Two new pies to try for Thanksgiving: Festive twists on key lime and chocolate cream pies

This is a sponsored post by Challenge, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I was lucky enough to finish my first baking class in culinary school one week before Thanksgiving. How convenient! I developed a passion for pies during the class. Two of my favorite pies we made were key lime pie and chocolate cream pie. I made them for Thanksgiving, but with a few festive changes.

I swapped the graham cracker crust on the key lime pie for a gingersnap cookie crust and topped it with candied cranberries. And I added a little Grand Marnier, which is an orange liqueur, to the chocolate cream pie.

The key lime pie is traditionally made with key limes, which are more tart than regular limes, but fresh key limes are hard to find and key lime juice is difficult to track down. A good substitution is to use half lime juice and half lemon juice.

I only used Challenge butter when making these pies. Superior ingredients make superior products, and you can really tell a difference when making the crusts how much better Challenge butter is than its competitors.

Candied cranberry key lime pie

Ingredients

For the gingersnap crust

• 6 ounces gingersnap crumbs
• 3 ounces Challenge unsalted butter, melted
• 2 ounces granulated sugar

For the filling

• 3 egg yolks
• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 4 ounces key lime juice (if no key lime juice, use 2 ounces lime juice and 2 ounces lemon juice)
• 2 teaspoons lime zest (or zest from 1 lime)

For the candied cranberry topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 ounces cranberries

Directions

For the crust

1. Mix the gingersnap crumbs, butter, and sugar together until crumbs are well coated.  
2. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of pie pan, and set aside to prepare filling.

For the filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk smoothly by hand with whisk. 
3. Add in key lime juice and zest.
4. Pour filling into crust and bake for 20 minutes or until filling is just set.
5. Remove from oven and cool. Once cool, chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

For the candied cranberry topping

1. Cook 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water in heavy saucepan on low, stirring until sugar dissolves.
2. Add cranberries and cook until they soften but don’t break open, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from stovetop and drain cranberries.
4. Transfer cranberries to baking sheet lined with wax paper and dry for at least 1 hour.
5. Roll cranberries in remaining sugar until well coated.
6. Adorn key lime pie with candied cranberries and serve.

Chocolate cream pie with Grand Marnier

Ingredients

For the crust

• 330 grams pastry flour (use all-purpose flour if no pastry flour available)
• 16 grams granulated sugar
• 7 grams (about 1 teaspoon) salt
• 231 grams (about 8 ounces) Challenge unsalted butter
• 98.5 grams (about 3/8 cup) cold water

For the filling

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted 
• 6 ounces Challenge unsalted butter, room temperature

For the whipped cream topping

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

For the crust

1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix flour, sugar, salt, and butter until pieces of butter are about the size of a pea.  
3. Add the water to flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
4. Allow dough to rest in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight for best results.
5. Transfer pie dough to floured work surface. Roll out pie dough until crust is larger than diameter of pie dish.
6. Move dough to pie dish and trim excess dough from edges. Return to refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
7. Remove from refrigerator and crimp pie dough edges.
8. Line pie dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans to rim of pie crust.
9. Bake for 15 minutes.
10. Remove from oven, remove paper and weight, and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the bottom is golden brown.

For the filling

1. Whisk together eggs, sugar, Grand Marnier, vanilla and salt in top of double boiler. Stir constantly until mixture turns pale in color and thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add chocolate and butter and stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Pour filling into cooled, pre-baked pie crust and smooth top.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. It’s best to refrigerate overnight.

For the whipped cream topping

1. While heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on high speed until medium peaks for, about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Spread whipped cream on top of pie.
3. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve.