Pie #17: Columbian Cookie Pie (Dulce de Leche Pie)

Last week my friend had a Columbian-themed fundraiser meal, for which my contribution was dessert.  For a while I toyed with the idea of making pie...but just couldn't justify the breaking of the theme to satisfy my blogging requirements.  Instead I made some very tasty Columbian cookies called Alfajores which I found on a blog entitled My Columbian Recipes.  The recipe calls for dulce de leche, and even included a recipe to make it from scratch.  It was during the 3 hour cook time that I figured out what my pie would be this week.  I scoured the internet for a dulce de leche pie, and while there were many such recipes, I settled on one from the Big Red Kitchen.  I ended up using the basic pie composition from the Big Red Kitchen, but the dulce de leche recipe from My Columbian Recipes.


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Dulce de Leche Pie

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cookie pie crust (this week it was purchased pre-made)

6 cups whole milk
1.5 cups sugar
1/4 t. baking soda
1/8 t. salt
1 cinnamon stick

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 t. vanilla
2 T. powdered sugar
8 mini Heath Bars, crushed (Perry was a trouper; he took care of this task for me with his hammer!)

Pie Algorithm:
1. Dulce de Leche: In a medium pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring frequently with wooden spoon for about 3 hours or until color changes to caramel and the mixture is thick as a pudding.  Let it cool slightly.  Pour caramel sauce in crust.  Finish cooling to room temperature.

2. Topping: Whip cream, vanilla, and sugar.  Put on top of cooled caramel.  Top with crushed heath bars.  Refrigerate until consumption.

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A few notes about the dulce:
1. This is a good thing to make when there are other things you need to be doing nearby.  It doesn't require much attention except for the very beginning and very end (other than to stir every so often).

2. At the beginning, watch carefully when the pot is about to boil.  The milk expands quickly after a certain temperature and can easily create a sticky stove!

3. At the end don't rely on your timer; instead pay more attention to the thickness of the sauce.  Watching and continuous stirring are important in order to prevent crystallized caramel.

4. I ended up not quite using all the dulce de leche made.  (I saved approximately 1 cup.  This will last approximately 1 week in your fridge.)  The sauce is very sweet - use whatever amount you would like/you can stand in your pie!


Did the pie taste delicious?  Well, I didn't get to taste the actual pie as Perry ended up taking it to work.  However I did use some of the leftover dulce with a bit of whipped topping and crushed candy.  It was delightful - very rich, but very delightful!  As far as the actual pie, Perry remarked that it was gone by 7:15am the morning he took it in.  Based on this observation, yes - the pie did taste delicious!