The Duchess of Cambridge

but National Pie Day has become a bit of a sweet celebration in the metro-east.

Jan. 23 is the official day, but it will be recognized Saturday with an annual pie buffet and a contest at the Pie Pantry in downtown Belleville.

I’ve been one of the contest judges since it started a couple years ago, and it’s a lot of fun. I say that because I am partial to pie and enjoy the company of several other judges with better food knowledge than me. The contest is at 1 p.m., but you can start eating pie at 10 a.m. when the buffet opens.

National Pie Day was created by the American Pie Council. Pie has changed over the decades. Ingredients have become exotic and sometimes a bit overwhelming. just how much fudge sauce, caramel and whipped cream can you put on top of a slice Mississippi Mud Pie anyway?

In the South, a great piemaker is still revered. if you’ve seen the movie “The Help,” you know what I’m talking about.

Pies have grown bigger and smaller. Bite-size ones are very popular right now.

So are pies without a traditional container. take a gander at the Banana Pie Cups concoction at the bottom of the page. While it never would be mistaken for your grandmother’s pie, it has all the right stuff: Cookie crust, filling, fruit and topping. all contained in a tall glass or mason jar.

Two pies here are big winners and one requires some serious time and effort. For those of you who like a challenge, make Laura’s Sticky Toffee Pudding Apple Pie, which won Best of Show in the professional category at the 2011 National Pie Championships.

The Engagement Ring Pie, also from the 2011 contest sponsored by the American Pie Council and Crisco, is a blueberry pie like no other: The meringue is the crust. it gets its name from its appearance, which looks a bit like the engagement ring given to Britain’s late Princess Diana, which now is worn by her son William’s bride, Duchess Catherine.

One contest judge called this pie “like eating divinity with blueberries and whip cream.”

And while buttermilk pies are rich in American tradition, the version here gets a new England twist with maple syrup.

This is the perfect pie to let kids make, with your supervision.

Itsy Bitsy Fruit Pies

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup milk chocolate morsels

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups Kellogg’s Rice Krispies

2 cups assorted fresh chopped fruits

Frozen whipped topping, thawed

1. with adult help, in medium saucepan melt butter over low heat. Stir in chocolate morsels until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon.

2. Place cereal in large bowl. Carefully pour melted chocolate mixture over cereal. Gently stir until cereal is completely coated with chocolate.

3. Spoon cereal mixture into 24 (1 1/2-inch) muffin-pan cups coated with cooking spray. Using your finger or thumb, press cereal mixture onto bottoms and up the sides of each cup, forming crusts.

4. Place crusts in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. Before serving, fill each crust with fresh fruit. Dollop with whipped topping. Decorate with sprinkles. Serve immediately. Yields: 24 pies.

Note: Extra unfilled crusts may be frozen in air-tight container for up to a month. let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

– Kellogg’s Rice Krispies

1 1/2 cups flour, and more for dusting the surface

9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cold

5 tablespoons water (very cold)

Buttermilk maple filling:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Turbinado sugar, for topping

To make the crust, start by cutting the butter into 1/4-inch squares. put all the butter in a small bowl and place in the freezer until needed.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and sugar; mix just to combine. Add in the butter and beat until the butter pieces are the size of small peas and the mixture resembles coarse meal. Some butter pieces may not break down. if this happens, use your hands to squeeze the mixture together to break up the larger pieces.

With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add in the very cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stop adding water when the mixture comes together and is in wet clumps. Be sure to not add too much water — you don’t want to dough to be extremely wet. You might not use all 5 tablespoons, or you might need to use more.

Pour out all the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a disc. Flour all sides of the dough, and wrap the disc in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

When the dough is done chilling, remove from the refrigerator, and place the disc onto a floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. While you are rolling out the dough, be sure to check the bottom of the dough to make sure it is not sticking. if it starts to stick, add more flour to the surface.

Carefully roll the dough up onto the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Trim the excess dough hanging off the sides of the pan. Using your forefinger and thumb, crimp the sides of the dough. Place the pie pan in the refrigerator while making the filling.

To make the buttermilk maple filling, whisk together egg yolks, flour, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the maple syrup until incorporated.

Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and salt and whisk until smooth.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator and pour the filling into the center of the pan.

Place the pie in the oven to bake until the filling has set completely, and the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour.

After removing the pie from the oven, sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of the pie. allow the pie to cool completely on a cooling rack. Makes 1 deep-dish, 9-inch pie

– KrissysCreations.com

Laura’s Sticky Toffee Pudding Apple Pie

Linda Hundt, DeWitt, Mich.

Best of Show Professional Category, 2011 National Pie Championships

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup cold butter cut in small pieces

1/2 cup refrigerated Crisco shortening

5 medium to large Ida Red, Cortland, or Empire apples, peeled, thinly sliced, diced

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Sticky toffee pudding filling:

1/2 cup praline pecans (see recipe below)

1 stick butter, softened

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup self-rising flour

1 stick butter, softened

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Crust: Mix all above ingredients in mixer on medium speed swiftly, until crust appears “pea-like.” Carefully sprinkle water in crust mix until it starts to become moistened and gathers together. Pat into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out on to floured surface, make crust and crimp. Freeze until ready to use.

Apple filling: Cook ingredients in large pan on medium heat until cooked halfway. Stir in 3/4 cup homemade caramel until melted.

Homemade caramel: In heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients, but vanilla. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, covering all parts of bottom of pan with wire whisk to avoid scorching. Stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, constantly stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring until caramel reaches 244 degrees on a candy thermometer or firm-ball stage. Pour in glass container. cool to use.

Sticky Toffee Pudding filling: Mix ingredients just until blended. Spread on bottom of crust.

Crumb topping: Mix all together all crumb topping ingredients by hand or a pastry blender until fine and crumbly. Set aside.

Praline pecans: Melt butter in small pan on medium-low heat until melted. Add pecans and sugar and stir ingredients until you start smelling the nuts roasting. take off heat and cool. Crumble. Divide use for pudding filling and topping.

Final steps: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. put apple mixture over pudding mixture in crust. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 1 hour, or until knife easily slides into center of pie with no resistance. if pie becomes too brown before done, turn down oven to 350 degrees to finish baking and cover with foil completely. top with a generous amount of homemade caramel and praline pecans.

This pie is rich with history of English walnuts and dates, graced by a meringue crust and is topped the deep color of blueberries and encircled with the lightness of whip cream and diamond dust.

The Engagement Ring Pie

1 cup vanilla wafers (crushed with rolling pin)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup dried English dates (chopped)

1 cup English walnuts (chopped)

2 pints fresh blueberries

Crust: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a pie pan. This pie does not have a traditional crust. The meringue will form the crust.

Beat egg whites until fluffy, gradually beat in sugar, (beat to the consistency of divinity) and fold in wafers, baking powder, dates and walnuts. Pour into pie pan. Bake 30 minutes. cool completely. Center will slightly cave in, which is OK.

Topping: In small pan put in water, sugar and corn starch; bring to a boil until thick like syrup. cool to room temperature; mixture should be like a glaze.

Toss 1-2 tablespoons of glaze with blueberries until thoroughly coated. Use enough glaze on the blueberries to make them stick to each other so they don’t roll off your pie when you cut into it. (You may not use all the glaze). put blueberries on top of pie, leaving about 1/2 inch around the edge.

Finish pie with whipped topping around edge and garnish with Diamond Dust or Sparkle Flakes, available at most cake and candy supple stores.

The cool thing about this recipe (besides being so easy), is how many ways you can change it. This is the banana version, but try a chocolate one: crushed Oreos on the bottom, chocolate pudding, maybe some grasshoppers and whipped cream.

Crushed vanilla wafers

1. Crush vanilla wafers in a plastic bag and spoon about 1/3 cup into the bottom of a glass.

2. Pour vanilla pudding over top wafers (I found it easiest to put the pudding into a plastic bag, snip the corner and squeeze it in…gives you a bit more control and it’s less messy).

3. top pudding with sliced bananas, then refrigerate if not serving immediately.

4. once ready to serve, top bananas with whipped cream (I use cool Whip, so I do the plastic bag trick again for a neater appearance. Or you can use canned whipped cream).

– navywifecook.blogspot.com

Not your grandma’s pie: Redefine America’s favorite dessert in time for National Pie Day