Kool Aid Pie

You know the feeling of being instantly transported into childhood by taking one bite of something? It's this experience that motivates us to get creative with our desserts. While nostalgia for our grandparents involved things like classic lard-and-buttermilk biscuits and heirloom peas canned in large Mason jars, we find just as much nostalgia in the commercial flavors that inundated our youth—from rainbow sprinkles in a confetti cake to the sugary cereals our mothers rarely let us eat. If you have kids, you know the fun of sharing some of the things that you loved as a child with your little ones, be it an Oreo cookie or a candy bar. For us, the flavor of Kool Aid Tropical Punch tastes unmistakably of warm childhood summers in the South. Since the drink mix is made to be mixed into large quantities of water, it's incredibly concentrated in flavor. When one packet of the drink mix is added to other neutral ingredients, its own flavor and color takes over. Our Kool Aid Pie recipe takes one packet of Kool Aid Tropical Punch Drink Mix and stirs it into sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping. Once the filling becomes bright red, it's poured directly into a store-bought graham cracker crust. The filling sets and makes for a sweet and nostalgic pie after just a few hours in the refrigerator.