Today is March 14th and that means it’sssssss Pi Day! It’s a day to celebrate the mathematical constant Pi (3.1415926…). It’s also another great excuse to eat pie!
Erin Branham, our Creative Services Director, helped us celebrate this morning and brought in two homemade pies: Lemon Sunshine Pie and Chocolate Fudge Pie. Mike’s favorite was the chocolate fudge pie; Tracey’s invented the lemon sunshine chocolate fudge pie by eating forkfuls of both together.
If you have a food allergy, don’t think you are left out of enjoying pie – Erin says both of these pies are gluten and dairy friendly. She used a gluten and dairy-free pie crust and plant butter (like Earth Balance or Country Crock Plant Butter). We had no idea they were allergen-friendly pies! Grab both of the recipes below.
Lemon Sunshine Pie
This pie is easy to pull together – the filling is mixed together in your blender!
- 2 whole lemons, halved and seeds removed (yes, you keep the peel on the lemon)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (use dairy on plant-based)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 9-inch piecrust, unbaked (homemade or store-bought)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a blender, combine lemon, butter, vanilla, and sugar. Blend until the lemon disappears. Add in the 4 eggs and blend just until eggs are mixed.
Pour into pie shell and bake for 40 minutes or until pie is set. Pie will be light brown on top, and the center should jiggle just slightly.
Chocolate Fudge Pie
This pie is like eating the most decadent, fudgy brownie in a pie crust!
- ¾ cup butter, melted (use dairy or plant-based butter)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (you can substitute gluten free flour; I use King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten Free Flour)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt (eliminate if you use salted butter)
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, flour, salt, cocoa, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk until blended. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pie has a slight jiggle in the center. A toothpick inserted in the center will have wet crumbs.
Try not to eat the whole pie at once! Happy Pi(e) Day!
