Orange and Cream Pie (no bake filling)

I must get a kick of energy around the end of year/New Years time because I've posted a lot of great recipes I've made over the years. Not just sweet desserts (apple pie, salted caramel apple cheesecake pie, cheesecake with passionfruit sauce, chocolate French silk pie, pumpkin cupcakes) but also a lot of savory dishes (regular and a sausage/mushroom stuffing, turkey, dinner rolls, stuffed mushrooms, and mashed potatoes and Riesling gravy). Not surprisingly, many of these recipes came from one giant meal I made from scratch for 14 of my grad school classmates back in 2009! 

I realize Thanksgiving is done, but if you're looking for a really simple and flavorful pie, this one might be right up your alley. But only if you're a fan of dreamsickle!

It's a simple graham cracker crust (quickly baked) with a custardy and tangy filling, all topped with pillowey whipped cream. Luckily it's citrus season right now, so this is a perfect dessert to highlight the delicious oranges you can find this time of year. 

Yours in hoping for a delicious 2023,
Jacqueline

Orange and Cream Pie, from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

Crust
1 2/3 cup crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
dash of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP melted butter

Filling
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 TBSP cornstarch
1 TBSP orange zest
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cut into cubes
1 cup sour cream

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Make the crust. In a medium sized bow, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter until evenly moistened. Press into a 9-inch pie plate. Place the plate on top of a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 10-13 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool before filling.
   
   
2. Make the filling. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, orange juice, yolks, and milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. 
   Add butter and stir until melted. Cool the mixture for 15 minutes, then add the sour cream. Stir to incorporate.
3. Pour into cool pie crust and chill for 3 hours. (Cover your pie if you don't want a skin to form on top of the pie.) 
   
   
4. Finish the pie. Before serving, whip up the cream, adding a few tablespoons of powdered sugar if you’d like, then spoon on top of the orange filling. If you want to top the pie a while before serving I'd recommend making a stabilized whipped cream topping (with gelatin to prevent weeping of the cream, like this recipe). 
5. I decorated with some blueberries and thinly sliced orange zest, but if you want to jazz it up that's up to you!