For the second year in a row, I’ve been an official Pie Judge for the American Pie Council. The APC holds the largest pie festival in the States each April in Celebration, FL. Last year I judged amateur pumpkin pies and open cream pies. We tasted so many pies, that we had to stop for lunch, and then go back to pie tasting!! I was sick of pumpkin at that point. This year I moved up to the professional category and was ‘stuck’ with peanut butter pies. I readied myself for the onslaught of peanut cups and the possible pb variations like pb and jelly pie. My gut was ready for the calorie overload. The first pie brought out looked very nice, a chocolate top, creamy peanut butter fluff, and a more yellowish secondary layer. I was shocked when my first bite revealed that it was peanut butter and banana! Totally not expecting banana to infiltrate the pb pie category. When I’m eating pie I don’t want those healthy, natural foods to be mixed in with it! Our second pie was called an “Elvis Pie”… I think you can see where this is going, another peanut butter and banana pie. Enough with the banana, I want Reese’s cups! The third pie, called, Fine Fudgy Fluffy Nutter Butter Pie , came out and it was layers of gooey goodness. The top a peanut butter fluff, then a thin layer of chocolate, followed by another layer of thicker peanut butter, with a chocolate graham cracker crust. It was the most decadent pie ever! The pb fluff, chocolate, and the thicker layer was actually real peanut butter fudge. Just like the kind I used to get as a kid in Ocean City, MD at Candy Kitchen. Plus, the chocolate crust balanced the fluffy pie for just the right texture and feeling in your mouth. It’s no surprise that this pie was the number 1 winner in this year’s pb category for professionals. They listed the recipe here if you want to try and make it yourself. And with a little internet search, I believe the master of this wonderful pie is Lisa Sparks at Lisa’s Pie Shop. I have a party to attend tomorrow so I think this will be my contribution, but of course I’m going to replace all the butter in the recipe for coconut oil. 🙂
