Millionaire Pie (+Video)

Nearly all no bake pies are soft set. They don’t get super stiff like a baked cheesecake so bear that in mind.
Now, there are three possible reasons why your pie didn’t set up well. You didn’t use the lemon juice because maybe you thought you didn’t need it or it would make it tart. When you initially assemble it, the mixture may appear quite loose. However, the addition of freshly squeezed lemon juice is crucial as it aids in thickening it to the proper consistency. Also, use fresh squeezed lemon juice. The bottled stuff has a funky taste that may throw off the taste of your pie. Secondly, you just gotta give it time to set up (as with most no bake pies). There is no skipping that part. It needs a minimum of 4 hours but ideally overnight is best. Finally, you did not drain the pineapple well enough. It’s super important you squeeze as much juice out of that pineapple is possible so the extra juice doesn’t prevent the pie from setting up (see next question).

Properly draining the pineapple is crucial to avoid excessive moisture and making the pie too runny. You can do this by using a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth to gently ring it out. Alternatively, pressing the pineapple into a fine mesh strainer with a spatula will help remove any excess juice.

This Millionaire Pie would be phenomenal served as a frozen pie. The Cool Whip really helps bring that delicious texture.

If you wish to use the graham cracker crust that includes an additional two servings, you certainly can. However, just know that the pie may not be as thick as it would be if you used the smaller pie crust. It’ll still be yummy though.

Yes but keep in mind that the coconut also helps to thicken up this pie. It holds that filling up a bit (if that makes sense) so removing the coconut removes a bit of the structure. If you like coconut but don’t necessarily like the texture, try toasting the coconut first. This makes it a bit more crunchy which for some people, who don’t normally enjoy coconut, tend to prefer.

The more substitutions you make to any recipe, the further you get away from the proper taste and texture it is supposed to have. You also remove that pretty pink color that the maraschino cherries give it. Like I said with the coconut above, when you remove the cherries, you are also removing some of the structure of the pie. WIth no-bake pies, there is no heat that sets the pie up so you are relying on filling ingredients to provide that. So yes, you can remove the cherries but you may not get the results you were expecting.

I only add these questions here, because inevitably, I get a ton of questions regarding any recipe that uses coconut, cherries or pecans because someone (or their hubby) doesn’t like them. Ideally I would tell you to just not make a recipe if it has a few ingredients you just don’t like. It just becomes so far from the original recipe that I just can’t vouch for it anymore and then someone gets upset with me because it didn’t turn out right. You can leave the nuts out but if you are also leaving out the coconut and/or cherries, I would say no. That would be too many ingredients being removed and it just won’t work. You can however substitute with another kind of nut you may enjoy.

Leftover pie can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to a week. Or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.