Cinnamon Dolce Latte Pie

The word “dessert” comes from the Old French word, “desservir.”  It means to “clear the table, and serve.”  And before sugar began to be manufactured, dessert was merely honeycomb and dried dates.  But for a long time, dessert was only served in the presence of the wealthy and even then it was only on special occasions that people got to indulge.  Why?  Because the price of sugar was so expensive that it could not be wasted or taken for granted.

Growing up, we took road trips to visit friends and family all over the country.  My parents were teachers with the summers off, so my sister and I piled into the car with them and we traveled.  There were long trips, hot trips, short trips, and trips where the suitcases that were strapped to the top of the roof were rained on.  But no matter what, we kept going.  My dad has always said it’s  important to show up for people, to travel to them, to show them that you care about them and their lives.  And so we went.

And we now live in an age where we are busy and don’t have time, traveling costs money and we don’t have any.  But we also live in an age where we have a cornucopia of options to connect with people.  Facebook, twitter, instagram, email, snail mail, face-time…need I go on?  So we are given ways of showing up for people, even when we can’t be by their side.  It’s absolutely is a poor substitute, but it will do until we mark our calendars and save our time to go and see people, to show up for them, and to show them that we care.

But lately, I keep seeing posts, tweets, and other ways of communicating that are negative, puts others down, and just downright take friendships for granted by treating others with little to no respect. I fear that we are not clearing our tables and serving others.

Sugar used to be something that was costly-not wasted, and savored and treated as special, but has now become a mere lump in our coffee or a bit of a cookie that we didn’t bother to finish.  I fear that all too often we are treating each other as such.  Not you?  Kudos. You are a better man than me.  But for me, I want to take each friendship in, and savor it.  I want to actually get to know those that I converse with on twitter and read their blogs, and I want to show up for those people that have been there for me in my life.  Because friends are worth too much to take for granted.

The apples were because first I was going to make it be a cinnamon apple pie, but it failed. Pretty picture though!

Which is why I’ve decided to give up sweets except for once a week.  I’m on a quest to remind myself to savor the sweet things in life. Once a week to sit down, and actually savor and enjoy the dessert that I took the time to make and to decorate.  And sit with my husband, and take our time as we savor each bite.  And this pie was my dessert last week, which I feel is a very appropriate reminder to be kind, to show up for people and to cherish friends.  Because sharing a cup of coffee is one of my favorite things to do with those that I love.

And in the spirit of truly getting to know you better, I’m dying to know:

Who did you most recently have coffee with?  or Who do you love having coffee with the most?

Let’s spread the love.

(Recipe heavily adapted from Nestle)

Cinnamon Dolce Latte Pie

Ingredients:

1 pre-maid graham cracker pie crust

2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, divided

1 bag cinnamon chips

2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

1 tablespoon instant coffee (my coffee was REALLY strong, so add more or start with less depending on how strong your coffee is)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to according to the instructions found on your pie crust. Cover bottom of pie crust with a single layer of cinnamon chips. Pour one tablespoon of the sweetened condensed milk onto chips. Bake according to package instructions. While baking, put the rest of the cinnamon chips (minus a few for garnish) plus 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream into microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir. Repeat until chips are completely melted and whipping cream and melted chips are uniform. Remove pie crust from oven, and pour mixture into pie crust. Let cool in fridge overnight.

Right before serving, combine the rest of the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and instant coffee into mixing bowl with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium to high speed until fluffy and sugar is dissolved. The whipped cream with turn coffee-colored. Put fresh whipped cream on top of chilled pie, add the second tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon chips for garnish. Serve and enjoy,