Snickerdoodle Pie

Snickerdoodle pie.

Snickerdoodle pie.

Snickerdoodle pie.

I could say that all day– I just love the way it sounds. In fact, I love the way it tastes too.

Imagine the flavor of your favorite snickerdoodle cookie but with the texture of a really moist cake, baked in a buttery, flakey pie crust and topped with ice cream.

After you’ve taken moment to recover, let’s get down to business.

This pie is slap your mama good.

Where did the snickerdoodle pie come from anyway? A really good friend of mine that also helps me cater, found this recipe a few years back and thought it would be a good addition to the desserts we regularly make for clients. I’m not sure where she found it but after doing some googling I think the recipe originated from a Better Homes & Gardens magazine. We made a trial pie a few years back and have been making it ever since. I have clients from Texas in town right now that request it every year. Their youngest daughter loves it and I have to say I love making it for her, she gets so excited whenever I bring it to the house!

I usually make just one pie to take to my clients. If I make an extra one for me, I am faced with the temptation of eating the whole thing. But today I gave into the cinnamon-sugar devils and made an extra pie so I could blog about it. Bad Idea. I skipped lunch and instead ate pie. After taking some pics for the blog, I quickly wrapped the pie up and made my babysitter take it home with her. She’s a young college student with a quick metabolism that isn’t likely to turn down homemade food. A win for both of us!

A little disclaimer here– I cheated today and used a store bought pie crust. We all need a little help here and there. Feel free to make one from scratch cause it WILL be better but using a store bought one is just fine too. This pie isn’t hard to make but it is multiple steps and can seem kind of daunting the first time around.

This pie is simple in appearance but upon further inspection it’s a multitude of layers: a flakey pastry crust, topped with a cinnamon-sugar layer, followed by the cake like snickerdoodle filling, and it’s finished off with a cinnamon infused caramel sauce that bakes into the most beautiful dark brown crust. The instructions call for covering the outside of the pie with foil for partial baking so it doesn’t get to dark. Sometimes I do this, other times I don’t. I don’t mind a “well done” crust, in fact I kind of prefer it.

I think this pie is best served slightly warm and topped with vanilla ice cream. I will say though it’s also pretty darn good on it’s own accompanied by a hot cup of coffee or tea. Come to think of it, this would be perfect for a holiday brunch. It’s one of those desserts that could double as a coffee cake (or coffee pie)!

Tonight marks the first night of Hanukkah. I sort of wish now that I’d at least saved a piece or two of this pie so we could have enjoyed them tonight as we light the candles and sit by the fire. I suppose I’ll just have to make another one!