Have you ever heard the saying “good things come in small packages”? From a taste point of view this could certainly be said to be true of McDonald’s Holiday Pie. Think of a parcel of crisp and crumbly pastry surrounding an oozy custard like filling, when served hot with a cup of coffee a McDonald’s Holiday Pie is a real treat. Aside from crumbs the main problem with eating one is that you have to balance impatience to taste it, with the risk of burning your mouth, so be careful.
There is one other problem with McDonald’s Holiday Pie, and you may have already guessed it based on the name of this dessert… It isn’t available all year round. McDonalds are very secretive about when they release each batch, but that’s fine by us, as we’ve developed our very own McDonald’s Holiday Pie copycat recipe, which we are going to share with you today.
How To Make McDonald’s Holiday Pie
As you know with McDonald’s, their recipes normally involve one or two ‘secrets’ that can change the end product significantly. This recipe is no exception. There are one or two ‘extra’ things that you need to do to ensure that your McDonald’s Holiday Pie recipe is as close to the real thing as possible. Fortunately, most of these steps take place during the preparation stage, but they can take a little time. So, if you want to whip up a batch, it pays to plan a little in advance.
The first stage involves careful management of temperature, and we aren’t referring to your oven. In order to get flaky crisp pastry that is an exact copy of McDonald’s Holiday Pie you will need to chill your dried ingredients, and also the oil that you will use in the pastry. If you have ever made ‘puff pastry’ you’ll know that the ‘flake’ effect comes from not handling it too much and keeping the ingredients cold. This is the same reason we do so in this recipe.
The filling itself isn’t too difficult, and we were surprised at just how easy it was to make our authentic McDonald’s Holiday Pie recipe. The use of sprinkles is an easy additional touch for both the filling and the pastry, however aside from a hint more sweetness and a tiny bit of texture, it won’t influence your end result too much, so if you haven’t got any, don’t worry. You can just as easily substitute the sprinkles. Just use equal quantities of coarse brown sugar instead.
The pastry is unleavened so there will be little rise when baked. You may notice that egg is included in this recipe. It is included merely as a glaze for your pastry. When beaten egg is baked it eventually turns a lovely golden-brown color, but does not add any real taste. If you don’t have eggs you will still be able to make this recipe. In a pinch, you can brush melted butter onto your pastry to achieve the same effect, or even use milk. The result will be slightly paler. In fact, you can forgo the glaze all together if you really have to. Your pastry may look slightly anemic, but should taste the same, so just close your eyes and bite into custardy heaven.
McDonald’s Holiday Pie
4 from 295 votes
Recipe by Laura Ritterman Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings
10
servings
Prep time
20
minutes
Cooking time
15
minutes
Calories
330
kcal
McDonald’s Holiday Pie is certain to fill you with happy memories. Waiting in anticipation for this to reappear on their menu is frustrating so why not learn how to make this holiday pie yourself at home.
Ingredients
- To Make The Crust
1 1/2 cups 1 1/2 of wholegrain flour
1 1/2 cups 1 1/2 of white flour
1/2 cup 1/2 of cooking oil (sunflower or vegetable oil is perfect)
1 generous pinch of salt
180 ml 180 cold water
2 tablespoons 2 granulated sugar
- To make the filling
1 (3.4 oz) Jell-O instant vanilla pudding
450 ml 450 skim milk
1/4 cup 1/4 Pillsbury yellow cake mix
1/3 cup 1/3 jimmies cake sprinkles
- Pastry Garnish
1 large egg beaten
2 tablespoons 2 of cake sprinkles
Directions
- Making the crust
- Take a medium sized bowl (small enough to fit in the freezer compartment) and add the flour salt and sugar. Mix with a spoon or whisk and place in the freezer until completely cold, this normally takes around an hour.
- Place your oil in a small dish and place in the freezer at the same time. Whilst you are waiting preheat your oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove both oil and flour mix from the freezer and little bit little, add the oil to the flour whilst stirring constantly, the end result should look similar to crumbly, ragged bread crumbs. Then, a quarter at a time, add your water and stir until you have a smooth dough.
- Making the filling
- In a separate bowl add your milk and then, whilst constantly stirring, add the pudding mix. Once it has dissolved add the yellow cake mix. If using, add the sprinkles also.
- Making McDonald’s Holiday Pies
- With a rolling pin and on a lightly floured surface, roll your dough as thin as you can, avoid handling the dough too much with your hands or it will get warm.
- Once the dough is flat and uniform in thickness, cut into rectangles that are twice as long as they are wide. Divide the rectangles into two piles, one pile will be the bottom, the other the top.
- Spoon your filling into the center of each rectangle, leaving a gap around the edges. Brush the exposed edges with a little water. Once this is complete take another rectangle from your ‘top’ pile and place over the filling. Seal the edges with a fork and make a small hole in the top of each Pie to allow steam to vent, and to prevent them from spilling their contents all over the oven.
- Brush the top of the Pie with your beaten egg and then dust with the sprinkles until you are happy with the appearance.
- Bake the Pies on a baking sheet for around 15-20 mins, you will know when they are done as they will turn golden brown.
- Serve and enjoy, mind your fingers!
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Conclusion
Although this is a recipe that requires a bit of time once you know how to make McDonald’s Holiday Pie at home, you will probably be able to speed the process up, as we guarantee you will be making them more than once. The key is managing the temperature of your ingredients and being organized. When it comes to assembling the Pies, get a little production line going, you could even get a few helpers involved.
Related
Laura Ritterman
Hi, I’m Laura and having studied an MSc in Nutrition, becoming a professional chef and appearing on major publications with my recipes I decided to create a website of my own. This website is where I share unique recipes, tips and cooking inspiration that will allow your culinary skills flourish. You can contact me here. For more information, you can find more about me.
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One Comment
-
Enida
October 24, 2020 at 9:58 pm ·Reply
Hi I’m super excited to make this recipe, can I use whole wheat instead of whole grain flour?
Leave a Comment
Laura Ritterman
Hi, I’m Laura and I love fashion, my kids, but lets not forget the flavors in life. I’m a food enthusiast living in the United States, a wife and a mom to my two beautiful kids.
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