Cubicle kitchen: Pudding Pies

If there's anything you know about me by now, it's that I love baking with ice cream.  And no matter how much I do, there always seems to be more in the freezer.  And next to that, there happen to be a few frozen pie shells.  So I decided to combine the two and make some cream pies.  Because I hadn't really 'done' pies yet.

I mentioned in my WIP Wednesday post last week that easy as pie is a lie.  Because pie has to be sliced and served on a plate, with some kind of utensil.  The plate part wasn't too difficult, I had a stack on hand for serving as trays when I bring in cookies, etc.  The utensil part was more complicated, requiring a few trips to the office cafeteria to borrow a dozen forks and two knives, then collecting them up again to return at the end of the day.  Thankfully I had already circumvented one possible complication of having two cream pies by using two different toppings sprinkled on top in order to identify them, so the first slice wasn't a mystery.  And that was after the balancing act of carrying two pies, a gym bag, purse, and backpack to my desk.

But considering how easy making the pie is, it all kind of evens out.  This is perfect for pot lucks or any other surprise event the requires dessert.  Especially if that event already involves plates and utensils.  And it holds true to one of the things I like most about baking: the ability to adapt it to any number of flavor combinations.  If I expand beyond the sugar-free variety of pudding, there's even the seasonal options like Gingerbread and Peppermint to look forward to for the next holidays.  If they keep makin' 'em, I'll keep bakin' 'em.

Pudding Pie
(adapted from CakeSpy)

Ingredients:

• 1 9" pie crust, baked and cooled
• 1 4-serving box of Jello Instant pudding (I used sugar-free), any flavor
• 2 cups melted ice cream in a complementary flavor
• half a tub of Cool Whip

These two particular pies were:

• Banana pudding with Blue Bell Banana Nut Bread ice cream, plus some mashed banana, topped with banana chips
• Pistachio pudding with Blue Bell Pistachio Almond and Ben & Jerry's Cannoli, topped with some chopped almonds

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the melted ice cream and pudding mix until incorporated.  Add in anything else you'd like to the filling (mashed banana, chocolate chips, etc.)
2. Pour into the cooled crust and use a spatula to spread it evenly.  Place in the fridge and allow to chill for at least several hours.
3. Cover with whipped topping and any other toppings you would like (chopped nuts, etc.).  Return to the fridge until ready to serve.