Favorite Ingredients Friday for January 11

Today’s focus for Favorite Ingredients Friday is on Pies. We love pies! Pies are one of my favorite things to make. For today, I’ve chosen a recipe which I may have shared before, but it bears repeating. I thought it would be a good recipe to share in January, because it calls for simple pantry ingredients, not seasonal fruits.

REESE’S PIE

2 packages cook-and-serve type chocolate pudding
4 cups milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 9-inch baked pie crust, cooled
1 to 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, whipped with 2 Tablespoons confectioners sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a large saucepan, combine the pudding mixes and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cut the peanut butter into the confectioners sugar until small crumbs form. Set aside about 2 Tablespoons of the crumbs -- put them in a custard cup or something. (It will be awhile before you use them.) Sprinkle all the rest of the crumbs into the bottom of the pie crust. Pour the pudding over the crumbs. Refrigerate the pie until the pudding is set. It will be cold. Spread the whipped cream over the top and sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

In our family, we call this “Reese’s Pie” because it reminds us of a pie by that name which we used to eat at a Vermont truck stop. I’m not sure, but I think the whipped cream on their pie had some cocoa added. It was chocolate, anyway. If you want to try that, whip in 3 or 4 Tablespoons of baking cocoa along with the sugar and vanilla; add 2 more Tablespoons confectioners sugar too since the cocoa is not sweetened.