The Vintage Summer Pie Made With A Sweet Nostalgic Drink

Pie is big in America. In fact, we even have a phrase that's used to describe something inherently American; said item is claimed to be "as American as apple pie." We love pie so much in this country that, throughout our history, resourceful citizens have even found ways to make pies out of some rather unusual ingredients. Water pie, vinegar pie, and peanut pie are among the old-school pie flavors that have largely been forgotten. As it turns out, someone, somewhere even made a pie out of Kool-Aid. It's sweet and cold and surprisingly refreshing, just like the beverage itself. Perhaps the best part is that there is no baking required, furthering its appeal in the warm summer months.

Kool-Aid pie can come together with just four ingredients: a packet of your preferred flavor of Kool-Aid, a ready-made graham cracker pie crust, sweetened condensed milk (which you can easily make at home), and a container of whipped topping, like Cool-Whip. The Kool-Aid and condensed milk are combined, after which you fold the whipped topping into the mixture. Spread this into your pie crust, chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours, slice, and serve. It's a soft, creamy, fruity pie that's a hit with kids, or kids at heart.

It appears that the earliest known reference to Kool-Aid pie was printed in a 1974 edition of the Chicago Defender newspaper. Florence Somerville (the publication's food editor at the time) mentioned the sweet treat in a column. Her recipe called for evaporated milk, sugar, Kool-Aid mix, and a prepared pie crust. Suddenly, around 2009, Google searches for the pie dramatically increased, particularly in the southern states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia. Today, you can find countless recipes for the pie on the internet. Fans appear to love the variety of flavors (although, there are some you can no longer make due to discontinued flavors of Kool-Aid), the no-bake factor, and the array of fun colors the pie can be.

The basic preparation described above couldn't be easier, but there are several variations you can make to make the pie more flavorful and interesting. Some people add citrus zest and juice to the filling; many also include softened cream cheese to the filling mixture to give the pie extra creaminess and a pleasant tang; and you can add chopped fruit for texture and to compliment the Kool-Aid flavor you are using. Another idea is to make mini pies or tarts by using smaller graham cracker crusts or tart shells. Presentation in these would be slightly more elegant, especially if you included a fresh mint and fruit garnish on top of each.