#29: Lemon Wonder Pie

Pie!  Pie!  Pie!  I've been racking my brain to figure out what I should do next.  Something different that I haven't done yet.

So I decided to look through some of my old cookbooks and in "The Complete Western Cookbook:  The Gourmet's Guide to the Land Beyond the Pecos" by Betty Johnson (from 1964) I found a recipe for Lemon Wonder Pie.  What an amazing name!  I've got to do that pie.

Of course, as you can probably tell from the pictures, as I started working on the pie something started to feel very familiar about it.  Really familiar...like I've already made this pie.

DOH!

Okay, to be fair.  I have not made this pie before but I would consider it a cousin to the Buttermilk Pie that I made a few weeks ago.  You're just swapping the buttermilk for lemon juice and milk.

Still delicious.  Just not different.  Back to the drawing boards.

#28: Chocolate Pecan Pie

My Mom loves pecan pie.  Just loves them.  So when I made that honey pecan pie, she insisted that another pecan pie be made for her when she came to visit us.

In order to avoid repeating myself, though, I decided to do another pecan pie variation -- Chocolate Pecan Pie.

HO-LEE COW!

This is like a brownie/pie love child with it's crisp nuts and crust coupled with the gooey, chocolate filling.

#26: Buttermilk Pie

Tackling another "staple" pie.  I've actually been eyeing this Buttermilk Pie recipe for a while and it truly doesn't disappoint.

I always get a little daunted when I encounter recipes that required "technique"...yes, I'm talking about whipping egg whites.  But, I think as I do more of it...I'm getting less spooked by it.  (And that's a good thing.)

When it comes to flavor, the buttermilk provides a tartness that brings out the lemon juice so it's less "eggy" in flavor.

#23: Honey Pecan

It's hard to believe that I'd get tired of fruit pie but here I am.  So this week I decided to do a pecan pie variation...mainly because I have a ton of pecan in my fridge.

This Honey Pecan Pie recipe is simple.  You basically replace the corn syrup with honey.

For those of you afraid of corn syrup (why?!)...this is a good pie for you -- if you love the taste of honey as it dominates the pie.

Those of you who love good ol' pecan pie...you should probably stay away from this variation because the honey overwhelms the pie.  (Maybe I need to use a different honey.  I think it was orange or clover blossom from a local bee keeper.)

#7: Minny's Chocolate Pie

Yes, two years later and I finally get around to watching ''The Help''. What a great movie! But one can't walk away without wondering about Minny's Chocolate Pie. Luckily for me, Food and Wine had the same questing and sought out Lee Ann Flemming, the food stylist from the movie.

The pie itself was uber-simple.  You just need a handful of ingredients -- all of which are pantry staples.  The filling then comes together in minutes.  All you need to do next is kick up your feet and wait for it to bake.

I used dough scraps to make decorative hearts for the top of the pie.  I bet a stenciled powdered sugar design would also be fun.  Or, you can also serve it like Minny with a dollop of whipped cream.

#4: Pecan Pie

This week's pie is Pecan.

I love this pie.  It's super easy to make and delivers instant sugar overload.  :o)

I actually made this pies two ways -- one using vanilla and another using bourbon.

Flavor-wise, the two pies were still pretty similar.  The bourbon gave the pie a bit of zing but, in the end, I think I prefer the mellow flavor of the vanilla.  (I'm sure my husband would disagree.)

It's nice to know, though, that if I'm out of vanilla (I know, why am I even thinking of these end-of-world scenarios?) I can still satisfy my pecan pie cravings.