Pi{e} Day 2017: {Gluten-Free} Matcha-Chocolate Pie

Welcome to Pi(e) Day with the Holiday Fun with Our Blog Friends! Pi Day is celebrated every March 14 by math fans around the world - and also bakers and pastry chefs. Pi is an non-repeating, infinite number represented by the Greek letter π, and used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

Today, 20 food bloggers have gathered - hosted by The Redhead Baker - and want to celebrate the fun of Pi by creating their own sweet and savory pies to share with you. Hope you have a delicious day!

All the Pies for Pi Day...

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie by Frugal Pantry

Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry by Family Around the Table

Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie by Moore or Less Cooking

Coconut Cream Pie with Oatmeal Cookie Crust by I Say Nomato

Coconut Macaroon Pie by Jolene's Recipe Journal

Drunken Vanilla Cherry Pie by The Redhead Baker

Gluten-Free Matcha-Chocolate Pie by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Individual No Bake Mango Pie by Caroline's Cooking

Matcha Buttermilk Pie by All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Pi Pie by Amy's Cooking Adventures

Savory Spinach and Cheese Pie by Cooking With Carlee

Taco Pie by Tip Garden

Tomato Cheddar Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm

My Pie...

While I definitely don't qualify as a 'math nerd,' I gave birth to two of them. So, every year, we celebrate Pi Day. A few years ago we were discussing the definition of a pie: What makes a pie a pie? 

Sensibly, my precise Kitchen Elf said, "A pie has no frosting." True.

My Love declared, "It's the crust." Okay. Well, now it has to be a gluten-free crust for him, but okay.

And my sweet, Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf asserted, "A pie has a crust...and is low to the ground." Huh. "You know, a cake can be tall; a pie is short."

Employing all three of those criteria - no frosting, a crust, and low to the ground - I created a Gluten-Free Matcha-Chocolate Pie. And, because my oven is still broken, it's a no-bake pie. Even easier!!

Ingredients makes one 9" pie

Crust

• 2 C crushed gluten-free cookies (I used gluten-free chocolate cookies from Trader Joe's)
• 6 T butter
• Also needed: tart pan with removable bottom, food processor

Filling

• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 1 C organic heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 C organic powdered sugar
• 2 T organic matcha powder

 Procedure 

Crust

Use a food processor to crush the cookies and measure out 2 C. Place the cookie crumbles in a large mixing bowl. Melt butter and pour into cookie crumbles. Use a rubber spatula stir until well-combined.

Spoon the mixture into a tart pan and press firmly into the pan. Place crust in the refrigerator for 25 to 30 minutes to firm up. In the meantime, make your filling.

  

Filling

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth. Spoon the filling into the prepared crust. Return the pie to the fridge to set, at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.

To serve, remove the sides of the tart pan. Cut generous wedges and serve immediately.