My son-in-law loves
pie, especially creamy ones...as he said, "the creamier, the better!" Therefore, my daughter threw him a brilliant
pie party; and not one person brought a fruit
pie...they were all creamy
pies!
I've been dying to give
shot desserts a
"shot", so the
pie party was the perfect opportunity! With the birthday boy in mind, I developed these vanilla and chocolate custard
pie shots. The effort is broken up, since the recipe is made in portions over a couple of days. The custards require a little attention; but the homemade taste is well worth the effort, and I enjoyed the project!
The
pie shots were a big hit; and it was a fun, wholesome party, kids and all!
So, here again, I share more than one recipe in one post....
They're Pie In Shot Glasses!
Makes approx. 55-60 completed
shots (using 1.65 oz. plastic
shot glasses*)
The Chocolate Custard (*For 1/2 recipe...see my
Big, Fat Soft Pretzels w/Rich Chocolate Custard)
Ingredients
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1/4 c. plus 3 TB cornstarch
- 10 large egg yolks, room temperature*
- 3 c. half and half (milk and cream)
- 12 oz. premium semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 TB salted butter, room temperature
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Hand whisk the sugar and cornstarch in a
heavy-duty electric mixer bowl. Using the mixer beater attachment, beat
the egg yolks into the sugar mixture.
- Bring the half and half to a
simmer over medium-low to medium heat in a 2 1/2 qt. saucepan*, hand
whisking occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat.
- Using
the wire whisk attachment to your mixer, whisk on low speed, in a slow
stream, the hot half and half into the egg yolk mixture.
- Return the
mixture to the saucepan and hand whisk over medium-low heat until hot. Add the chocolate and butter and continue hand whisking constantly until
smooth and thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the custard
to a 1 1/2 qt. (ideally glass) bowl and whisk in the vanilla. Cool,
stirring occasionally. Gently press plastic wrap directly onto the
surface of the custard. Cover the entire bowl with additional plastic
wrap and refrigerate the custard overnight, so it will be cold and firm.
They're Shots of Pie!
In case you're wondering about the lovely pie in the fluted white pie dish behind the pie shots, it's a bananas foster white chocolate-peanut butter mousse pie that my daughter made; and it was extremely popular with the group!
The Vanilla Custard (Recipe may be halved.)
Adapted from a recipe for Vanilla Cream Pie as found in the retro Better Homes & Gardens Encyclopedia of Cooking, Vol. 14.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 1/4 c. plus 2 TB cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 c. (1 qt.) whole milk
- 6 large room temperature egg yolks, slightly beaten*
- 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) salted butter, room temperature
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
- In a 2 1/2 qt. saucepan*, sift together the sugar, cornstarch and salt.
- Gradually whisk in the milk and mix well.
- Over medium low heat, whisk constantly (to avoid scorching) until thick and bubbly. (Be patient, this will take a while...don't leave the stove...catch up on a TV show while you whisk!)
- Cook and whisk 2 more minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Whisk about 1/4 c. of the hot mixture into the slightly beaten egg yolks.
- Immediately return to the heat and whisk constantly until thick and bubbly again. (Patience!)
- Cook and whisk an additional 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Whisk in the butter, then the vanilla.
- Transfer to a 1 1/2 qt. (ideally glass) bowl and cool,
stirring occasionally. Gently press plastic wrap directly onto the
surface of the custard. Cover the entire bowl with additional plastic
wrap and refrigerate the custard overnight, so it will be cold and firm.
The Cookie Crumb Layer
- Just deposit one Nabisco Oreo pie crust* into a gal. size food storage bag and crush (not too fine) with a rolling pin, pestle or the side of a mallet.
The Whipped Cream Topping (Recipe may be halved.)
- In a chilled mixing bowl, whip 2 c. (1 pint) whipping cream and 3 TB powdered sugar until stiff peaks form and the mixture holds its shape. Refrigerate until ready to use.
They're Pie Shots!
Have A Shot!
The Assembly
To neatly fill the
shot glasses: For each custard, either use a large pastry bag and large round tip, or cut a very small snip off one corner of a qt. size food storage bag.
For each shot glass
- Fill about 1/3 full with the chocolate custard. (In order to not leave streaks on the inside of the glasses, it helped me to hold the cup at eye level and go straight down with the bag.)
- Sprinkle about a scant 1/2 tsp. of the crushed pie shell over the chocolate custard.
- Fill with the vanilla custard to about 5/8" from the top of the shot glass.
- Using a pastry bag with a large star tip, fill the remainder of the shot glass with a swirl of whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Keeps well in the refrigerator for about one week.
*Tips
- I used 1.65 fl. oz. (50ml) plastic shot glasses by
Premier Style, available in 20/ea. pkgs., which I found at Publix
grocery. To give you an idea of what I bought, here's one source; however, Publix's price was very competitive.
- I prefer a glass-ceramic (Corningware) saucepan to make these custards, especially the vanilla, in order to avoid grey streaks that could form in the custards when whisking in a metal pan.
- Use the leftover egg whites for an angel food cake or freeze for later.
- You will have some crushed pie crust left over...just use it on your ice cream, yogurt, etc.
- You can crush chocolate wafers and use as an option, if you prefer...I simply found that the pie crust was more reasonably priced and just as tasty.
- You may have a little chocolate or vanilla custard left over (chef's reward!), depending on how you fill the glasses.
The Birthday Boy Is In Pie Heaven!
One Friend's (Male, Of Course!) Contribution...Beer Pie!
Pie...Lots Of Pie!
The
pie shots make a real conversation item. There was a lot of debate at the party: "Are they really
pie?" I insisted: "Of course they are...they're
pie in shot glasses...
they're shots of pie...they're
pie shots! (The crust is in the middle.)"
Oh, The Grandson Had To Smell Each And Every One...
Of His Dad's Pies!
Enjoy!
Printable Recipe
