Easy as Pie

Recipes we hope will save you time and trouble this holiday season!

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Pie 

I have a saying: “If it’s not chocolate, it’s not for breakfast.” Although I always make this pie on Thanksgiving, a cold slice straight from the fridge is what I want for breakfast on the days following. ~ Chantel Adams

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter (4 ounces), melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups sugar
• ½  cup all-purpose flour
• Dash nutmeg
• Dash salt
• 12 ounce bag of mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter. Whisk in buttermilk with eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients, along with chocolate chips. Gently mix dry ingredients into wet ones. Pour evenly into two pie crusts (if using frozen crusts, thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before using) and bake at 325 for one hour.

Sweet Potato Pie

While most families would probably enjoy this pie as part of the dessert round at Thanksgiving, my family likes to incorporate it into the main course as a side dish. Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about? Eating what you want, when you want it. It is at our house, and that makes us thankful! ~ Jackie Loudin, Managing Editor for Around Canton

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) sweet potatoes (yams), drained
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 -2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• ½  teaspoon of salt
• Frozen, deep-dish pie shell

In a food processor, blender or with a hand-mixer combine the eggs, sweet potatoes, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and salt; blend until smooth. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; bake 28-35 minutes longer or until set in the center. Cool on a wire rack. Garnish with whipped topping and toasted pecans if desired.

Easy Pecan Pie

By Carla Caldwell, editor of Around Acworth

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• ½  cup light corn syrup
• ¼   cup melted butter
• 3 eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup pecan halves or pieces
• 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar, light corn syrup and butter. Add eggs and pecan. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 35 minutes. Top with one scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

You also can add chocolate chips before baking, or add chocolate chips and coconut for a German chocolate pecan pie.

Ice Cream Pie and Sauce

Contributing writer Ann Litrel, shares a long-time family favorite from her mother Elizabeth Wallace.

Ingredients

• 9-inch graham cracker crust
• Half gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
• ½ cup of Heath bars, chopped

Sauce

• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup Heath bars, chopped
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• Dash of salt

Spoon half of ice cream into the crust. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of Heath bits on top. Heap on the rest of the ice cream and freeze.

To make the sauce, combine sugar, milk, butter, corn syrup, salt. Bring to a boil over low heat. Boil one minute. Stir in Heath bits. Chill. Spoon over pie wedges.