On our lolling day, Jessica brought out her copy of The Book on Pie so she and I could choose a pie to bake together the following weekend. If you have ever been afraid of pie crusts, or think you can impress your dinner guests with a pie from Safeway, or you’d rather bake a cake because — why would you, though? –– I think you should buy The Book on Pie by Erin Jeanne McDowell. Jessica found it first, then bought one for me. She bought one for Amy as well, so you can pretty much expect pie for dessert if any of us invites you to dinner.
The Book on Pie is not just chock-full of pie recipies, it is a pie-baking manual. It will take your pie-game to the next level, guaranteed.
“Mom, let’s choose a pie!” said Jessica, bringing the book and another cup of coffee to the couch.
We thumbed through the pages, from fruit pies, to custard pies, and cream pies. We asked the men for input. We evaluated our time and the list of ingredients.
And, we landed on “Triple-Chocolate Caramel Truffle Pie” which, fundamentally, is a candy store in crust.
We spent the better part of a day after returning from Santa Fe baking this beauty of a creamy, cold-set, three-kinds-of-chocolate pie. See that crust? It’s the Chocolate All Buttah Pie Dough, and I’m certain it would work well with cherry pies, too, and shall I give that a try soon?
Inside the crust, from the bottom up, are three chocolate ganaches: dark on the bottom, milk in the middle, and white on top. Between each ganache is a layer of caramel. As each layer needs to set before the next is poured on top, this pie is best done with two bakers and at least five hours to spare.
Those are Whoppers. We cut them in half, as we weren’t able to locate “white, milk, and dark chocolate pearls” for the finishing touch. Nobody minded.
Fortunately, calories don’t count when you’re on vacation in New Mexico with your kids.