Last Wednesday, was 3.14.23, Pi Day! I know, I know, I’m late to the party. But, I didn’t want to miss out on sharing this post for my version of the greatest pie ever! If you’ve visited Maui, you might be familiar with a great restaurant on Olowalu Village Road called Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop. My family and I had the privilege of visiting there and enjoying wonderful meals and of course PIES from there the last time we visited. Our favorite pie from them is their Pineapple Mac Nut pie. The filling is made with delicious fresh pineapple of course, and the topping has an incredible oatmeal macadamia nut crumble. Now, I could go on and on about all the wonderful pies in their pastry case, not to mention all of their menu items. Their Olowalu Lime Pie, Chocolate Haupia Pie, …there really isn’t one that’s not delicious. But the Pineapple Mac Nut pie is special. On our first visit to Leoda’s, I stupidly passed it over. My thought was, I’ve been enjoying Hawaiian pineapples all week, and macadamia nuts too, let’s try something else. Boy was I wrong! My husband in his infinite wisdom decided to give this pie a try, and after I had a bite, he practically had to wrestle it back from me! This pie, is so much more than the sum of it’s parts. The combination of the fresh, juicy, sweet pineapple and the crumble with the crunchy toasted oats and macadamia nuts , pure heaven.

Of course, when we returned home to the mainland, I knew I had to try to recreate it. That way I could whip up a taste of Maui whenever my heart longed for it. When I first set out to do this, I did what I always do, google search it to see if someone else has already done the heavy lifting for me, and I could just use their recipe. Happily I was successful, as is often the case. After all, if I was in love with this pie, I was certain there was someone else on the internet that not only agreed that Leoda’s Pineapple Mac Nut pie was spectacular, but that they too had to recreate it. It was a great recipe and I made it several times since our visit to Maui. Sadly, I didn’t bother to print it, and when I looked for the recipe, now five years later, alas, the blog is no longer, the recipe gone with it.

Back to square one. I thought, I’ve made many pies since our visit to Maui, my pie making skills have grown, and today, with some experimentation, I’m happy to offer my version, created from my memories of Leoda’s pie and what I could remember from the blog post that has disappeared. I made it into a whole 9 inch pie, rather than the individual portions that we had at Leoda’s. Certainly, it’s not exactly like Leoda’s,(yet), but a close facsimile that takes us back to the tropical paradise and those memories of a great trip. So, until we can get out there again for the real thing, here’s my version…

Pineapple Macadamia Nut Pie

Ingredients:

• For the filling:
  • 1 fresh ripe pineapple
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• For the crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter cold
  • ice water
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• For the crumble topping:
  • 3/4 cup raw macadamia nuts
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 6 tablespooons butter

Procedure:

Prepare the crust:

Add 3/4 cup of the flour, salt and sugar to the food processor. Pulse a few times to mix ingredients. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to food processor. Pulse a few times until butter is cut into the flour. Add egg yolk to measuring cup and add enough ice water to make 1/4 cup. Add remaining flour and egg yolk mixture to food processor and pulse a few times to mix together. Do not over process, only pulse enough so that the ingredients are distributed evenly and mixture looks the same throughout. Mixture should be crumbly. Gather mixture and place in ziploc bag or wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling:

While the dough is chilling, chop the pineapple into bite sized pieces and add to large saucepan. Add cornstarch , lemon juice and sugar and turn on medium heat. Cook until sugar and cornstarch dissolve and fruit looks glossy. Set aside.

Prepare the crumble:

Add all ingredients all ingredients except nuts and oats to food processor. Pulse to mix thoroughly. Add nuts and oats and pulse briefly to chop nuts. Do not over process. Leave nuts coarsely chopped, with small and large pieces.

Parbake pie crust:

After the dough is chilled, roll it out into a large circle and place into pie pan. Flute edges. Place pie crust in freezer and preheat oven to 375 degrees. When the oven is heated, place pie shield on crust edges (or wrap in foil), place a sheet of parchment in the middle of the pie crust and and pie weights (ceramic, or beans, or rice). Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully remove pie weights, prick crust with a fork, and return to oven for 15 more minutes.

Assemble the pie:

After parbaking crust, add pineapple filling and crumble to top and return to oven and bake for another 35-40 minutes. If crumble browns too quickly tent with foil.

Cool for at least 90 minutes before serving. The pie will make neater slices if cooled for several hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.