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!

Translation: Watermelon Poetry Monday

 

Poetry Monday's once a week.

I bet you know which day.

I don't participate every time,

But today I've come out to play.

My friends assign each week a theme,

Watermelon's what they chose.

Now it's up to all of us,

to put our thoughts into prose.

 

 

Translation

Of many options for raising kids,

we each choose our own way.

I was lucky to stay at home,

My friend Sue worked during the day.

Nate, Sue's son was in daycare,

from the time he could only coo.

His friends were there, enjoyed his day,

and the owners, they loved him too. 

One warm weekend afternoon,

invited Nate (and Sue) to play.

Something I came to realized was,

I understood what my son tried to say.

It came, I'm sure, from being there,

as he tried to develop each word.

Like "addle," I knew, was water,

though to others, it sounded absurd.

It happened a few times that day,

as we pushed our boys on the swings,

I understood completely when,

he'd mispronounced many things.

After a while I asked him,

what he'd like to share for a snack,

It didn't take him long at all,

to quickly answer me back.

 

Pear Pie Cookies

"Addlemoonya," said my smiling son,

naming his choice of sweets.

Not the cookies I thought he'd want,

but great warm weather treats.

 

Sue looked at me, shoulders shrugged,

the kids continued to play.

Smiling, I walked into the house, 

watermelon was on the way.

 

 

 

Wait!

Read more poetry, 

you're not through.

Some talented writers

are in this crew:

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings 

 

Pear Pie Cookies         

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/4 cup caramel baking bits

1 pear, cored, skinned, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 stick butter, softened plus 1 TBSP, divided

1/2 stick margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar plus 2 tsp divided

1 tsp vanilla 

1 egg, room temperature

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt, divided

3/4 tsp baking soda

Directions:

*In a food processor or clean coffee grinder, grind the caramel baking bits to a powder. Set aside.

*Melt 1 TBSP butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped pear, 2 tsp of the brown sugar, 1/4 tsp of the salt, 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix. Lower the heat to medium low and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Set aside.

*Cream the remaining butter, margarine, remaining brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in the egg.

*Starting on the lowest speed just until incorporated, beat in the remaining cinnamon, crushed caramel baking bits, flour, the remaining salt, and the baking soda. Mix in the pears.

*Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to overnight (the longer, the better).

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.

*Roll the cold dough into about 25 balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Place onto two baking sheets, these cookies spread. 

*Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges brown. Cool on baking sheets for 3 minutes before removing to cool completely.

Three Yesses and a No: Fly on the Wall

 

 Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 2 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

College Boy walks in the house:

Me: Hi!

College Boy: What are you up to today?

Me: I need to get a couple of blog posts written. Do you want to write the poem, or the other one.

College Boy: I'll write the invisible one.

 

 

I was putting the clothes into the washing machine when Hubs started a conversation from the kitchen. Distracted, I walked in to finish the conversation.

An hour later the laundry should have been done for a while, had I missed the chimes?

Hubs was in the laundry room putting on his shoes (our lockers are there too), when I came in.

Me: Is the laundry done?

Hubs (pressing the start button): Helpful hint, it works better if you turn it on.

Oh, good to know.

I wrote a post, just a couple of days ago, about an issue we'd had with ants, and what we did to try to get rid of them.

One of those attempts was about something I'd read, that ants don't like cinnamon or vinegar.

College Boy came home in the middle of it all, not knowing what was going on, while I was standing on the landing with cinnamon and vinegar.

College Boy (coming up the stairs): What are you doing?
Me: I'm sprinkling cinnamon on the windowsill, then I'll spray with vinegar.

College Boy (walking away): Mom?

Me: Yeah?

College Boy: NO.

Me: No what?

College Boy: Whatever you're making? I'm not eating it.

I get all kinds of solicitations, people who want me to promote their products, publish their stories, or feature them on the Baking In A Tornado FB page.

I rarely respond at all, but sometimes, they really just make me angry. These are the ones that are sent by marketers who have clearly never read my blog.

And if I'm in a mood, I just might answer. Like the message the other day, in which they complimented my pictures, and especially my style. They then suggested that based on what they see, my posts would be a perfect fit for promoting their sunglasses.

To which I responded "which of my recipes were you thinking of putting the sunglasses on?" 

I was using the grill quite a bit and planned to use it again that night, so I asked Hubs to check the propane level. It was low.

Fortunately, it was one of the days that Hubs wasn't going to go into the office. He had actually planned on going to the hardware store, and they have a propane tank swap, so he'd do that at the same time. Perfect.

He left to do his errand, and I went out onto the back deck to water my plants. While there, I noticed that the propane tank was still attached to the grill. Well, unless he's planning on carrying propane gas in the palm of his hands . . .

Hubs comes home, goes out on the deck and comes back with the tank. As he heads out the door (again):

Hubs: You do not see me. I am not here.

Me: But I have so much to say.

Hubs: Who you?

Me: How old do you have to be to . . .

Hubs (as he's shutting the door to the garage): I'm not here!

Damn, and I worked so hard on those sarcastic comments, too.

Spiked Apple Topping

I was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher, Hubs was in the den with the TV on, the Red Sox were about to play.

I could see the TV from the kitchen, and when I looked up, I saw they had a picture of one of our pitchers up on the screen, featuring him. As I looked down below the picture, I started to yell.

Me: OMG, OMG, what happened to him?
Hubs: What's the matter, what are you so upset about?
Me: Look at the graphic, it says RIP Kluber. What happened?

Hubs: Put your glasses on, it doesn't say RIP, it says RHP. You know, right handed pitcher?

Me: Oh. Never mind.

Often, when I sit down to read, I know I have other things I need to get done, like starting dinner. So after I finish a chapter, I look to the bottom left of my reader to see how long the next chapter is and decide whether to stop, or read one more.

Yesterday evening, I finished chapter 20, and wanted to see if I had enough time to read chapter 21 before prepping dinner. 

I'm gonna need an IV and a diaper if I'm gonna read that chapter in one sitting.

 

A little PSA, apparently some (embarrassing) clarification is required. A friend, I later found out, came to the front door, but never rang the bell.

Just so we don't have this issue again, let me tell you that if you come to visit and hear me yelling "YES, YES, YES," check to see if the Red Sox are on. If so, I'm celebrating the ecstasy of a home run.

Sorry for the misunderstanding . . .

College Boy: Hey mom, what are you doing for dinner? Maybe I'll join you.

Me: Remember that brisket we didn't like . . .

College Boy (interrupting): That's a NO.

Me: But . . .

College Boy (interrupting again): There isn't a "but" in the world that would help that sentence.

And yes, I really didn't approach selling it in the right way.

Back story, FYI: I buy a few premade foods now and then, my "emergency dinners," for when I'm not feeling well, or the day just gets away from me.

I had bought a package of sliced brisket in a whiskey glaze that we liked, but this time the flavor was way off, very vinegar forward. Instead of throwing it away, I froze it so I could think about whether I could "fix" it. I came up with a plan and decided to give it a try.

It was actually really good once I counteracted the vinegar and added a few other ingredients. Oh well, College Boy's loss.

 

Another day, another Red Sox game. One of our batters was up. Although he's a great player, he'd always swung at pretty much everything, either hitting the ball or striking out.

 

This year, though, he's been a little more discerning. In this particular game, he seemed to have reverted to his old habits.

Hubs: There he goes, swinging at everything.

Me: I'm surprised, lately he's gotten really good at watching his balls.

OK, I probably could have worded that better . . .

 

 

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Menopausal Mother

Spiked Apple Topping

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 apples of your choice

1 TBSP butter

1/2 tsp apple pie spice blend

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 TBSP brown sugar

1 TBSP Fireball whiskey or Jim Beam Apple Bourbon

2 TBSP caramel syrup

NOTE: To make this topping alcohol free, substitute apple juice for the whiskey or bourbon

OPT: use to top cake, blondies, cookie bars, pie, ice cream, pancakes, French toast, and more

Directions:
*Core, peel, and chop the apples.

*In a medium sized skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the apples, apple pie spice, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring now and then, just until the apples start to soften, about 10 minutes.

*Shut off the heat but leave the skillet on the burner. Add the whiskey or bourbon and the caramel syrup. Stir until well mixed in.

*Remove from heat and serve over your favorite breakfast or dessert.

*NOTE: cover any leftovers and refrigerate. To serve again, warm briefly in the microwave.

The Starfish and the Lobster: Fly on the Wall

Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. elcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 2 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you'd see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you'll find links to this month's other participants' posts.

A couple of neighbors were walking by when I came outside to give Hubs some interesting news:

Me: KC DFAd JBJ.

Hubs: Oh.

Neighbor, walking away, whispering to her husband: Do they have their own language?

No, we were just speaking baseball.

 

 

I had been out for a while when Hubs texted me:

Hubs: Where are you?

Me: Who knows?

I could tell he wasn't sure what to say to that, because there was a long pause before I heard from him again:

Hubs: You OK?
Me: Sure, I've got plenty of credit cards.

Didn't hear from him again. I bet he was thinking that maybe what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

And he's probably right. 

Until the bills come in . . .

We had gone for a walk, when suddenly I started laughing.

Me (sort of under my breath): I don't think that's how it goes.

Hubs: How what goes?

Me: "What doesn't," it's "what doesn't." 

Hubs: What are you talking about?

Me: Listen to her . . .

We were walking past a little girl, playing on her driveway, skipping around, singing at the top of her lungs "whatever kills you makes you stronger . . ."

So cute, but so funny.

We have 4 bathrooms, 2 upstairs, which have multiple light fixtures above the mirror, 1 bathroom on the main level, and one in the basement.

Me: There's a bulb out in the upstairs bathroom.

Hubs (grabbing a light bulb): Which one?

Me (rolling my eyes): The one that doesn't light up when you flip the switch on.

Hubs: I meant which bathroom.

Oh.

I had tried out a new dessert, Peaches and Cream Bars. I liked how they looked until Hubs walked up, then I was second guessing my decorating choice.

Hubs: What's that?
Me: A new dessert experiment. Want to try it?

Hubs: I don't think so.

Me: What? Why? You never turn down a dessert.

Hubs: Umm, I'm full?

Me: OK, what's really going on?

Hubs: I know you like to come up with new and interesting ideas, but you may have thought a little too far outside the box for me on this one.

Me: What do you mean? You don't even know what it is.

Hubs: Well, I can guess. 

Me: You can guess?

Hubs: You usually decorate the top to show what the main ingredient is.

Me: And?
Hubs: That's a starfish . . .

Peaches & Cream Bars

Hubs is walking towards the kitchen:

Hubs: Do we have coffee?

Me (rolling my eyes): Of course we have coffee.

Hubs goes over to the coffee pot, looks at it, looks around.

Hubs: I thought we had coffee.

Me: We do.

Hubs: I don't see it.

Me: I didn't say it was made.

OK, maybe that was mean. But in my defense, I hadn't had my coffee yet.

Our basement had been a place where a whole lot of kids hung out when the boys were in high school. Now it's Hubs' man cave.

Sometimes, if he's working on his laptop or there's something he wants to see on TV, he may take his coffee down to the man cave in the morning.

One afternoon I had gone down there to take something out of the spare fridge.

Me: Did you spill your coffee on the carpet on the stairs?
Hubs: I don't think so.

Me: There's a stain going down the top 3 stairs.

Hubs: Must have been the kids.

Me (laughing): Your days of blaming the kids kinda ended when they . . . you know . . . moved out.

Hubs had brought in the groceries and sat at the counter as I was unpacking them, which doesn't usually end well.

Hubs: Oh, you bought ice cream.

Me: You can't have it, it's for a recipe.

Hubs: OK, how about those cookies?
Me: You can't have those either, they're for a recipe.

Hubs: I'm hungry, what can I have?

Me (unpacking the next bag): Can I interest you in an egg?

Hubs: That sounds good, you going to cook it for me?

He looks up to see me glaring at him.

Hubs: OK, my bad, I'll just send myself to my room.

Yeah, his room is a basement with a 57 inch TV, a pool table, pinball, and a fully stocked fridge.

And I'm standing in the kitchen putting away groceries.

There is definitely something wrong with this picture.

I read a lot. Often in the afternoon, but always at night before I go to sleep. I "buy" free books and load them onto my Kindle and iPad. Most always, the books are mysteries. I especially love when I can get a multibook series, it's like binge watching a TV show, and I can get invested in the characters over multiple books.

I'd just started a 6 book bundle.

Hubs: What are you reading?
Me: I'm halfway through the first book of a 6 book bundle.

Hubs: Do you like it?
Me: Yes, great so far, it's well written and I really like the main character.

Not much later I came stomping into the kitchen, muttering under my breath.

Hubs: I thought you were reading.

Me: I was, but I deleted the books.

Hubs: Why? You said you liked the main character.

Me: Not any more. She has poor taste.

Hubs: Poor taste?
Me: She said she liked warm water lobster better than Maine lobster.

Hubs: You know it's just one line from a fictional character in a book, right?
Me: I don't care, that's a dealbreaker, I've lost all respect for her.

Hubs: Well I hope the next series you try out has characters with higher culinary standards.

Me: Me too! That's a couple of wasted hours of my life I'm never getting back.

We recently switched cell phone providers (funny post about that coming up soon). Hubs signed us up and got us all new sim cards. When he got home, we all checked out our new service, calling and texting each other. Everything was fine.

The next day, Hubs texted me, asking me to respond if I got his text because he can't call me.

Can't call me? I tried to call him and couldn't, got a message that I had reached the cell provider's payment line. I tried calling College Boy, same results.

I was very concerned that none of us would be reachable, but Hubs came home with some good news/bad news. Good news, he and College boy could make and receive calls. The bad news, of course, is that it seemed to be just me. I kept trying all night with no luck.

The next morning, on the way to work, before going to the cell store, he called me. My phone rang and I answered. I called him back, too. And we texted.

Hubs was trying to think of all of these technical reasons for the glitch, but I knew exactly what had happened. My old phone, like my old self, just needed a good night's sleep.

 

 

 

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Menopausal Mother

Peaches & Cream Bars

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 oz shelled pecan halves

5 TBSP brown sugar, divided

1/8 tsp plus 1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided

2 TBSP butter, melted

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 box (3 oz) peach jello

1 large or 2 small ripe peaches

1 container (5.3 oz) peach yogurt

OPT: peach slices for decoration and/or whipped cream for serving

Directions:

*Grease an 8 X 8 baking dish. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

*Place the pecans, 2 TBSP brown sugar, and 1/8 tsp cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until they resemble  

crumbs. While pulsing, add the melted butter through the chute and pulse a few more times until incorporated.

*Press into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on the counter for 20 minutes, then refrigerate until cold.

*Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, remaining brown sugar, and remaining cinnamon until smooth. Carefully spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate.

*Boil 1 cup of water. Dissolve the peach jello poweder and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly. 

*Pit, skin, and chop the peaches. Sprinkle evenly over the cream cheese layer.

*Whisk the yogurt into the jello. Pour evenly over thepeaches and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting.

*OPT: top with peach slices, serve with whipped cream.