Pie, Pi Day and Coffee

Thursday, March 14 is Pi (π) Day. Pi Day has been a national holiday since 2009, but the celebration started at San Francisco's Exploratorium in 1988. March 14 is Albert Einstein's birthday and the numeric representation of the date, 3/14, matches the first three digits of Pi, 3.14. Those interested in Pi and it's history can check out this link. For the rest of us, a great way to celebrate Pi is with... Pie. All of us here at Coffee by the Roast enjoy a cup of coffee with our pie, but Catie puts coffee in her pie. She shared her recipe for Coffee Pecan Pie, a caffeinated take on Classic Pecan Pie. She starts with this recipe:

Classic Pecan Pie

serves 6

Oven: 350 degrees

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 50-55 minutes

Ingredients:

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup (light or dark, both work fine)

2 Tbs. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cup pecans

1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mix first five ingredients (eggs, sugar, syrup, butter and vanilla). Stir in pecans, and pour into pie crust. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Here’s how she explained her modifications to the recipe:

“I added coffee in two forms in two different places: the crust and the custard middle. The coffee added complexity without being a dominant flavor to both.

For a single crust recipe, replace one Tb of flour with 1 Tb of ground espresso. Cut the ground espresso into the butter/shortening along with the flour. The ground espresso added a crunchy taste that reminded me of roasted espresso beans, as if you'd eaten a chocolate-covered espresso bean without the chocolate coating, but rather had it wrapped in a pastry.

For the custard filling, I reduced corn syrup by 1 Tb and added 1 Tb strong brewed coffee. A shot of espresso would probably taste even better. In the custard, the coffee adds a light hint of a fresh, sweet cup of coffee to your pecan pie, as if you'd just finished a high-quality coffee hard candy before eating your pie.”

No matter how you celebrate Pi Day, we’d like to kick the party up a notch by offering a coffee created just for pie. Order any coffee from now through Sunday, March 17, and we’ll add a FREE 1/2 roast bag of our Pi(e) Day Blend at no extra charge. All you have to do is write “Pi” in the box for Additional Instructions.

If you like the coffee, please let us know. Send us a note through the website, share your thoughts on the Facebook thread or in a comment on this blog. Or, if you'd like to share your opinions with the wider world, leave us a coffee review on Google or on your favorite review site. Not only do we value your opinions, but reviews help more people find us. Help us connect coffee lovers to fresh, quality coffee!

Thanks! And have a great Pi Day!

~ Carrie, Paul and all of us at Coffee by the Roast