March 14 (3/14), or more commonly known in nerdy circles as “Pi Day”, is an occasion to bake and, shortly thereafter, devour all types of pie in honor of the mathematical entity disguised as a Greek letter, π=3.14159265359…. To be honest, I rarely partake in the preparation for this time old tradition, opting instead to volunteer my expertise as a taste tester. However, this year I was persuaded to join in on the baking fun by one of my friends whose dedication to Pi day is going 3 years strong. In the past, she has celebrated the mathematical extravaganza by making Pi shaped chocolates and I can say from personal experience, she does an excellent job! This time around we were inspired by an Apple Pie Cookie recipe on OH, Bite It! With the discovery of a π shaped cookie cutter, we set to work transforming this recipe for the occasion!
Check out our recipe below! We have changed little from the original on OH, Bite It! but I am posting it here to spread the mathematical excitement! 🙂
Ingredients (makes 6 π-shaped cookies)
- 1 box frozen Pillsbury pie crust (2 sheets per box)
- 1 can apple pie filling
- 1 c caramel sauce
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- flour for sprinkling
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Lay out a sheet of pie crust, sprinkle it with some flour and slightly roll it out to increase its surface area.
- Pour caramel sauce onto the crust, just enough to evenly spread it around creating a thin layer of caramel.
- Coarsely chop the apple pie filling into small pieces.
- Top the caramel layer with a layer of the chopped apple pie filling, making sure not to add too much pie filling.
- Roll out the second sheet of pie crust to the same size as the first sheet, and slice it into strips
- Create a lattice crust (like on a pie) for the top of the pie filling. Lightly spread some of the egg wash over the lattice crust. Sprinkle cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg.
- Dip the cookie cutter into some egg wash and cut out your pie cookies.
- Place the cookies onto a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until they’re golden and firm.
- Let cool, top with some vanilla ice cream, and enjoy! 😀
But wait, what’s better than π? -π! We were able to make a whole cake worth of apple pie with all the negative space between the cookies! Om nom nom…