Celebrate Pi Day!

It’s 3.14–yes, Pi day! My tween needed to make a pie to take into her class so we brainstormed something that included some of her favorite ingredients: Nutella, pears, and white chocolate. Since the pie is headed to school, I, of course, had to make one for us to sample at home (sans the white chocolate and speckled with pecans and cranberries instead).

I tweaked this recipe from The Lovely Cupboard for my version.

Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes + 20 minutes baking

Servings: 8 pieces

Ingredients

1 unbaked pie shell

2 pears (apples would work well too)

3 tablespoons Apricot perserves

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup Nutella (or more!)

Toppings: white chocolate chips, pecans, cranberries

Directions

1. Place the unbaked pie dough into your pie or tart pan and press around the edges and up the sides to create the crust. Prick the crust with a fork a few times.
2. Spread the Nutella over the bottom of the unbaked pie crust. This took more time than I thought it would–Nutella is sticky!
3. Put the pie crust into the fridge while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
4. Peel and slice the pears into thin pieces.
5. Take the pie crust out of the fridge and layer the pears onto the Nutella.
6. Mix the lemon juice in the preserves and warm in the microwave. I heated it for 30 seconds on high. Use a cooking brush (or spoon) to spread the preserves over the pears.
7. Sprinkle the pears with topping, if using.

Kids’ reactions: The tart without the white chocolate chips was definitely the frontrunner versus the pie. My kids preferred the thinner crust too. I think next time I’d toss the pears in the marmalade and lemon juice before putting them on the pie to minimize the amount of liquid on day two.

Here’s my version–I made mine in a tart pan and added a dash of nutmeg before baking.