Christmas Pie in July

My friend, Eric and I were talking at work last week about one of our favorite summer treats, Christmas Pie in July.   I was introduced to this little slice of pure heaven a few years ago at Beatons Lake.  Eric's mom, Bonnie, made it for Eric as it was his favorite as a kid when the rasberries ripened.

I told Eric he'd have to make me a pie, but I also know that if I waited for Eric to do that, I'd be waiting along time.  So this past weekend I went on a mission to create it.

Now the easy thing would have been to call Bonnie, but I was in a pioneering mood and wanted to figure it out by myself.  The key ingredient is pistachios so I figured something this awesome should be pretty simple to find on Google.  But I was wrong.   So by combining my memories, a couple of recipes and my own ideas,  I came up with something pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.  And I'm going to post the recipe so I can find it next summer.....

Christmas Pie in July

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts
• 1 stick butter, melted  (I used Land o Lake's Light butter)
• 3 Tbs Sugar
• 3/4 tsp Vanilla

Filling:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (I used lite cream cheese)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tbs of sugar
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 (16 ounce) CoolWhip - frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 (3 ounce) packages instant pistachio pudding mix
• 3 cups cold milk
• ½ pint of fresh raspberries
• 1/8 cup chopped pistachio nuts

 Directions:

1. Mix flour, pistachios, sugar, vanilla extract and butter. Spread into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20  minutes. Cool.
2. Mix together cream cheese, vanilla, confectioners' sugar and 1 cup whipped topping. Beat well, and spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Mix instant pudding with milk until thick. Spread over cream cheese layer.
4. Top with remaining whipped topping, sprinkle with nuts, and decorate with fresh raspberries.

Save some room for desert!