As the recipe details, you can make this simple fruit pie formula with any number of fruit-and-gelatin combinations, but based on the photo from the recipe book, I wanted to make the peach version. Of course, instead of orange Jell-O, I used beef gelatin with a combination of peach nectar and the syrup from the peach cans to make it extra peachy.
I already had a frozen pastry crust in the freezer, so I decided to use that. Since the recipe is not terribly specific about ingredient quantities, I cut up two cans of peach halves (though two cans of peach slices would have been easier, I know), reserving the syrup. If you want to use a deep-dish pie crust, this would be a perfect quantity, but it ended up being too much to fit in my crust. As far as the gelatin goes, I used two-and-a-half teaspoons of gelatin, and that seemed about perfect, and to replace the two cups of water, one can of peach nectar and the syrup from both peach cans ended up being exactly the right quantity.
Other than those ingredient swaps, adding a small quantity of food coloring (five drops of yellow and one drop of red), adding a splash of almond extract, and omitting the extra sugar, I followed the recipe exactly. It was easy to make, and it turned out really nicely, even though I didn't go the extra mile and arrange the peach slices in concentric rings.
One note about gelatin making in general, though. These recipes always call for starting with half boiling liquid and half cold liquid. When you add gelatin to boiling liquid all in one go, it is very easy for it to clump up or get stuck to the bottom of your pan. What I recommend is divide your liquid in half, put half in a saucepan, and then sprinkle your gelatin over top. Let it sit for five minutes or so to give it time to "bloom" or absorb some moisture, then heat the pan up, stirring occasionally. You don't even need to get it to a boil; if it's hot enoughto start to steam, and the gelatin dissolves, you're good to take it off the heat and add the mixture to the cold liquid. This activates the gelatin just fine without risking it clumping, and only heating up half of the liquid then adding it to the cold liquid helps it set faster.
Those ripples on the surface of the gelatin are from the plastic wrap I used to cover the pie as it set. If you had the lid from a cake stand or something similar, that would be ideal to protect the pie from unwanted fridge odors while keeping the surface smooth. Alternately, I guess you could use something like plastic wrap or aluminum foil to mold shapes or patterns into the surface of the gelatin if desired--kind of like shaping scraps of pie crust and arranging them on top of your pie, only with fewer calories!
As I mentioned, the gelatin mixture ended up being too much to fit into one pie crust, so I ended up making three Fruit Cups Unlimited as well.
As far as the quality of the final product goes, I quite enjoyed this dessert. It is light and refreshing, perfect for a summer picnic or cookout, while getting a classic, rich dessert feel from the pie crust. If I could change anything about the way I made it, I would add another splash of almond extract and maybe a tablespoon of honey or sugar to the gelatin just to make it a little more flavorful, though between the peach nectar and the peach syrup, it already has quite a bit of sugar.
The only thing about this recipe that warrants a word of caution is that, while gelatin has a wonderfully long shelf life, gelatin + pie crust does not. During the first day of the gelatin being set, the crust stayed nice and crispy, but after that day it absorbed moisture from the gelatin and softened. My advice is to serve a pie like this at a gathering or event where it will all get eaten in one day instead of making it for just a few people to eat over several days.
Overall, this recipe is a winner. It's simple, sure, but it works, and I can easily see all of the other fruit-and-flavoring combinations working as well. I would be particularly interested in trying something like raspberries in pomegranate juice, or a tropical trio of pineapple chunks (canned, not fresh!) and sliced bananas suspended in coconut milk. For that, I would use something like Jumex Coconut-Pineapple nectar ramped up with a little coconut extract and sugar as the liquid.
Anyway, Fruit Pie Unlimited was a real treat, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, easy, healthy-ish, or cheap dessert.
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