Adventures in Pie Making Part 1: Butterfinger Pie from Pinterest

So my husband and I decide to throw a big birthday/open house because our new place is so great.

I get a pinterest board going and am so excited to making all these cakes,

 when he tells me he wants pie.

I immediately freak.

 Pie?!!? What?!!?

 How do I even BEGIN to make such a treat? How does this happen? How does it work? How do I make it without destroying myself or our new kitchen? How do I make it for 20+ people? What if it doesn't turn out? What if the recipes I find are duds? 

Well I calmed myself down, found a few good recipes that seemed simple and inexpensive enough that I figured everyone would enjoy. I mean, who can say no to butter finger pie? So I made it. It took me a few hours but it turned out amazing in the end! However, it was far from easy.

{I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. I took more, but deleted them because I am smart and plan ahead like that. Hence the addition of a photo from the blog I got the recipe from. This will not happen again!}

I used THIS recipe from RecipeGirl.com

Here are some of my tips that I learned (through trial and extreme error) while making this.

1) Give yourself PLENTY of time to make this recipe. If you are preparing it for a party at night or a bbq, make it in the morning. If you are preparing it for an afternoon party or lunch, make it the day before. Make sure you have plenty of counter space when making this pie. There are tons of steps, and if you don't have space to get a little bit messy, it gets overwhelming. 

2) 1 bag of fun size butterfingers is all you need. You don't need exactly 23. 

Set aside 2 whole bars to crumble on top. I did not do this and had the super fine crumbs on top.

Presentation is key at parties, so don't follow my example and try to make it look as awesome as possible.

3) Make sure you use a BIG pie pan with tall sides. This pie has a TON of filling and the crust needs to be thick. Mine almost overflowed. It was scary.

4) Use both butter and peanut butter when making the oreo crust. The crumbs will NOT stick together with just the small amount of butter they tell you to use. Use twice the amount of butter and a quarter cup of peanut butter, or half a cup of peanut butter to substitute. It brings out the butter finger  flavor more! Freeze the oreo crust while you are making the fillings, so that the pie sets into the crust. This helped the fillings stay separated in distinct layers. 

5) When you are preparing the filling on the stove, do NOT stop stirring. Do not check your phone, do not call anyone, concentrate on smelling the mixture to make sure it is not burning.  Sugar and milk burn extremely quickly. I learned this, through thrice amount of trial and error. 

6) . Pour the eggs in very very very slowly. I scrambled them the first time and had to start all over. I spent about 4 minutes total stirring and pouring in the eggs the second time around and it turned out perfectly.

7) When it came to the whipping cream, I used half cool whip and half heavy whipping cream from the carton. It worked super well for the topping, better than just the heavy whipping cream from the carton by itself. 

8) I chilled my pie for around 8 hours before I served it. I was very nervous it did not turn out, but it was completely solid. The crust however, did not turn out, since I only used butter. I used peanut butter in the crust for a different pie I made (recipe coming up next), and it held together super well. 

I plan on sharing my adventures in baking more and more! 

Next up is a Simpson family favorite!