Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

S’mores Cookie Pie

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This S’mores Cookie Pie is perfectly gooey and rich, and it serves a crowd. Forget the charred marshmallows and the sticky fingers; dig in!

This S'mores Cookie Pie is perfectly gooey and rich, and it serves a crowd. Forget the charred marshmallows and the sticky fingers; dig in!

Every June J’s extended family hosts a reunion, and every June (when we’re home to attend) I take the opportunity to test one of my dessert recipes with the crowd. This year I went with S’mores Cookie Pie, and it just might be the most popular recipe I’ve ever made for the reunion. It might even beat the Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Caramel Icing, but I think that race is too close to call.

This S'mores Cookie Pie is perfectly gooey and rich, and it serves a crowd. Forget the charred marshmallows and the sticky fingers; dig in!

Regardless, this recipe was insanely popular. It was a hit with even the pickier folks, and it’s not difficult to see why. The base of my S’mores Cookie Pie is just half of my chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I added graham cracker chunks for that classic s’mores flavor. Instead of using marshmallows or marshmallow fluff, I used both for maximum gooey goodness. There are plenty of chocolate chips, of course, and they get wonderfully gooey during baking.

This S'mores Cookie Pie is perfectly gooey and rich, and it serves a crowd. Forget the charred marshmallows and the sticky fingers; dig in!

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Baked Lemon Hand Pies

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Filled with a perfectly sweet and tangy lemon curd and finished with a sprinkling of sugar, Baked Lemon Hand Pies are adorable, yummy, and super easy to make.

Filled with a perfectly sweet and tangy lemon curd and finished with a sprinkling of sugar, Baked Lemon Hand Pies are adorable, yummy, and super easy to make.

My church throws baby showers the way I imagine a well-trained military unit conducts missions.

From the food sign-up list to the decorating to the gift-opening, every aspect of the shower is planned for and anticipated. J and I were the lucky recipients of a shower when we were pregnant with Q; she was our third baby, but our first as members of our church in Mississippi, so our church family celebrated with us. I don’t remember exactly what food was served (sausage balls were likely involved), but I can guarantee I went back for second (and probably wanted to go back for thirds).

Filled with a perfectly sweet and tangy lemon curd and finished with a sprinkling of sugar, Baked Lemon Hand Pies are adorable, yummy, and super easy to make.

We’ve thrown a few showers since then, and every time I volunteer to bring something sweet. Triple Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes were both shared at a church baby shower, and I made Oreo Cupcakes for a joint shower thrown for us at school (I made Strawberry Limeade Cupcakes for the shower first before discovering I had the day wrong…). Most recently, I made Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes for a coworker’s shower.

There’s a clear cupcake trend there, but today, for a virtual baby shower honoring Madison from A Joyfully Mad Kitchen, I’m sharing these Baked Lemon Hand Pies instead. They’re super easy to make, and the bright citrus flavor pairs perfectly with the hint of crunch from the sugar sprinkled on top. Anything individually sized like these pies is adorable, but throw in delicious, too? They’re irresistible.

Filled with a perfectly sweet and tangy lemon curd and finished with a sprinkling of sugar, Baked Lemon Hand Pies are adorable, yummy, and super easy to make.

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Homemade Banana Cream Pie

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Sweet, creamy, and full of flavor: this Homemade Banana Cream Pie is everything you want the classic dessert to be, and it’s surprisingly easy to make at home!

Sweet, creamy, and full of flavor: this Homemade Banana Cream Pie is everything you want the classic dessert to be, and it's surprisingly easy to make at home!

We spent the week before last in Anaheim so, as is customary when before we go out of town, I looked around the kitchen and took mental inventory of the food I needed to use before we left. We had bananas on the counter and heavy cream in the fridge, and I’d been planning to get Banana Cream Pie up on the blog. Perfect!

Of course, we didn’t need an entire Banana Cream Pie – or even more than a slice or two. Luckily, there seems to be no shortage of people I can text with the offer of free pie. There’s always someone willing to take one off my hands, and they don’t even mind if I’ve removed a slice or two for photo (and tasting) purposes.

I am so happy I made time to share this recipe with y’all. You could definitely use a store-bought graham cracker crust, but homemade is easy and tasty. The same goes for the pie filling; store-bought banana pudding mix will do in a pinch, but it can’t compare to the flavors you’ll develop with my homemade version. And, of course, homemade whipped cream is ten times better than anything you’ll find in a tub at the grocery store.

Sweet, creamy, and full of flavor: this Homemade Banana Cream Pie is everything you want the classic dessert to be, and it's surprisingly easy to make at home!

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