Cutie Pie

The best part about winter is the fact that it’s citrus season, and one of my favorite snacks is Cuties. Cuties are delicious, sweet, easy to peel mandarin oranges.

As you can probably tell by the name of this recipe, Cuties were the inspiration behind this pie! There are a lot of different directions you can take an orange pie, but ultimately I decided to pair the filling with winter spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. If you leave out the spices, it tastes more like a creamsicle—perfect for summer. Or you could make it with a chocolate cookie crust. I’m sure that would be delicious as well.

Some notes about the pie…

I only used egg yolks because I want the fat from the eggs to help the pie congeal, but egg whites are primarily water and would make the pie too runny.

I used orange juice concentrate as opposed to regular orange juice because it’s seven times more concentrated than regular juice. This means you can get more orange flavor using less liquid.

Do not try to substitute sweetened condensed milk with evaporated milk. The consistencies are different, and the pie won’t set.

An excellent addition to the pie is roasted Cutie segments. Citrus fruits take on an incredible flavor when they’re roasted, and it makes a great addition to the top of the pie.

I used Challenge butter for the crust in this recipe. Challenge products are my favorite because they use fresh milk and cream from local dairies, and they’re put in the dairy case in just 24 hours, as opposed to 5-7 days, which is the case for most other brands.

Cutie pie

Ingredients

• For the crust
• 2 cups (200 grams) gingersnap crumbs
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted

For the filling

• 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 Tablespoons zest from Cutie mandarin oranges
• 2 teaspoons orange extract (optional)
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger

Directions

For the crust

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine gingersnap crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter,
   and press into bottom of 9-inch pie pan, making sure it is tight and compact.
3. Bake for 5 minutes.

For the filling

1. Whisk together sweetened condensed milk with orange juice
   concentrate, egg yolks, orange zest, orange extract, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg,
   and ginger.
2. Pour filling into pie crust and bake 15 to 18 minutes until
   center of pie is firm but still jiggles slightly.
3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.