Chocolate Pie, Limon Pie

Over the years I have learned to make some pretty darned good desserts. Pies have become a tradition in our family as I’m sure they are in most. Holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter seem to scream for pie. Most likely because of all the other foods available for dinner, dessert just has to wait until later and pie does a good job of waiting to be eaten. These are fairly simple yet if you’ve got a good hand at decorating can be quite pretty to serve to just about anyone.

This first pie has to be made in quantity for my family. My husband eats one whole pie to himself the rest of us get to split the other one. There is some filling that I put in a bowl that doesn’t quite fit into the crusts to keep him out of the pies while they are cooling. This has become his most absolute favorite pie in the entire world, he says no other pie can compare. Give it a try and see if you agree.

Mama’s Chocolate pie

Ingredients:
2 Cups sugar
½ cup flour
½ cup dark cocoa powder (I used regular for years, then found dark, we like it better)
1 tsp salt
2 quarts whole milk
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup butter or margarine
2 baked pie crusts - Deep Dish

What you will need:
Measuring cups and spoons
1 large pot - 4 quart works best
Whisk
Bowl - for whisking eggs
Ladle or large spoon
Sieve - if you have one, not necessary if you temper eggs well.

Instructions:
Mix first 4 - dry ingredients in large pan on stove top, whisk all together until well blended. Slowly add milk while whisking (no one likes a lumpy pie), turn on heat to medium. In bowl whisk eggs all together, set aside. Continue stirring until mixture starts to get slightly thickened, as it heats it will get thicker. You don’t want it to boil at this point. When it gets hot enough to see some steam rising, you will want to temper the eggs. (If you’re new to this ‘tempering’ you may want to turn off the stove for now) To do this you will, using the ladle slowly pour some of the hot mixture into the eggs, whisking while doing so. Having 3 hands at this time will help, but is not necessary. Continue adding hot mixture to egg mixture until temperature of eggs is almost to that of the milk mixture. Making sure the burner is back on, pour egg mixture into pan, whisking while doing so. Whisk or stir, DO NOT leave your station at this time! This is important. Continue stirring or whisking your mixture, you want it to come to a slight boil, being careful not to scorch it. It will begin to get thick, this is what you are looking for big bubbles. Remove from the heat. Add vanilla and butter at this time, stirring while doing so, stir until butter is melted.

If you should get lumps, pour mixture through sieve to remove them. Pour into baked and cooled pie shells. Let cool on counter a bit before putting in refrigerator. Decorate with whipped topping if desired.

This next pie was discovered just recently and it turned out quite well. I owed a pie to my daughters boss (I am her babysitter and I was invited to go play Bingo at the new casino, so I needed the night off) he said you owe me a pie! So I created this just for him. Since I never do anything by half, this of course makes 2 pies. One for us and one for him.

Travis’s Limon pie

Ingredients:
2 Cups sugar
½ cup corn starch
1 tsp salt
6 Limes - Juice 4 or 5 you will need ½ cup of juice reserve one for decorating if you like.
2 Lemons - You will need ¼ cup of this juice
2 Quarts water
4 egg separated - reserving whites
2 TBSP butter or margarine
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
Green food coloring (not necessary but makes it pretty)
2 baked pie shells - Deep Dish

What you will need:
Measuring cups and spoons
1 large pot - 4 quart works best
Whisk
Bowl - for whisking eggs
Ladle or large spoon
Sieve - if you have one, not necessary if you temper eggs well.
Electric mixer
Large metal or glass bowl

Instructions:
Whisk first 3 ingredients, mixing well, put on stove top, at medium heat. Add water and juice, at this point you may want to taste to see if the ratio of juice, water and sugar are to your liking. If it’s too tart add a bit more sugar, not tart enough add a bit more juice. Whisk egg yolks in bowl, set aside. Bring mixture up to temperature until it starts to thicken a bit and you can see steam rise, not quite to boiling. Temper egg yolks by adding some of the hot mixture to the egg yolks with the ladle, whisking at the same time (Again, 3 hands are nice but not necessary). Continue adding and whisking until mixture is hot. Pour egg mixture into pan while whisking, continue stirring until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat, stir in butter until melted and if you like a drop or two of food coloring. Pour into cooled pie shells.

Let set for 20 minutes, top with meringue using a spatula, making pretty peaks and getting it all to the edges to seal the pie. Turn on your broiler, put in pie -WATCH IT, it doesn’t take long for this to brown, turning if necessary to make browning even. Chill, and enjoy!

To make meringue:
Using large metal or glass bowl (make sure this is squeaky clean, meringue won‘t work if bowl has any grease in it) put in egg whites, start mixing with the electric mixer until whites get frothy, next while mixing, slowly add sugar and cream of tartar (this acts as a stabilizer to keep them fluffy). Continue beating until light and fluffy with peaks. How to tell if it is peaking? Stop the mixer, pull up the beaters the meringue should follow the beaters when it falls off the peaks should tip over creating a loop. Take care not to beat too long or the meringue will ‘break’, better to stop and check often than risk breaking a meringue. It will still taste the same, just not look as pretty on your pie.

You can make meringue with a whisk if you have a good strong arm and can beat for several minutes at a rapid pace.

I enjoy making pies and experimenting with different ingredients to create different tastes. The key to a good pie is the crust, if your crust is yucky, people won’t enjoy your pie as well. You can tell if they don’t like the crust because all they eat is the filling.