You know how sometimes a certain thing just reminds you of a person? Every time I see or hear the word snickerdoodle, I think of my friend Denise. The reason is this: that woman makes the best dang snickerdoodle cookies you have ever tasted. So I made her a snickerdoodle pie.

Denise and I have known each other for a long time. I taught her twin sons in kindergarten and later helped tutor them at home. But mostly, we were just great friends. Our kids had fun playing together–our daughters were in kindergarten together–and we liked hanging out. She’s someone I’ll always remember as being trustworthy, kind and giving. Always caring more for others than herself. And that’s rare these days.

The woman can really cook. She’s taught her kids (5 of ’em, and they’re terrific) to cook, too. I never tasted anything from her house that wasn’t delicious.

Denise and her family moved several years ago when her husband changed jobs. Even though I haven’t done a great job of keeping in touch, I sure have missed her. The great news? Facebook has helped us keep up a bit. The even greater news? I’m gonna see her tomorrow! We’re driving up to see my mom, and on a whim, I contacted Denise to see if she’d be home. She will be, so we’re making a stop in North Carolina. We can’t wait to see our old friends and how much their kids have grown. So to celebrate, I looked up a recipe for Snickerdoodle Pie. It goes into a regular crust, except you sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the crust before you put the filling in. This pie recipe was one I found on the internet, so the directions were a little tricky. Lots of ingredients–3 kinds of sugar! After the crust is ready, you mix up a batter-like stuff and put it in the shell, but the BEST part is the syrup that you make to poor on top before you bake it.

The syrup has corn syrup, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. It is super delicious. I resisted licking the pot clean.

You pour the syrup on and bake it for about 45 minutes. Then it has to cool for a couple of hours before you put on the tasty cream cheese glaze.  I had the opportunity to taste the pie this afternoon, because I made two of them. The best thing about tasting the pie is that I got to share an afternoon with my good friend Cheire–who DEFINITELY deserves a pie. She has been my friend for about three years now, and since they don’t really make a trophy for that, I guess a pie will have to do.  She and her two sons came over this afternoon, and Cheire and I ate pie, drank coffee, and talked while our boys played. She declared the Snickerdoodle Pie to be great for breakfast with coffee. We both found it to be very rich. SWEET.

So I guess today’s pies are all about friends. What’s that cheesy, but true Girl Scout rhyme?

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold. 

If that’s the case, my treasure chest is full! I’m so thankful for the good friends in my life. I’ll never be able to thank them for all the love and support they’ve given me. But I can make pie, and I feel blessed to share it with two of those friends in the same week!