Pistachio Pie with Lemon Whipped Cream
I don’t trust my own food judgment sometimes. As you might imagine, this can be problematic for someone who makes their living working with food. The problem is, I reeeeaaaally like desserts. As in, fourth grade style, write-a-MASH-note-to-a-piece-of-cake like-like desserts. And I also enjoy less popular ingredients and flavor combinations. So when I come up with a dessert that I think is great, I’m never 100% sure if it’s really great, or if I’ve created something that appeals to my weird-o tastebuds alone. #foodbloggerproblems, am I right?
Last week I made a peanut butter pie for a friend, and as I was making it, I was thinking about how it’s an incredibly simple recipe that could probably be tweaked in all sorts of interesting ways. Swap out the peanut butter for another nut butter, and the chocolate crumbs for other cookie crumbs, and you have a nearly infinite variety of interesting desserts. Almond pie with a gingersnap crust! Hazelnut pie with a coffee crust! Pistachio pie with a lemon crust! Are you smelling what I’m baking over here?
So this past weekend, I put my theory to the test and made this riff on traditional peanut butter pie–pistachio pie with a lemon cookie crust and lemon whipped cream. Rather than trying to track down elusive pistachio butter (which apparently exists, but which I must assume is made in single-serving batches by hand using solid gold equipment, since it costs a million dollars), I made pistachio butter myself in the food processor with pistachios and a little vegetable oil.
Once the pistachio butter is made, it’s blended with powdered sugar, mascarpone cheese, and whipped cream, to create a light and fluffy, almost mousse-like filling. After chilling in the refrigerator, it firms up and develops a creamy texture that’s one part mousse, one part cheesecake, one part fluffy clouds and one part mermaid song. By which I mean, it’s pretty dreamy.
And the flavor! Can we talk about how pistachios should be our national nut, because they are (in the words of founding father George Washington) freaking delicious?* They’re mild and have a mellow sweetness and an almost floral flavor. They’re perfect when paired with the lemon cookie crust and the slightly sweet lemon whipped cream, and their subtle flavor means that eating a whole slice of pie isn’t overwhelming.
I also added just a few drops of pistachio oil flavoring to mine, which intensified the taste. The oil is absolutely not necessary, and I didn’t include it in the recipe because I don’t think it’s worth buying a whole bottle for the 1/8 tsp you’d be using here. But if you happen to have some lying around, or if you are a pistachio lover who thinks you’d get good use out of this flavoring, give it a try! Used sparingly, it adds a wonderful pistachio flavor to desserts.
*I think I saw that quote on Pinterest somewhere so it must be true
I finished the top of the pie with a sprinkling of chopped pistachios, lemon zest, and crushed lavender buds. Why? Because I have those aforementioned weird tastebuds, because I thought the pop of purple would look beautiful, and because I’m shamelessly courting the powerful lavender industry to sponsor my blog. Obvi.
The result was a pistachio pie that I thought was incredible. Crunchy, creamy, bold, subtle, nutty, zesty, floral…pick an adjective, it probably describes this pie. I was worried that it was a Liz-specific pie, rather than one the wider world would enjoy, but when I (apprehensively) took it to a barbecue, it got rave reviews and really nice feedback, so I’m giving this a G rating, as in Good for everyone. Try it—you just might want to write it a MASH note yourself.
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