2020 Dumpster Fire Pie

By
Heather Ramsdell
Heather Ramsdell
Heather Ramsdell

Heather Ramsdell was a Senior Editorial Director for The Spruce Eats, where she led the editorial team to create recipes, tell stories, and help people cook and learn about food.

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Updated on 02/5/23
Dumpster Fire Pie

Kristina Vanni

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Chill Time:: 2 hrs 20 mins
Total: 2 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 8 slices
Yield: 1 pie
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
525 Calories
25g Fat
74g Carbs
7g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 525
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 13g 65%
Cholesterol 26mg 9%
Sodium 258mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 74g 27%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 50g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 3mg 14%
Calcium 91mg 7%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 312mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This is a pie to celebrate the end of a year that we'd rather forget. It is an easy cookie crust, and has layers of creamy banana pudding, actual bananas, and it's stuffed with chocolate peanut butter cups and crunchy malted milk balls. We top the whole thing with blobs of marshmallow and torch it like huge s'mores. This pie is sweet, with creamy, crunchy, fluffy and gooey textures. The bitterness of the charred and smoldering marshmallow simultaneously represents the ridiculous difficulties of this year, and actually helps balance the sweetness of the marshmallow topping.

It is an easy pie to make, coming together in about 15 minutes. If you do not have a kitchen torch, use your broiler to toast the marshmallow. Just use a metal pie tin, and not a glass one, and put the pie on a sheet pan to catch drips. Preheat the broiler and then slide your pie under it so it's about 4 inches from the heat source. Watch it closely for the entire minute or two until the marshmallows are golden brown but not on fire.

1:35

2020 Dumpster Fire Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies

  • 2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

  • 2 medium bananas, sliced

  • 8 peanut butter cups (such as Reese's)

  • 1/2 cup chocolate-covered malted milk balls (such as Whoppers)

  • 1 (3.4-ounce) package banana instant pudding

  • 1 cup cold milk

  • 1 1/2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

For the Topping:

  • 2 to 3 cups marshmallow spread (such as Fluff)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 30 seconds while singing happy birthday to yourself twice.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed vanilla wafer cookies and melted butter.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  3. Press the moistened cookie crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Lock down and refrigerate 10 minutes to firm.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  4. In a large bowl, whisk pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes, the mixture will be thick.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  5. Fold in the whipped topping.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  6. Cover the bottom of the crust with a mask of 1 sliced banana.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  7. Top with 1/3 of the banana pudding filling.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  8. Follow proper PPE protocol and cover with a layer of peanut butter cups and chocolate covered malted milk balls.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  9. Top with another 1/3 of the banana pudding filling.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  10. Slice the second banana and layer on top of the filling.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  11. Spoon the remaining 1/3 of the banana pudding filling over pie and socially distance in the refrigerator to set, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, hum several refrains of Auld Lang Syne.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  12. When ready to serve, dollop the top of the pie with marshmallow fluff until completely covered.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

  13. Light a butane kitchen torch and move it around to toast the marshmallow peaks all over the pie. Blow out the pie if it happens to catch on fire. Stay at home and enjoy with friends over Zoom. Serve with a fork and eat your feelings directly from the pie pan. Note: This recipe is vegetarian but not vegan.

    Dumpster Fire Pie

    Kristina Vanni

Recipe Variations

  • Crust: Instead of vanilla wafers, substitute graham crackers, ginger snaps, chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate sandwich cookies.
  • Pudding: Substitute chocolate or vanilla pudding instead of banana.
  • Candy: Go to town with candy substitutes and add whatever you like, such as equal amounts of mini snickers, twix, rolos, pop rocks, or ferrer roche.
  • Topping: Use standard marshmallows instead of fluff, or simply smooth the top of the pie and cover with 1/2 cup granulated sugar then brulee with a torch.