March 14 is National Pi Day. Actually, you would know it better if we said it was 3.14! The earliest known official or large-scale celebration of Pi Day was organized by Larry Shaw in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium where Shaw worked as a physicist. Staff and the public marched around circular spaces then consumed fruit pie!
Pi is a mathematical constant, originally defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter and, in its entirety, is represented by 3.14159265359 plus about another trillion digits. For most of us, though, 3.14 suffices. March 14th is also the birth date of the great Albert Einstein.
But how can we celebrate National Pi Day? Surely we aren’t going to run around measuring circles, right?
Pie, Pie and More Pie!
Remember, Pi is defined as the ratio of a CIRCLE’S circumference to its diameter, so the best possible way to celebrate is with a CIRCLE, right? And the best circles can be found in PIE! Here are a few sure fire pie and pie-shaped recipes you can make to share or swap with your pi-(or pie-) loving friends:
Nutella Pie Pops
These are so easy to make that you can do them with your kids while they are doing their homework (geometry, of course, it is Pi Day, after all 😊)
Start with regular pastry or a package of frozen puff pastry, thawed. Roll it our on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a scalloped cutter or you can even use just a glass with the rim size (circumference, remember???) you need. Place rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add a hefty spoonful of Nutella, place a lollipop stick in the middle, brush the edges with a little milk, cover with another piece of the cut-out pastry, brush with a little more milk to be sure the pieces stay adhered, use a fork to crimp the edges, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Poke a hole in each of the pops, then bake in a preheated 375° oven for 20-25 minutes or until the pops are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes then enjoy!
Almost No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Extra whipped cream and chopped peanuts, for garnish, optional
Directions:
- Combine 1 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter or margarine; press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Cool.
- In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Whip the cream, and fold into the peanut butter mixture.
- Gently spoon filing into crust. Refrigerate. Top with whipped cream and chopped peanuts for garnish. Serve immediately.
Round isn’t just for dessert pies, though!
Celebrate with pizza, chicken pot pie, quiche or any round edible. But be sure to share. And remember that any pie will taste better if you clean your tongue daily with your TUNG Brush and Gel.
Finally, just for fun, how about seeing who can recite the most numbers in Pi? No one expects anyone to get all trillion in one sitting, but how about trying to beat the all time record held by Daniel Tammet who, on 3/14/2004, recited 22,514 digits of Pi in five hours!!
