Next week is π day. Since Pi Day is always a week before the end of winter, why not celebrate the coming spring with a very Hawaiian pie? This year’s featured pie comes via the 1972 Pies and Pastries Cookbook of the Southern Living Cookbook Library. The original, a peach pie with an almond topping, was contributed to Southern Living by “Mrs. Jack Bether, Lancaster, South Carolina”.

I often find that replacing peaches with mango makes a dessert even better, and with no other changes. I’ve had this pie on my “try soon” list ever since I saw it while compiling the Southern Living Missing Index. So when I found myself with a couple of mangos about to go bad and an open bag of macadamia nuts I wanted to use up, I decided to try this recipe replacing both the peaches and the almonds, with mangos and macadamias.

Because mangos are bigger than peaches, you’ll probably have some mango left over. This is not a problem: just eat it (as Weird Al might say). All you need is enough fruit to solidly cover the bottom of the pie shell.

This is really an amazing pie. The cream surrounding the fruit forms a creamy filling beneath the fruit, and a crusty golden top above the fruit and around the chopped nuts. I’m sure it’s great with peaches and almonds as well. As I write this, however, mangos are on sale, so check your local grocery.

For that matter, I expect it’s great with any pie-friendly fruit.

A pie like this also deserves a great crust. I chose to make a beer crust, from Eddie Doucette’s Oktoberfest recipes, as presented in Tempt Them with Tastier Foods. Tempt Them is an upcoming collection of Eddie Doucette’s recipes, mostly from the IGA advertisements he appeared in. It also contains several recipes from his various “cooking can be fun” presentations.

You heard it here first!

Beer Pie Crust

Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Eddie Doucette
Tempt Them with Tastier Foods: An Eddie Doucette Recipe Collection

Ingredients

• 1-¼ cups flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅓ cup (heaping) shortening
• 3 tbsp ice cold beer

Steps

1. Sift flour and salt together.
2. Cut in shortening with pastry blender.
3. Sprinkle cold beer over mixture and toss or mix lightly until dough is moist enough to hold together.
4. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5. Roll out to size of pan (11" to flute edge of 9-inch pie).

The beer in the crust appears to act like the vinegar in other pie crust recipes, making the crust flakier by getting a chemical reaction going to sort of rise it. However it works, it’s a great crust. But whatever crust you choose, this pie is going to be great.

Serve this pie hot or cold. If hot, consider adding a scoop of ice cream, or a dollop of whipped cream. Add a glass of milk or some hot tea and you have a fully balanced meal!