Pie Review By Carly Meyers
This season, we held the 1st annual Great Family Pie Review. We welcomed those in our community to bake pies to compete for gift cards from 5th Generations Farms and a chance to have their recipe featured in our magazine. Was this a ploy to find the best pie for our readers for the holidays, or to get people to bring us a ton of dessert? Regardless, the turnout was as fantastic as the pies. The pies were judged on taste, texture, appearance and
1ST PLACE
creativity. From a set of 10 judges, each pie was judged by three people at random. Judges pulled scoring cards with assigned pies from a bin to ensure the pies weren’t scored up against all others, and instead held its own ground for scoring. The results were close, with only 2 points separating 1st and 2nd place. The following are your first annual winning pies of the Great Family Pie Review!
White Chocolate Raspberry Pie by Richard Crawford
Ingredients: Crust: • 1 1/2 packs of graham crackers crushed (about 15) • 4 tablespoons softened salted butter
Filling: • 2 packages 3-4 ounces instant French vanilla pudding mix • 1 cup cold milk • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream • 1/2 cup of prepped whipped cream • 2-4 tablespoons melted white chocolate morsels
Whipped cream: • 1 cup heavy whipping cream • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar • 1 teaspoon almond extract
White chocolate disk: • 1/2 cup melted white chocolate morsels
Garnish: • 5 ounces or more of raspberries • 2 tablespoons melted white chocolate
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Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs in a food processor, or in a bag with a rolling pin. Mix in butter (softened not melted) until fully incorporated and crumbs look similar to wet beach sand. Press crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie pan by hand into bottom and edges to desired thickness; suggested is 1/2 - 1/3 inches thick. Once finished, bake for 13 minutes or until dark, golden brown; set aside to cool.
Make whipped cream Add heavy cream, powdered sugar and almond extract to a medium mixing bowl and mix on medium to medium-high speed with an electric or stand mixer until firm peaks form; 4-8 minutes depending on mixer and speed. Store whipped cream in fridge until ready to use.
Make the disk Melt chocolate according to the package until smooth and easy to spread. Spray the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan, or silicone mold, with non-stick butter or baking spray. Spread the melted chocolate onto the bottom of the cake pan evenly and set aside or in the fridge to harden; do not place in the freezer, as it will crack.
Make the filling Add pudding mix, heavy cream and milk to a large bowl and mix well for about 2 minutes. Then, add melted white chocolate while mixing to incorporate evenly into the mixture. Next, add whipped cream and mix on high for about 2 minutes until smooth.
Layering the Pie First, add filling and smooth; optional to follow with a single layer of raspberries if desired. Next, carefully remove white chocolate disk from its pan and add on top of the filling. Then, add whipped cream over the entire disk by spreading carefully or with a piping bag. Next, add desired number of raspberries on top of whipped cream; suggested is covering entirely with raspberries. Garnish with drizzle of melted white chocolate. Cool pie in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set the layers. For best results, cool for 4-24 hours.
