Pie Party Recipes: Chocolate Macaroon Pie

Toasted buttery coconut and chocolate ganache together in one pie. This is the second of the recipes I'm sharing that I made from my Pie Party. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart in her new Pies & Tarts book. There are several pies from that book that had me drooling, but I loved the short ingredient list and simplicity of this one. Martha called it "Crisp Coconut and Chocolate Pie", but to me it was more like a macaroon so I changed the name of the recipe. Also to say "chocolate pie" is a little misleading because it's filled with chocolate ganache, which is nothing more than heavy cream and chocolate, but tastes like a rich, deep, silky, chocolate truffle.

This pie is made up of only 4 ingredients- coconut, butter, chocolate and cream. I was a little confused by how much coconut to use though because Martha says to use 11 ounces, or about 6 cups. But the Baker's coconut package states that 14 ounces is just over 5 cups. I ended using the full 14 ounce bag, which was a bit too much. So I recommend using and weighing out 11 ounces if possible. This pie was simple and delicious, but a little sliver went a long way. To me the combination tasted like a Mounds candy bar (you know, the one you eat when you don't feel like a nut). If you like coconut and chocolate together, then this pie is a winner. It's also gluten free so if you know someone who is sensitive to gluten, this pie is perfect.

Chocolate Macaroon Pie adapted from Pies & Tarts

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For the Crust:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 11 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a food processor, process butter and one-third of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture, and combine with your fingers.

Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning.

Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes, remove foil, and bake until edges are browned, 4 to 6 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is just combined. Pour into coconut crust.

Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Pie Party Recipes: Key Lime Pie

Here's one of the recipes I made this past weekend at my Pie Party. I can't decide if I liked this key lime pie or the banana cream pie best. I think I need another slice of each in order to decide. I chose this pie to make because I craved it while I was pregnant with Hayden. I had several slices while pregnant with him and I never tired of it. For some reason though, I never made it, I just ordered it out at restaurants. And at $5 a slice, it's much cheaper to make your own!

This pie could not be simpler to make either. The filling is made up of 3 ingredients- sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and lime juice. That's it! The combination is like magic. I think it's a great recipe to start out with if you're a beginner baker or just want to get into baking pies because it is so easy and fast. You can purchase your own premade crust or make one like I did. Of course, homemade tastes better, but do what you like. The end result will still be creamy, tangy and delicious.

Key Lime Pie from Nellie & Joe's

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• (1) 9-inch graham cracker pie shell (recipe below)
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup key lime juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime in juice in a medium bowl. Blend til smooth, then pour filling into prepared pie shell.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Allow to stand at room temperature 10 minutes before refrigerating. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with lime slices.

Graham Cracker Crust from Keebler

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine crumbs and sugar in medium sized bowl. Stir in the melted butter until thoroughly blended.

Pack mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan and press firmly to bottom and sides, bringing crumbs evenly up to the rim.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes, cool, fill and chill.

Foodbuzz 24x24: A Pie Party!

I was selected by Foodbuzz to participate in the January's 24x24. That means 24 bloggers (me included) were chosen to have dinner or a social gathering revolving around food. The chosen 24 will blog their meals or creations within the next 24 hours. This is documentation of my party- A Pie Party to be exact!

For the last few weeks I've wanted to have a pie party. I blabbered on about it at the turn of the new year to my family. They listened, nodded in agreement and probably thought I was nutso, but to me it sounded like great fun. Chicken pot pie for dinner and sweet, creamy, dreamy pies for dessert. What's not to like about that?! On Saturday, my dream of a pie party came true. Friends and family came to join us for pie. A few of the guests even came bearing their own pie creations. Then after stuffing our pie holes, we played board games, hung out and watched television.

For dinner I made 4 chicken pot pies and my mom put together a big green salad. My aunt and uncle brought a Spinach and Mushroom Quiche and my friend Maranda brought a Barbecue Pork Shepherd's Pie.

For dessert I made a Pumpkin Pie using homemade pumpkin puree, a Key Lime Pie, a Banana Cream Pie, A Chocolate Macaroon Pie and mini Cherry Cream Cheese Pies with two different crusts. My brother bought a Reese's Peanut Butter Pie and Maranda made an Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust. All were delicious but my favorites were the banana cream and the key lime pies. They were also the first ones to go.

Autumn even got in on the fun. I made sweetened whipped cream to top a couple of the pies and threw the disposable piping bags in the trash when I was done. When I wasn't looking Autumn stuck her snoot in the garbage and started licking the cream off the bags! My mom caught her in the act so I snapped a few pictures of her. She looks quite pleased with herself :-)

So that wraps up my pie party. I hope I've inspired you to invite some friends over and have a pie party of your own. I've linked to a few of the recipes in this post and have shared my very easy recipe for chicken pot pie. Over the next few days I'll share the recipes for the other dessert pies. Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie from Monica h

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• 1 pkg. (2 crusts) Pillsbury Roll Out Refrigerated Pie Crust
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
• 1 bag frozen vegetables (I used peas, corn, carrots and green beans)

Roll out thawed crust into pie dish. Place half of your chicken in bottom of dish, top with half your veggies and 1 can cream soup. Layer remaining ingredients. Top with additional pie crust (you can do fancy lattice work or simply lay rolled out dough over pie) and crimp the edges to seal in filling. Be sure to make vent holes in your crust if you roll out your top crust. Brush with melted butter or egg wash (optional). Bake on cookie sheet in a preheated 425 degree oven for 60-75 mins.