at his feet telling him to dance. That composite deck we had built last year apparently soaks up the broiling heat from the sun the way our wood deck had not. My poor feet. Went out to water my plants and came dancing. I'm sure the neighbors are still laughing.

I was watching a show, and the cop was describing his assessment of the intelligence of the suspect. At least I think that's what he was doing. 'Cause I didn't quite get it.

He stated that she clearly wasn't the sharpest bulb in the drawer. And I honestly don't know exactly what that means.

But then maybe he knows what he's talking about, and I'm just not the sharpest tack in the box. Or the sharpest knife in the drawer. Or the sharpest tool in the shed. Or the brightest bulb in the circuit . . .

But at least I can close the donut box.

 

Things have been incrediby tough for me lately. Not only am I heartbroken and terrified about the fact that it's this generation that allowed our country to be decimated, but a lot has been going on for me on a personal level. It's been hard to keep my head above water.

So I want to end this month on a hopeful note. I've taken some recent signs from nature, and tried to incorporate their message into my thinking.

I went out front to water my plants when there, between the front door and where I was going, sat a beautiful butterfly. Right on my driveway. When I got right up next to him to take this picture, he moved forward a few steps but, surprisingly, didn't leave.

I looked it up, it's a Black Swallowtail Butterfly, and if it visits you it's supposed to symbolize a major life change, a transition to something new and positive, an ending of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Sounds perfect to me.

But then as I was heading back into the house, I stepped up to the front porch and there, hanging right over my head (freaking me out), was a big, thick, hairy Wolf Spider (yes, way bigger than the picture shows, no way was I getting any closer). Oh, no, does this negate all that positive? 

Back to Google. There are two versions of what a spider hanging over your head symbolizes. The first, based on superstition, is that you will receive a letter. The front porch location means that a new energy or message will enter your life.

The other potential interpretation is that it represents good luck and wealth, that something positive or important is going to descend from above.

But wait. That's not all.

As I opened the front door to go into the house, I looked down and to my right and saw something I've never seen before, a pure white moth. The moth also didn't fly away as I bent to take a picture.

Does this also have meaning? I don't know, I didn't even know they existed.

Back to my friend Google. And this time, with mixed results. Although some ancient beliefs is that they represent death or misfortune (yikes), by far most believe they are symbolic of hope, great change, guidance, or protection.

I tend to be far more analytical than spiritual, so one butterfly alone could just be chance. Add in the hanging spider and you could still have a coincidence. But three separate sightings? All within minutes of each other? I think someone is trying really hard to get me to see something. And I'm going to say that something is that I should have hope, that change is coming. 

Thank you, Mother Nature, for the beautiful gift. Just when I need it.

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Apple Crumble Tartlets

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 package refrigerated pie crusts

5 apples, peeled and chopped

5 TBSP butter, room temperature, divided

1 TBSP lemon juice

4 1/2 TBSP brown sugar, divided

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp apple pie spice mix

5 TBSP flour, divided

OPT: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

*Roll out the pie crust. Using a cookie cutter or a 3 1/2 inch template, cut out 12 circles. If you don't get all 12, using a rolling pin, roll out the unused portions around the circles to make more. Press the circles into the bottoms and partially up the sides of 12 sturdy 3 inch disposable tart liners.

*Heat 1 TBSP butter with the lemon juice over medium heat in a skillet. Add the apples, 2 TBSP of the brown sugar, 1 tsp of the cinnamon and the apple pie spice mix. Cook, stirring, until the apples start to soften. Mix in 1 TBSP of the flour to thicken up. Set aside.

*For the topping, cut the remaining 4 TBSP flour, 2 1/2 TBSP brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon into the remaining softened butter. Set aside.

*Divide the apple mixture among the 12 tarts, add the topping and place the tart liners into a 9 X 13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve once cooled or partially cool and serve warm.

*OPT: top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Carpet, Coffee, and Kale: Fly on the Wall

  

Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we've been up to. Bet you laugh! 

Hubs is a bit of a dinosaur. Among many other things, he's always worn a watch, and he still does. Not necessary since his cell phone . . . you know . . . will tell him the time, but whatever.

I've also mentioned that he tends to think very differently than I do, so a lot of what he says, opposite of how I'd think through whatever the circumstance may be, doesn't surprise me. Until yesterday:

Hubs: I need to buy a new watch for my battery.

Me: That's an interesting way of remedying the situation. Not exactly frugal, but if it makes you happy . . .

Two things I've mentioned before: first is that I often share here the (mostly) funny things I text due to either my cell phone's text correction (I need to figure out how to turn that off), or, well, operator error. My history dictates I should check texts before I send them, but I'm usually in a rush.

Second is that PurDude and I text every day, we have since he moved to Boulder. He checks in, I tell him a few things that are going on around here, he usually gives me a one-word answer, then ends with "love you ma." I either say "love and miss you," or "love you, honey."

Yesterday, the conversation ended a little differently.

PurDude: Love you, ma.

Me: Love you, horny.

Ah, yeah, I'm not too embarrassed.

One of the few things I dislike about my house is the carpet. The wood floors I love, but the carpet is not what I’d choose. Most of it is white, which doesn’t work well with young kids, as we’d had when we moved in. But the carpet in the den is the worst.

I had really thought I’d end up replacing it, but something else always seemed to come up. Like completely furnishing the place, since I sold my last house furnished at the request of the buyer, and you know, kids . . . college . . . life . . . 

I bought a beautiful, large, Persian hand-made rug, so some of the carpet is covered, but the rest is a constant frustration. It’s textured. And speckled. I’ll be walking to another room and think I see a bug, or a bit of food, or part of a leaf from outdoors. I stop, bend down to look and no, a dark carpet speckle.

I was pointing it out to a new neighbor, and it turns out she’d sold carpet in the past. she told me it was a fairly expensive carpet, and when she’d sold something like this, she’d always mention that people love it because the speckles of dark color are like camouflage, it hides dirt.

And I have to say, I could never sell carpet. Because I couldn’t explain as a selling point to some poor customer that you can’t tell when it’s dirty, because it always looks dirty. 

Not with a straight face, anyway.

FB is often suggesting people I should friend or groups I should join. They're often pretty arbitrary, leaving me wondering where they come up with these recommendations.

This morning, they took me by surprise. Their recommendation was for a group I should join called Wacky Widows.

And although I bet it's a fun and supportive group, I wonder whose job it will be to tell my husband . . .

We were watching a Celtics game when, at half time, they cut to the studio. One host was wishing another a happy birthday. The desk was covered with Kale, a birthday present.

Me: Don't ever get me Kale for my birthday.

Hubs: OK.

Me: Will you remember?

Hubs: Yes, since I don't know what it is.

Me: But you could bake me a loaf of Clementine Blueberry Bread.

Hubs: You've got a better chance of getting a bunch of Kale.

Clementine Blueberry Bread

Hubs had some errands to do and decided to take my car as I needed gas and he could stop on the way home. About an hour later, I hear screeching sounds coming from the garage. I go out the door and see my car sitting in the garage, alarm going off, all the lights flashing, and Hubs sitting in the driver's seat looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

Me (yelling over the noise): What are you doing?

Hubs: Trying to shut this off.

Me: How did you turn it on?
Hubs: I don't know.

He reaches for the Audi owner's manual, I head in to check out YouTube. After a few minutes, I hear it shut off.

Me: How did you do that?

Hubs: I don't know, it just stopped.

Hubs needs a new car, and I'm thinking maybe we should trade his in for a tricycle. 

 

Tuesday evening I noticed that the laundry chute was getting pretty full, so I guess laundry was on the agenda for the next morning. I decided to collect and do all of the towels too.

Me: I'm doing laundry tomorrow, I'll do a load of towels as well.

Hubs: Should I send my towels down in the morning after I shower?
Me: It doesn't matter, I can get them when I go up to shower.

Hubs: That will work. There's like a 50/50 chance I'll remember anyway.

Me (rolling my eyes): More like a 20% chance.

Hubs: Are you insulting me?
Me: No, but it doesn't matter.

Hubs: It doesn't matter if you insult me?
Me: No, after all, there's like a 20% chance you'll remember it tomorrow . . .

I still have a coffeemaker, don't use those single cup makers because that's just not how I drink my coffee. I set up the coffee maker the night before and put out mugs for Hubs and I.

I don't drink an entire mug of coffee at a time, I pour myself a cup and sit down on the couch to play my word games. As the coffee starts to cool down, or as I drink it most of the way down, I just go fill it the rest of the way up.

Hubs goes into the office, usually twice a week. On those days I put out a travel mug for him. But he will sometimes forget to fill and take it. So, I decided to remind him.

That morning, I reminded him and that night he came in, handed me the mail and his mug, and turned to go change his clothes. The mug, though, didn't feel empty. I go to the sink and pour out an entire mug of coffee. Hubs sees me at the sink with a perplexed look on my face.

Hubs: It's your fault.

Me: What is?

Hubs: The full mug of coffee.

Me: How is that my fault.

Hubs: You reminded me to take it in the car with me.

Me: Yeah, and . . .

Hubs: You didn't remind me to take it out of the car and into work with me.

And this, my friends, is proof positive that the brain does not function properly before coffee.

Who are you, really?

It's difficult having the name Karen lately, I'm guessing you can figure out why.

When people use the name as an insult, I mostly ignore it. But when a social media post is specifically from someone touting how kind and compassionate and pro this and that they are, that just ticks too many of my boxes. 

This recently happened on threads, a post about how humanitarian, caring, empathetic and the opposite of Karen's (yes, they used an apostrophe for a plural, so clearly a brain surgeon) this person claims to be. I responded that using a name that many good people share as an insult is not caring and empathetic, it's bullying.

And wow, did I get bashed. People responded telling me to stfu, that I should go cry somewhere else, that I'm the reason the name Karen is used that way . . .

So, if this is humanitarian, caring, empathetic, and compassionate, I wonder what cruel and hateful looks like to these people (all of whom I blocked, of course).

Maybe I should share this with them:

And who I am. Really.

Hubs had some work he needed to get done, and as well as a few things I'd put on his list that needed done around the house.

I had a load of laundry to do, dishwasher to run, dinner to prep, and grocery list to finish. 

We both got our lists completed and were finally settling down to watch TV, this night there was another Celtics game on and we were looking forward to watching.

But 2 minutes in, and there was a problem.

Me: I'm not going to be able to watch this game.

Hubs: What? We've been looking forward to this all day.

Me: I know.

Hubs: So what do you mean you can't watch.

Me: Did you see White?
Hubs: Yeah, I saw him, he's a starter.

Me: But did you see the back of his shirt?
Hubs: The back of his shirt? 

Me: Yes, his tag is sticking up out of the back of his shirt. And that's just going to drive me nuts.

Hubs (rolling his eyes): You're kidding, right?

Oh, how I wish I were.

 

Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:

Menopausal Mother 

On the Border

Clementine Blueberry Bread

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 1/2 cups plus 1 TBSP flour, divided

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 TBSP baking powder

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 cup blueberries

2 clementines

OPT: 5 TBSP powdered sugarn and 2 tsp orange juice

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan, mix 1 TBSP of the sugar with the cinnamon and dust a loaf pan with this mixture.

*Place 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, and baking pwder in a large bowl and whisk togethter. Add the milk, oil, vanilla, sour cream, and eggs. Mix until incorporated.

*Peel the clementines and separate into sections. Set aside 5 sections for the top, and chop the rest.

*Set aside 5 or 6 blueberries. Toss the remaining blueberries with the remaining 1 TBSP flour. Fold into the dough along with the chopped clementines.

*Spread the dough evenly into the loaf pan. Top with the reserved blueberries and clementine segments. Bake for 60 - 65 minutes, until the top springs back to the touch.

*Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, remove, and cool completely.

*OPT: whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice. Drizzle over the cooled loaf.