Three easy pies to make during the festive season

No-bake pies make for great desserts to bring in the festive cheer. Source: tandcake, Flickr

The festive season is upon us and there’s a lot of merrymaking (and calorie-loading) to look forward to. If you’re going to be hosting friends and family, you’ll definitely need a few handy recipes that guarantee wonderful taste without too much effort. While options for appetizers and mains are aplenty, it is the desserts that always seem a bit tricky. Sure, you can simply opt for one from one of the many patisseries in the city, but if you’re looking for something a tad bit exclusive, we suggest you get your whisks ready for pies.

Making pies is easy, eating them is even easier. It is, however, the pie crust that’s tough to master. If you’re fairly new to baking, there’s a good chance you may end up with a batch of pie dough that’s too soft or one that resembles concrete on baking. For the novices, there are no-bake pies. These taste just as delicious as the real deal but don’t involve the hard work required to execute the perfect pie crust. A biscuit or cookie crumble is mixed with a fair amount of melted butter which is then refrigerated to make the “crust”. We’ve picked three easy recipes that you can master with ease and make your dinner party a huge success.

Chocolate pie
Few things match the joy of a spoonful of rich chocolate dessert. Chocolate cookies are crumbled to make the pie base for this recipe. Dark chocolate and whipping cream are the highlight of the dessert. Make sure to use good quality semi-sweet, dark chocolate for a rich flavour. Once the chocolate cream has been added to the pie crust, it needs to be refrigerated for eight hours to set properly. So if you’re planning to serve the pie post dinner, we suggest setting aside some time in the morning for your dessert to be ready by evening.

Oreo cookie pie
Oreo cookies are a hot favourite with everyone who enjoys cream biscuits. And this recipe brings the cream from these chocolate cookies to make a delicious pie. In case you do not have a pie tray to set the crust in, you can line up a slightly deep plate with cling film before lining it with the cookie crumble and butter mix. This will make releasing the pie easier once it’s set.

Snickers pie
This one’s bound to be a hit with the kids with chocolate chips, Nutella and peanuts added to the mix. Extremely easy to make, the recipe takes things up a notch with the Snickers cubes used for garnishing.