What do the numbers 3, 1, and 4 have in common?

You may immediately think of today’s date, 3/14. But, if you’re a nerd like me, you’re first thought is Pi. That’s right, the funny little symbol π.

First The Technical Stuff

Pi is the mathematical equivalent of infinity (∞). It is approximately the number 3.14159, but this special number actually goes on forever. It never ends, making it an infinite number.

Pi is considered a mathematical constant, which is just a fancy way to say it’s a special number in some way.

Now The Fun Stuff

Why is this day so fun? There are an infinite (See what I did there?) possibilities for celebration. Need some ideas?

Eat Pie – Obviously, pie is a play on the word pi, and who doesn’t like pie! You can go crazy by making your own yummy creation! You can make a Banana Cream Pie,bite-sized pie, a pie in a jar, a Whoopie Pie, or even a Chicken Pot Pie. There is nothing wrong when it comes to eating pie. Go crazy! Don’t feel like letting your creative flag fly by making your perfect pie? You can even buy a pie. No judgment here.

Eat Foods That Start With Pi – You can keep this child friendly, or make it a boozy adult affair. Some great ideas are pineapple, pickles, pizza (Two points for eating a pizza pie!), Pinwheels, Pina Coladas, Pink Flamingo drink, or a Pink Sapphire drink. You can even make up your own concoction, and give it a name starting with Pi.

Make Paper Chains – This is a great activity to do with children, of course. It will teach them all about infinity. BUT, I’m not going to lie, I like making colorful chains of positively perfect paper perfection myself. No child necessary.

Watch Movies That Start With Pi – This might be a little more tricky. You are going to have to flex that brain of yours to come up with excellent ideas! I’m always partial to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, myself.

Make a Playlist of Music Containing Pi – Get the your friends or children to come up with as many songs as you can think of. My votes would start with American Pie or Sweet Cherry Pie. You can make this easier by making a playlist of bands that start with Pi. Pink Floyd would be my starting pick.

As you can see, there are so many (infinite really) fun things you can do with this day!! Grab your kids, your friends, your families, and let your imaginations run wild!

The 12 Baking Tips Of Christmas

1. If you are making a single crust icebox pie and all you have to bake is the bottom crust, odds are you’ll just try to toss that sucker in the oven. BEFORE YOU DO THAT you have to weigh down the bottom of the crust or else it will puff up and be useless. Put a piece of metal foil over the bottom and put a layer of dry beans to act as pie weights.

2. Just buy pre-made pie crusts. Don’t be a hero. They come pre-rolled out or even frozen and already pressed into a disposable pie tin.

3. When baking a pie, cover the top with foil and only take it off 15-20 minutes towards the end of the baking time. That way you don’t burn your crust while trying to get the center of the pie to finish cooking.

4. Measure your ingredients. Baking isn’t like cooking. You can’t feel it out. Science is involved. No one wants super dense cakes or runny flat cookies because you thought you could eye-ball how much flour you need to toss in.

5. Yes, that weird tiny pinch of salt every recipe calls for is important. Science.

6. Baking Soda and Baking Powder are somewhat interchangeable.

7. For the love of God, measure your extracts! A teaspoon and a tablespoon of banana extract are VASTLY different flavors.

8. Except vanilla. Always add an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract to baked sweets.

9. Parchment paper is amazing. It’s worth the modest extra expense since you won’t have to scrape the baking pans or have greasy bottomed cookies. Plus a sheet of parchment is reusable for several batches until the edges get too crispy.

10. When making a cherry pie, cornstarch is typically not a strong enough thickener. Try quick cooking tapioca, or invest in Arrowroot.

11. Homemade pudding made from scratch is a THOUSAND times better than Jello pudding mix. But there is a lot more stirring.

12. Want super soft cookies, guaranteed? Add a few tablespoons of cornstarch to your mix!

What You’ll Need to Make Chocolate French Silk Pie Bites:

• 1 sleeve chocolate graham crackers
• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 Tbsp
• 2 ounces unsweetened baker’s chocolate
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

How to Make Chocolate French Silk Pie Bites:

For the crust:

Microwave one stick of butter in a medium size mixing bowl until completely melted.

Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until they are fine crumbs, then add the crumbs and 1 Tbsp of sugar to the melted butter and stir to incorporate.

Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and fill each muffin tin with about 1 Tbsp of the graham cracker mixture.

Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of each tin to form a mini pie crust, then place in the freezer to set.

For the filling:

Melt the baker’s chocolate in a double boiler and set aside to cool.

Cream the other stick of butter with the rest of the sugar and the vanilla extract, then add the cooled chocolate and mix until incorporated.

Add one egg and beat with an electric mixer for five minutes, being sure to scrap the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the second egg and beat for another five minutes.

Allow the chocolate pie filling to set in the fridge for about 15 minutes, then fill each pie shell with the filling and return them to the fridge to set. Then, enjoy!

Pro-tip: For an added touch, top the pie bites with mini chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate.

Print

Chocolate French Silk Pie Bites

These Chocolate French Silk Pie Bites are sinfully delicious!

Course Death By Dessert

Author Jamie

Ingredients

• 1 sleeve chocolate graham crackers
• 2 sticks salted butter softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar + 1 Tbsp
• 2 ounces unsweetened baker's chocolate
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Instructions

For the crust:

• Microwave one stick of butter in a medium size mixing bowl until completely melted.
• Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until they are fine crumbs, then add the crumbs and 1 Tbsp of sugar to the melted butter and stir to incorporate.
• Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and fill each muffin tin with about 1 Tbsp of the graham cracker mixture.
• Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of each tin to form a mini pie crust, then place in the freezer to set.

For the filling:

• Melt the baker's chocolate in a double boiler and set aside to cool.
• Cream the other stick of butter with the rest of the sugar and the vanilla extract, then add the cooled chocolate and mix until incorporated.
• Add one egg and beat with an electric mixer for five minutes, being sure to scrap the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the second egg and beat for another five minutes.
• Allow the chocolate pie filling to set in the fridge for about 15 minutes, then fill each pie shell with the filling and return them to the fridge to set. Then, enjoy!
• Pro-tip: For an added touch, top the pie bites with mini chocolate chips or chopped milk chocolate.

What You Need To Make Banana Cream Pie:

Filling:

• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon banana flavoring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 small ripened bananas

Crust:

• 2 cups crumbled graham crackers
• 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons melted butter

Whipped Topping:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

How To Make Banana Cream Pie:

Begin by making crust. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until well blended. Press into a pie plate and set aside.

In a medium to large pot, heat the milk over medium-low heat (whisking continuously) until bubbles begin to form around the edges (this is called scalding).

Add in sugar, flour, and salt. Turn heat up to medium and continue whisking for 8-10 minutes until the sauce has the consistency of pudding. As it thickens, reduce the heat, but continue to stir for an additional 3-4 minutes.

In a separate bowl, add a tablespoon of the heated sauce to the beaten egg yolks and stir well (doing so will temper the eggs and help prevent curdling)

Reduce sauce heat to low and pour in egg mixture. Continue cooking for an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in the butter, banana flavoring, and vanilla.

Slice bananas to cover the bottom of the crust, then pour the banana cream mixture on top of the bananas, completely filling the pie plate. Chill pie in the refrigerator for at least three hours.

To make the whipped topping, blend the heavy whipping cream with the white sugar and vanilla until it reaches desired consistency. Use this to decorate the pie once it has completely chilled. Enjoy!

Pro Tip: Traditionally all milk was scalded to make it sanitary. Pasteurized milk is already sanitary, so most recipes no longer call for scalding. Pies, some cakes, and breads still call for scalded milk because it makes the food more dense, or in the case of cream pies scalded milk helps the pie thicken.

Pie for Pi:

1. It’ll take me 3.14 seconds to devour this Candy Bar Pie from Crazy for Crust.

2. I am addicted to exactly 3.14 things in this world and Crack Pie by Averie Cooks just bumped one of them off the list.

3. Other pies don’t measure up to the deliciousness of this Banoffee Pie by Three Many Cooks.

4. I’ve been circling around this Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Oreo Pie from Kevin & Amanda for a while now.

5. The mathematics for how this Caramel Apple Crumble Pie from Averie Cooks has existed on the internet for more than 3.14 minutes without me knowing about it is mind-boggling.

6. It’s irrational to imagine my life before this Chocolate Strawberry Oasis Pie from Love & Olive Oil.

7. There is a real chance the diameter of this Nutter Butter Pie from Cookies and Cups is smaller than the diameter of my mouth.

8. Could someone please bring me 3.14 slices of this Lemon Cheesecake from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom for my birthday?

9. I’d circle the globe for a taste of this Strawberry Lemonade Freezer Pie by The Cookie Rookie.

10. I wonder if the volume of this Key Lime Pie in a Jar from A Million Moments is smaller than my stomach? I’m willing to test it, you know…for science.

So, I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking I might make at least 3.14 of these recipes to have on hand. Maybe I’ll invite 3.14 friends over. Maybe we’ll watch a movie that’s 3.14 hours long. Maybe I should stop now…