According to my lovely wife, with whom I am about to celebrate eight years of mostly happy-occasionally stubborn marriage, there are some very questionable Google results out there if you were to search for the words "pixie pie" on the interwebs. I'm just gonna take her word for it, and perhaps try to lessen anyone's chance of coming across any, by writing this review here of Trader Joe's Sweet Potato & Marshmallow Pixie Pie Mix.
Mmm...pixie pie...I never heard of it. What is it?
Well, can't find out without doing that web search. Oh well.
Anyways, we'll go with the box description, which says something to the effect of "magical treat" and "little pick me up" and all that jazz. Sounds good. We'll go with that.
Unlike our last baking expedition, I didn't help this time around, but from what I hear, it's simple enough to make. Inside the box are three mix packets: one for crust, one for potato filling, one for marshmallow fluff, Good lord, there's a lot of marshmallow, almost like a cross between the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a crime scene. All you need to add is a little butter and "maybe" a little water and an egg, follow the simple instructions, and voila, in about half an hour's time....it's pixie pie time!
It's a really tasty dessert. Boasting a classic graham cracker crust, the shell gets rigid and buttery and solid actually surprisingly well. All the better to hold all the gooey innards, I'd say. The sweet potatoes get warm and smooshy and offer so, so much comfort vibe with some brown sugary goodness, it's almost off the charts. And those marshmallows...I swear. Sandy said she put in less than half the packet. I almost can't believe that, because of how well the fluff covered and caramelized on top, while switching up layers and selfblending with the potato portion. All that gives up a sugary binge that verges on being overwhelming before melding well with the other tastes of the pie.
Altogether, the pie tastes something like a blondie, and has a not-quite-brownie, not-quite-usual-pie feel. It might be worth a shot to throw in some chopped pecans to approximate a pecan pie, if that's your thing. Actually, if there was some way to Frankenstein together this pie with those maple pecan bites from a few weeks back, there might be the most perfect dessert ever! Even as is, the pie is pretty rich and fairly decadent - take too big a piece, you'll want a nap.
Needless to say, the pie is a total, complete, ineffable calorie bomb. That's our biggest thing. Like, eat a slice, and it's salad for the next three days. Sandy, the more healthy bean-counter out of us, has no other complaints than that, and in act of solidarity, me neither. Darn good dessert, and for only $2.99! Nice! Matching fours.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Sweet Potato & Marshmallow Pixie Pie Mix: 8 out of 10 Golden Spoons
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1 day ago
I like how TJ's allows customers to be flexible with the marshmallow packet. Can bake the pie without the marshmallow topping then ice it after baking. Brown for a bit. YUM!
ReplyDeleteSounds yummy but the sugar content per serving is outrageous. I am certainly no health nut but 59 grams of sugar per serving?! That is almost 15 teaspoons of sugar!!!! Yikes.
ReplyDeleteI just had this the very afternoon this review was posted, though I am just seeing it now. A friend baked it up when I was visiting. She didn't read the directions carefully and rather than baking the crust first as you're supposed to, she just dumped it all in at once. Then partway through she opened the marshmallow goo packet and told me it just plopped out in a lump so it ended up being baked into it instead of drizzled on top. For all that, I thought it was delicious and had that good brownie-like crispy-but-chewy crust around the edges. Yes, super sweet but really nice and tasty.
ReplyDeleteI brought one of these to Thanksgiving dinner, and am so glad that I'd made three other desserts as well.
ReplyDeleteThose of us who tasted the Pixie pie did not go back for a second bite. All of us found it too sweet, and pretty vile all around.
I loved the Maple Pecan bars, and would do those again in a heartbeat, but the remaining boxes I bought are going back for a refund, plus going to ask for a refund on the one I baked and we ended up throwing away.
But....different strokes for different folks, right? I've made a real sweet potato pie before from real sweet potatoes, and this was nothing like the real deal. Very artificial tasting, wayyy too much nutmeg, and I started to see red flags when the sweet potato filling was powder to be reconstituted.
OMG!! It freakin awesome! Very sweet and that helps with portion control! LOL
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