FoCo Joe: Blue-burr-y Pie

By Joseph Kind, The Dartmouth Staff | 1/31/14 9:00am

I love pies – apple, cherry, berry, rhubarb, you name it. If it’s a pie, I will eat it! Naturally, when I noticed that FoCo was blessing us with a plethora of pies, I had to take advantage of its offerings. But sometimes a good ol’ piece of pie, as tasty and traditional as it is, just doesn’t do the trick. Maybe a little ice cream or some whipped cream could make the pie jump off the plate. I got pretty creative with my piece of blueberry pie this week, as inspired by a conversation I had with friends. Over dinner one night, a couple of guys started mispronouncing the word blueberry. Clearly my friends are an easy crowd — I chimed in with “Bloohburree” and got several laughs. As soon as I said it, I knew what I was going to try to make – an inside-out interpretation of the classic pie and ice cream combo.

Disclaimer: this recipe gets pretty messy! At times, making this pie felt like finger painting — rudimentary but so rewarding.

First, take a piece of blueberry pie and remove the blueberry filling. Do your best to keep the crust intact, but you’ll soon see that it doesn’t really matter if the crust doesn’t make it. This was definitely the hardest part.

Next, take your plate of open pie and transplanted filling over to the ice cream station. This is where the dessert gets chilly. First, add a layer of chocolate chips on the bottom of the pie. Then, carefully place a small portion of vanilla soft-serve on top of the chocolate chips. Add some rainbow sprinkles for good measure. If the soft-serve doesn’t land perfectly on the pie, that’s okay – just use your fork to stabilize the ice cream. Again, it doesn’t have to look pretty.

Lastly, since most of the upper crust detaches in the first step, now is the time to reattach it. Fill in any spots with pieces of good ol’ CTC — Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It provides an unconventional crunch that complements the blueberry filling nicely. Alternative “crusts” include Cheerios, Life, Fruit Loops and granola, among others.

At this point you will see something on your plate that vaguely resembles a piece of pie. Trust me when I say that looks can be deceiving – don’t let the messiness distract you from the taste of still-warm blueberry pie and cool soft-serve, simultaneously combined with smooth cinnamon and the always-classic chocolate chips. This dessert may not please the eye, but I hear love is blind. Enjoy responsibly.


Joseph Kind, The Dartmouth Staff