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The winter holiday season is the time of year many people look forward to for many reasons: gifts, festive music, family gatherings, Christmas movies. One vastly important part of the holiday season as well is the passing on of family recipes and stories. Many students at FHN have shared their family stories and secret recipes for the holiday season. These recipes hold memories and significance to them and their families. These students have decided to share their fun-filled, interesting, sad or anywhere-in-between stories and recipes. 

Sophomore Alyssa Seville has a fun family tradition that she and her dad do every year for the holidays: making pies.

“My family makes pies every year, either for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or both,” Seville said. “Usually it’s chocolate or coconut pie… I really like making this recipe with my dad because my dad and I are really close and it’s just fun to get to hang out with him while making this recipe.”

Seville and her father have been making these pies for family events for years, and have made it a tradition brought into any holiday family party. Seville recalls the process for making these delicious holiday treats. 

“My dad usually makes these pies as a tradition every year, and a lot of people in my family really like pie,” Seville said. “The first time making this recipe, my dad was making them and asked me to help him. He does most of the work and I do mostly filling.”

As with most family traditions, there is a story to go along with it all. Seville talks about how her father, in a previous year, had dropped the family pie leading to a side-tradition of deciding who holds the pie on the way to a family gathering. 

“One thing that’s annoying is that someone has to hold them in the car, and I’m so scared that we would drop the pie, because before a holiday event one year, my dad dropped a pie and we didn’t have any left.”

INGREDIENTS: 

CRUST

 1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 graham crackers)

 1/4 cup brown sugar

 6 tbsp unsalted melted butter

FILLING

 two 3.4 oz (or 3.9) instant chocolate pudding mix

 3 cups heavy cream

 1 container cool whip (8 oz) thawed

TOPPING

 1 cup heavy cream

 1/4 cup powdered sugar

 1 tsp vanilla extract

STEPS: 

1. In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine the pudding mix and heavy cream with an electric mixer until well blended. You will NOT prepare the pudding mix as directed on the box. The mixture will be very thick. 
2. Add the cool whip and mix on low until combined. Spread this mixture over the crust. Once you add in the cool whip, the mixture will become more creamy and fluffy.  Cover the pie pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4-8 hours. 

TOPPING: 

1. Before serving the pie – place a metal or glass mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove the bowl from the freezer. Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat with an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form / it’s scoop-able with a spoon and holds its shape.
3. Spoon onto the pie, and make optional mounds on the top of the pie for decoration.