Traveling up the Kona Coast and MacNut Pie

Today is going to be a slow day.  Having little to do other than watching my Gilligan's Islands reruns, I started daydreaming again of a trip back to The Big Island.   When driving from Volcano to Kona the bestie and I stopped at a few places that were highlights and I can't stress enough why random road trip stops are the best.  Along the way we stopped at the Painted Church.  This church was so beautiful I'd consider abandoning my English Garden wedding ideas and hop on a plane to have a small, yet colorful, church wedding in the middle of the Pacific.

The next stop along the way was the Kona Coast Macadamia Nut & Candy Factory.  This was a small building with some displays and a gift shop.  So in the spirit of "shopping local", we grabbed a bag of MacNuts and headed to the next stop ...

The last stop along the way was a bit more deliberate, the Coffee Shack.  Sunset magazine recommended this place and rightfully so.  Everything from the sandwich to the iced Kona coffee to the Mac Nut Pie for dessert was great.  So, today's inspiration comes from the visit to the Mac Nut factory and the Coffee Shack - Mac Nut Pie!

I found a recipe from our good ol' friend Sam Choy's cookbook "Little Hawaiian Cookbook for Big Appetites" that will be tried tonight:

Macadamia Nut Pie

Serves 8

3 Eggs

2/3 Granulated Sugar

1 C Light Corn Syrup 

1 1/2 to 2 C Chopped Mac Nuts

2 Tablespoons melted Butter

1 Teaspoon Vanilla 

1 Unbaked 9 Inch pie Shell

Preheat oven to 325.  Beat eggs with sugar and corn syrup and stir in the Mac nuts.  add butter and vanilla and blend well.  Pour mixture into pie shell.  Bake for 50 minutes or til crust is golden and center is somewhat set.  Test this by shaking the pie gently.  Let cool and chill. 

Wait, what are Haole Brownies?

Holy Moly!  This whole Hawaii obsession is out-of-control.  I came across this recipe from the Kamehameha School District and was intrigued ... I grew up in Tucson and had my list of favorite school meal recipes ... Little Smokies with baked beans, tortillas, and a piece of sheet cake.  Super simple but looking back it was really fun.  So, naturally when I came across a school recipe, I had to try it.  I'm sure somewhere this means something to someone.

Since lord only knows I do not need 48 brownies ... I'm going to half it.   Let's do this!

Haole Brownies Makes 48 2" x 2" brownies 2-1/2 cups brown sugar (packed) 2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2-1/2 sticks (10 oz.) butter or margarine 1 level tablespoon baking powder (double acting) 4 cups all-purpose flour 6 large eggs 1-1/2 cups diced walnuts Cream together brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, butter (or margarine) and baking powder. Add and mix all-purpose flour until incorporated. Add and mix eggs until creamy. Add diced walnuts. Mix on low with paddle for 30 seconds if using KitchenAid-style mixer. If not available, then mix with wooden spoon to incorporate, but if mixing by hand, add eggs before the flour. (A hand held mixer may not be powerful enough for this heavy batter, but try if you like.) DO NOT OVERBEAT! Scrape down sides of bowl and then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes or by spoon for 5 minutes. Grease two 13" x 9" x 2" pans and preheat oven to 375-400 degrees. (Note: If pan sizes are different, pour batter to a maximum of 3/4 of an inch deep.) Divide mix evenly into pans and place on bottom rack and bake. Brownies will rise gradually for about 25 minutes and then flatten.  Wait for 3 minutes after they have flattened completely, then remove from oven and place on rack to cool. When warm to the touch, cut to desired size.  From Kamehameha Food Services:  http://kapalama.ksbe.edu/foodservices/recipes/haole_brownies.html And, as you can see from above I had to sneak a little taste before the rest of the crowd got to it.  Quality Contol.  Well, let's just say, by the time it was time to be served ... The whole top row was gone, vanished.