Today’s recipe is an old family favorite and one I don’t make often enough. It’s called Millionaire Pie, and I first tried it years ago at a cafeteria here in Texas. I like to play around with the recipe and prepare it various ways, but today I made the traditional version with crushed pineapple, sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping and a sprinkling of pecans. I also used cheated a little and used a shortbread flavored Keebler crust I’d stashed in the deep freeze. Homemade crusts are better, but this was the perfect size for making a small pie.
Truth be told, I did make one other tiny change and will have to amend this post after we cut into the pie. It’s not a necessary step, as Millionaire Pie seems to hold together on its own, but for this pie I dissolved a teaspoon of plain gelatin in the lemon juice and pineapple. I’m not adding it to the recipe unless it really enhances the hold-together-ability of this pie.
UPDATE: The gelatin experiment worked perfectly! If you’d like to use gelatin in the pie for a cleaner, stiffer pie, try this: Put the lemon juice and pineapple juice in a small custard cup. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of gelatin over the top and let it sit for 5 minutes to soften. Microwave for about 20 seconds or *just* until the water starts to boil. Stir to dissolve the gelatin. Let it cool slightly. Stir the gelatin juice mixture into the condensed milk and proceed with recipe. If you’re making two pies, use 2 teaspoons of gelatin.
Millionaire Pie
1 store-bought pastry shell (such as a Keebler crust)
1 tablespoon lemon juice plus 1 tablespoon of pineapple juice
7 oz (half a 14 oz can) of sweetened condensed milk**
A little more than half of a drained 20 oz can of pineapple
1/4 cup drained, chopped, Maraschino cherries
Most of an 8 oz tub of Cool Whip, thawed
Some toasted pecans and stemmed cherries for the top.
Prepare the pie shell as directed on the package. In a bowl, mix together lemon juice, condensed milk, pineapple, and chopped cherries. Fold in the whipped topping. Spoon it all into a pie shell and chill for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle with toasted pecans and if you have some, stemmed cherries.
**You can use the rest of the can to make Magic Cookie Bars!
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this pie….sounds good!
Looks delicious! Thanks for the tip about using gelatin. I make a Key Lime pie that occasionally is a little soupy. Next time I’ll grab the Knox.
This is very interesting – I’ve never seen anything like this! Sounds like a refreshing summer pie!
Can I be honest? I love sweetened condensed milk!!! We have a similar pie except with strawberries, mandarin oranges, and pineapple instead of cherries. So good!
I like cool whip pies with fruit and nuts. I’ve never heard of this pie..it looks creamy and delicious. Did it hold its shape when cut? I wonder why it is called millionaire?
I remember this one, I loved it when I was younger. We also made a strawberry version that was tasty too. Our recipe made two pies, not just one, so it’s great to make and share.
Our version had the standard graham cracker crust.
I’ve never had this pie before. Add it to the list.