Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
24 Oreo cookies, crushed
3 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

For the Filling:
2 + 1/2 cups half & half
pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 egg yolks, at room temperature
6 Tbsp. butter, cold and cubed
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or chopped bar
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla

For the Topping:
1 + 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Shavings for garnishing (Optional)

Directions:
To make the crust, crush your Oreo cookies and mix with the butter until it can be pressed into a 9" pie pan. Refrigerate the crust for 10 minutes and then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until it is set. Cool on a wire wrack.

To make the filling, bring the half & half, salt, and 3 Tbsp. of the sugar up to a simmer. Stir it frequently to avoid burning the cream on the bottom of the pan. Mix together the remaining sugar and the cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk together the egg yolks for 30 seconds until thickened slightly and then add the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Whisk together again until it looks glossy and smooth, about 1 minute longer. When the half & half mixture is simmering, add a small amount of it to the egg mixture to bring it up to heat. Continue doing that until you can incorporate the egg mixture into the pan without the eggs cooking. Return to simmer until the mixture thickens and looks glossy, about 20 seconds longer.

Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the butter, chocolate, and vanilla. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to fully mix the ingredients together. Pour the mixture into the pie crust pan and lay plastic wrap over the top so that a film doesn't form over the filling. Chill the pie for several hours until the filling and crust are well chilled.

To make the topping:
Once the pie is chilled completely, you can start the whipped topping. Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and beat with a mixer until the cream forms a good peak. Then spread the cream over the pie and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Time to Make: about an hour plus chilling time
Difficulty: Medium
Recipe Origin: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/chocolate-cream-pie-recipe/

Scratch Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 - 9" pie crust (recipe found here)

3 cups half & half
5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tablespoons butter
1 + 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 - 3 large ripe bananas
1 - 8 ounce tub of cool whip
vanilla wafers or sliced almonds for garnishing

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and half & half. In a medium saucepan combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt and stir till well blended. Whisk the half & half mixture with the ingredients in the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until boiling, stirring CONSTANTLY with a rubber spatula. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile bake the pie crust till it is light brown and set aside till cool. Once the time is done on the custard, slice 1 banana into thin slices and line the bottom of the pie crust with the slices. Cover with half of the custard. Slice another 1 - 2 bananas and layer them on top of the custard layer. Cover with the remaining custard. Lightly cover the pie with plastic wrap and chill pie for 4-5 hours, (or overnight). After the pie is chilled, top it with the cool whip and decorate it with the vanilla wafers or sliced almonds. Refrigerate leftovers.

Difficulty: medium
Time to Make: about 45 minutes prep time
Recipe origin: online somewhere

Scratch Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 + 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 + 1/2 cups half-and-half
5 egg yolks (if you want, keep the egg whites for spreading over the crust before baking)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 + 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 + 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted (for garnishing the top of the pie)
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, half-and-half, and egg yolks. Whisk together till smooth. In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the cream and egg mixture into the saucepan and whisk till smooth. Over medium heat, gradually bring mixture to a boil, stirring CONSTANTLY with a rubber spatula. (Mixture should be thicker once it reaches boiling point.) Remove from heat, and stir in the butter and vanilla till smooth. Add the 1 + 1/2 cups of coconut and mix well. Pour into pie shell cover the custard portion with plastic wrap. Chill 2 to 4 hours, or until firm. Top with whipped topping and toasted coconut.

Note: To toast coconut, spread it in an ungreased pan and bake in a 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 30 minutes plus a few hours chill time
Recipe Origin: http://addapinch.com/cooking/2013/04/18/coconut-cream-pie-recipe/#.UiOWeYI5mc1

Blackberry Cheese Streusel Pie

Ingredients:

Crust: (makes 2 pie crusts)
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup + 1 Tbsp. shortening
1/3 cup ice water
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 egg, beaten

Cheese Filling:
1 - 8 ounce pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 T. lemon juice

Topping:
6 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons whole almonds
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 1/2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
4 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Directions:
To prepare your crust combine the flour, salt, sugar, and shortening in a medium bowl and mix with a pastry tool (or fork) until the shortening is cut into the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the water, vinegar, and egg and mix well. Then combine the wet ingredients with the other ingredients and mix till just blended. Divide dough in half and wrap the two halves in plastic wrap. Chill for 15 minutes. Once chilled, roll the crusts out on a floured surface and line 2 - 9 inch pie tins with the dough. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough with a fork and set aside.

To make the cheese layer, first preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the cheese is fluffy. Add the sugar, salt, egg, and lemon juice and mix well. Pour the cheese filling into the pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

While the cheese layer is baking, prepare your streusel topping. Place the brown sugar, almonds, butter, oats, and flour in a food processor and process them to your desired consistency. (Note: Instead of using a processor, I placed the almonds and oats into a nut chopper and chopped them until they were small pieces. Then I added that to the other ingredients and used a pastry tool to cut in the butter).

After the cheese layer has finished baking for 20 minutes, remove the pie from the oven, increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees and top the cheese layer with a can of blackberry pie filling. Top the pie filling with the streusel topping and continue to bake it at 400 degrees for another 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is over, remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

Note: This pie can be made 1 day in advance, but should be stored in the refrigerator once it is cooled.

Difficulty: medium
Time to Make: about an hour
Recipe Origin: combination of several recipes

Easy Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:
1 quart strawberries, washed and sliced
1 pkg. strawberry glaze
1 8-9" pie crust, baked and ready to fill
whip cream (for garnishing)

Directions:
Prepare your pie crust according to the directions on the package (or use this recipe). While pie crust bakes, wash and slice the strawberries. Mix the strawberries with the strawberry glaze. Once the pie crust is cooled, fill it with the strawberry filling. Garnish it with whip cream just before serving. Store pie in refrigerator before and after serving.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 20 minutes
Recipe Origin: Nancy Drury

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:cream for topping
2 pie shells
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 pound pumpkin puree (2 cups)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 can evaporated milk
whip cream (for topping)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prep your pie shells so they are ready to be filled and baked. In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients (except the whip cream) and stir till smooth. Pour the mixture into the pie shells and bake the pies at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes (until a knife comes out clean). Cool pies completely and serve with whip cream.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about an hour plus cooling time
Recipe Origin: Mom

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:
1 - 9" graham cracker pie crust
1 can sweetened condensed milk
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup lime juice
1 - 1+1/2 tsp. lime zest
whip cream (for garnishing)
lime zest (for garnishing)

Directions:
Prepare a 9" graham cracker crust and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and the egg yolks. Whisk them together. Stir in the heavy whipping cream, lime juice, and the lime zest. Pour ingredients into the pie crust and bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool pie and top with whip cream and lime zest.

Tips: You can also make this with a meringue topping too (see directions below). Simply follow the same pie directions as above, but have meringue topping ready when pie is done baking. Remove the pie from the oven and increase the temp to 350 degrees. Spoon meringue on top of the pie and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minute or until it is lightly browned.

Meringue Topping:
3-4 egg whites
6 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
dash of salt

Directions:
Beat the egg white till peaks are formed. Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt and continue beating till whites no longer feel gritty.

Difficulty: Medium
Time to Make: about 40 minutes
Recipe Origin: online somewhere

Hershey Sundae Pie

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces cool whip, thawed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 small tub of cool whip
chocolate shavings (for garnishing)
1 Oreo pie crust

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar and beat will well blended. Fold in the 8 ounces of cool whip and vanilla extract. Spread the mixture in the bottom of the oreo pie crust.

In a medium bowl, prepare the chocolate pudding mix according to the directions on the box (minus 1/2 cup of milk). Spread over the cheese layer in the pie.

Top the pie with cool whip and chocolate shavings and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 30 minutes
Recipe Origin: Nancy Drury

Creamy Lemon Pie

Ingredients:
1 + 3/4 cups cold milk
2 small packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 - 6 ounce can frozen lemonade, thawed
8 ounces cool whip, thawed
1 - 9" graham cracker crust
lemon slices (for garnishing)
whip cream (for garnishing)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the cold mix and pudding mixes. Beat with a wire whisk till smooth. Add the lemonade and beat with a whisk for 30 seconds more. (Mixture will be thick). Immediately fold in the cool whip until mixture is blended. Pour filling into the pie crust and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. Garnish with lemon slices and whip cream just before serving.

Tips: for variety try different flavors of lemonade.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 20 minutes prep time plus 4 hours chill time.
Recipe Origin: one of my cookbooks

Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 large box coconut cream pudding mix, prepared
1 large container of cool whip
2 cups coconut
1 graham cracker crust
vanilla wafer and maraschino cherries (for garnishing - optional)

Directions:
Prepare the pudding mix as directed on the box for pies. Add the coconut and stir till blended. Gently fold in 1/2 of the container of cool whip. Pour pudding mixture into the graham cracker crust and refrigerate for 2 hours. Top with the remaining cool whip and refrigerate another hour. Garnish with vanilla wafers and maraschino cherries just before serving.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 20 minutes prep time plus 3 hours chill time
Recipe Origin: Nancy Drury

Caramel Apple Pie

Ingredients:
Pie Crust: (Makes a top and bottom)
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup + 1 Tbsp. shortening
1/3 cup ice water
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 egg, beaten

Filling:
6 Jonathon Apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cug sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. heavy cream
4 Tbsp. butter, melted

Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions:
For the crust, combine the flour, salt, sugar, and shortening in a medium bowl. Mix with a pasty tool till well blended. In a small bowl combine the ice water, vinegar, and the egg. Mix till smooth and add to the flour mixture. Mix everything until blended and chill in the refrigerator. Once chilled, cut the dough into halves and roll each half out on a lightly floured surface into a circle. Place one of the circles into a pie crust and form the edges however you want. Prick all the sides and bottom with a fork. Set aside the other circle until the pie is filled.

For the filling, sprinkle the sliced apples the lemon juice in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine together the brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to the apples and stir till all apples are evenly coated. Add to the apples the vanilla extract and the heavy cream. Pour the apples into a large pan with the melted butter and cook about 8 minutes to soften the apples. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the apples into the pie crust and top with the top crust. Seal the edges of the pie crust and cut slits into the top for steam vents.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook 45 minutes longer. Let stand at least 1 hour before serving with vanilla ice cream.

Tips: You can use a dutch topping for this pie. Recipe found here.

Difficulty: Hard
Time to Make: about 2 + 1/2 hours
Recipe Origin: allrecipes.com

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 large package of banana cream pudding mix
Milk
1 small container of cool whip, thawed
2 large bananas, sliced
1 - 9" graham cracker crust
maraschino cherries (optional)

Directions:
Prepare the banana cream pudding mix according to the pie directions on the box. Fold 1/2 of the cool whip into the pudding. Add the 2 sliced bananas to the pudding mix and fold gently. Pour the pudding into the graham cracker crust and top with the remaining cool whip. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Top with maraschino cherries just before serving.

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 20 minutes prep time plus 4 hours chill time
Recipe Origin: Nancy Drury

Dutch Apple Pie

Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust
2 cans of apple pie filling (to use fresh fruit, see below)
Vanilla Ice Cream

Dutch Topping: (makes enough for 1 pie, double if you are making 2 pies)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a pie crust according to the baked pie directions found here. Pour 2 cans of apple pie filling into the unbaked pie shells. Mix together the ingredients for the dutch topping mix until well blended and top the pies with the topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

Fresh Fruit Ingredients: (this is enough for 1 pie)
4-6 Granny or Braeburn apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. apple pie spice

Directions:
Toss your apples with the other ingredients and pour fruit into the pie shells. Continue with directions above.

Difficulty: Medium
Time to Make: about 2 hours
Recipe Origin: Mom

Pie Crust (Mom's Recipe)

NON-BAKE PIES: (makes 2 pie crusts)

Ingredients:
1 heaping cup of flour
1/2 cup margarine
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a bowl and stir with fork till well blended. Pat into 2 pie shells and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool completely.



BAKED PIES: (makes 2 pie crusts)

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt
water (enough to moisten crust)

Directions:
Mix together the flour, shortening and salt with a fork till well blended. Slowly add cold water to the mixture, using your hand to moisten and form the crust into a ball. (You dont want the dough to be sticky). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. After chilling, unwrap the dough and divide it into 2 balls. Roll out the balls and line the pie shells with the dough. Prick the sides and bottom of the pie shells with a fork and fill the shells for baking.

Difficulty: Medium
Time to Make: about 15 mintues
Recipe Origin: Mom

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:
20 graham cracker squares
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the graham crackers into a ziploc bag and seal the bag. Use a rolling pin to crush the crackers into crumbs. Mix the crumbs with the sugar and butter until well blended. Press with a fork into a 9" pie tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes,

Difficulty: Easy
Time to Make: about 20 minutes
Recipe Origin: Mom