That sounds like a custard cake. That's a lot of sugar! You put that much sugar in a taco pie? I make up custard pies and use custard to bind casseroles, but don't use flour in them, and don't sweeten savory dishes. I also make “crustless quiches” with vegetables. On deck today is broccolini. I'm not sure if those are what you're asking about or not. When I looked up impossible pie, it was dessert crustless custard pie with dry (rather than fresh fruit) dessert fillings. I assume the flour is for stabilization and moisture control, given all that sugar. Interesting concept. I never heard of it before. Dave, thanks for the new (to me) thing!

Impossible lemon pie is yummy

ingredients

2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch pie plate.

Combine the milk, sugar, baking mix, butter, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice in a blender. Cover and process on high speed for 15 seconds until smooth.

Pour the lemon filling into the prepared pie plate. Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until set in the middle and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator. Can be served warm or chilled.

Things like these if you want to reduce the sugar you can. They are things that have as many versions as the number of people making them. Someone did one where they substituted brandy for part of the milk but used cream for the rest of it. They dropped some type of jelly or perhaps marmalade into the liquid after it had baked for about 20 minutes.

Leave out the sugar and sweet flavorings. Add bacon or chopped ham or chopped veggies to make a savory pie.

i use lard ... i agree on the sugar thiing.

I therefore amend the above recipe

Amended Base recipe

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (64 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk/low fat milk [I use plain almond milk; I add 1Tbl vinegar to the milk and let it sit 5 min to sour]

I never heard of sweet "impossible" pies, only savory -- but why not :-)

Here is the recipe I use. I never have Bisquick in the house anymore so I looked up substitute ingredients that I always do have around. The recipe is good with any type of veggie, meat or seasoning, you can push it to whatever flavors you like.

I do impossible quiche and it is excellent, made with biscuit.

Does anyone recall the Ritz Cracker Pie that actually tasted like apple pie once it was baked? My mother baked a few of these when we were kids and we sure didn’t ever turn it down. I would call that impossible.

I also recall an impossible coconut pie that sounds similar to the custard pie but had added coconut and was really delicious. It magically seemed to make it’s own crust.

I knew what they were, but had never made one until recently. It's a great way to stretch leftover cooked veggies, and easy to put together fairly quickly. I've made a few now - with mushrooms, onions, spinach, fresh herbs, etc. and whatever cheese I have on hand. I made my own biscuit mix to use in them - with butter instead of shortening.

BettyCrocker.com has a number of impossible pie recipes. This is the one I use, swapping out various ingredients to taste.

Just saw this on the site and now I want to try it 😃

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/impossibly-easy-cheesecake/7828fb89-f535-4746-b6b3-1ce38f63039d

I also do not understand what an "impossible pie" is. If it gets made, it is not impossible.

I've never made anything like these recipes and would like to see photos of the results.

The broccoli pie looks interesting, but I would want to see it before I would make one. The recipe does look a bit like a crustless quiche.

My favorite is the coconut impossible pie. Made it for years

Hm... The Betty Crocker site says ”impossibly easy”.

I had been wondering the purpose of the flour all day (besides selling more Bisquick), but not enough to make one and find out. I was hoping Linda would bring an explanation. A few of these recipes include what OutsidePlaying mentioned, that it makes its own crust. Maybe that's why ”impossible” and why the flour.

Yes, exactly - the 'impossible' part is that you don't have to make a crust, the flour/biscuit mix forms a bottom layer.

Carol, exactly. I think, back in the 50’s or 60’s when the term was maybe first used, most cooks made a crust and a filling separately. This was both impossibly easy and made its own crust which seemed to many impossible to believe.

you put what you want for flavor in your pie plate, then pour the milk, egg flour mixtue on top ... as it bakes, that settles to the bottom make the crust.

sounds impossible, eh?

I never heard of savory "impossible" pies, only sweet. But they sound good, and I have a nice head of broccoli in the fridge . . .

I also want to make Glenda's lemon pie!

This one is my oldest grandson's favorite. (He's 11.)

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

1/2 cup unbleached flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp. butter, softened

2 large eggs

One 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup Silk Protein Almond/Cashew Milk (or substitute evaporated milk)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-in. pie pan with butter and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, gently beat together the sugar, butter, and eggs. Mix in the pumpkin, milk, and vanilla.

Mix in the flour mixture and beat until smooth, then pour into the prepared pie dish. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the center. Allow the pie to cool completely. Pie will be domed in the middle when first removed from the oven, but will settle.

NOTE: Most of the recipes for this pie call for a 12-oz. can of evaporated milk. I don't know how I got away with using only half that amount of Almond-Cashew milk. Maybe because I also use less sugar? I don't know, but the above is how I wrote it in my recipe file. If I have a can of pumpkin puree in the pantry I'll make this tomorrow and will let you know how it turns out. :-)

It sort of reminds me of a brownie recipe that ends up with pudding under the 'cake' as far as the 'impossible'/surprising part goes. This is a new concept for me. A great way to create a quick meal and love that its a way to use leftovers!! Breakfast here we come!!

So my critique: My filling consisted of cherry tomatoes cut in quarters/shredded zucchini/green onions and a variety of cheeses. I used the recipe balanced out for four eggs. I used a 10" deep dish pie plate. It is a DELICIOUS quiche but no crust on the bottom. If I flipped the pieces upside down as is THEN you have a breading on the bottom but no where near "pie crust". Any whoo it's a great breakfast and I will try some others!!

Such a long time ago, brother's gf made impossible zucchini pie and it was tasty. Probably have the recipe somewhere, but various versions are on line too. But I don't like the taste of bisquick and would end up making my own. It has a funny tang to it that I don't like.

arcy, I do savory impossible pies, not sweet, and yours looks exactly like what I'd expect -- not a huge bottom crust, just enough to brown a bit and keep the filling in place as you slice it. Have fun exploring new flavor combinations!

FWIW, the eggs in the four egg version, will keep the bottom together for serving without the flour. This is why “quiche” (quotes for sticklers who think the crust defines the quiche) in a properly oiled dish (because eggs stick by their nature, though some quiches are so swimming in fat they'd be more clinging to a pie dish for dear life than sticking) often parades under the banner of ”we don't need no stinkin’ crust!”

My wild, speculative guess is that Arcy's yummy filling sank better than the flour. When the filling is coconut (floats) or lemon juice, the flour has a better chance to do its thing.

Glenda, thanks for your reminder of recipes of yore. i do appreciate your guiding us to versions you like. i will try the lemon version with the next sack of lemons from my friend.

Arcy's comment about a brownie with pudding reminds me of a colonial recipe from one of those show-farms from the 1700s. I copied the recipe and actually made it several times because the kids koved it. I'll try to find it and post it.

I haven't made one of those "Impossible Pies" for years, and never a sweet one (I am definitely going to try the lemon!) but inspired by the concept I do make vegetable patties and savory vegetable biscuits, baked in the convection toaster oven.

No particular recipe needed - I go by how it looks in the bowl. I dice/shred my vegetable mix of the day, add enough Bisquick to nicely coat all of the pieces, (for patties, add enough more to hold it together, for biscuits enough more to form a biscuit texture); I usually add a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper and also often garlic; maybe a tablespoon or two of grated cheese for flavor; once all tossed and blended together I add just enough liquid (milk, soured milk, or sour cream + water) to make a dough. Doesn't take as much liquid as in the box's biscuit recipe, because the vegetables give up some moisture.

Small spoonfuls (again, because of the moisture in the vegetables) on the cookie sheet. For my toaster oven I bake at 375F for about 10 minutes then turn up to 450f to get a nice golden crust.

I find that I don't need to add salt, Bisquick has enough for my taste buds.

I make a fudge pudding cake that forms a thick chocolate sauce that cools to a pudding consistency, but you make a batter, then mix cocoa and sugar with boiling water and pour that over before baking, and the cake rises to the top as it bakes, leaving the sauce underneath.

WOW! Carol, that sounds like the same recipe I just posted because I couldn't find the one I meant for here. I wonder if it's the same recipe?

Mine is adapted from a long forgotten website - I add mashed bananas and walnuts to the cake batter - it's soooo good!

I use both Bisquick and my homemade baking mix. It’s an easy way to use up leftover bits of meat, vegetables, and cheese.

It doesn’t actually form a a crust. It’s more of an optical illusion. I think the addition of flour along with the eggs bakes up with a browned bottom. Then the edges puff up a bit and usually brown a little more than the top. So, it ”looks” like there is a crust of sorts. Depending on how long you bake it, the texture can be somewhat firmer than a traditional quiche.

It’s a really quick and easy way to put a meal together that looks rather impressive. I’ve made both the pumpkin pie and cheesecake versions. They’re fine if you’re looking for an easy dessert. A dollop of whipped cream, spoonful of fruit, dusting of popwdered sugar, drizzle of maple syrup, and even a scoop of ice cream would make it them something special.

Sounds like we all have the same brownie pudding recipe! It's great for a quick dessert when you needs a little something. I totally agree on the impossible pie being an optical illusion!! I also agree it's a great quick cook to use up left overs. As I think about it I have decided the name is the illusion. "Real me don't' eat quiche' they say but if you call it PIE well I've never met a man who doesn't want pie for dinner!!

I made Glenda's lemon recipe posted above today. I don't know what I did wrong. :/ I used homemade "bisquick" made with white AP flour, table salt and BP, and butter rather than shortening, scanted the sugar a teaspoon or two, and threw in about a half tsp of lemon pulp, none of which should have changed it much. What I got wasn't impossible. It's fine, and about what I expected from Dave's original post, but not impossible. It's a nice, mildly lemony custard, with the sugar drying on top the only thing one might call "crust". I was hungry and ate two pieces! (I love custard.) So I just googled images, and I don't think it's different looking except for a few that have tops so brown it looks like the makers sprinkled sugar after it was set. It was interesting as it puffed up like a dutch baby, and kind of smelled like one too. :) I also loved the throw it all in the blender and that's all there is. I’m thinking maple with brown sugar ”burnt” topping might be good, too.

I want to make Nickel's broccoli pie, but I need to omit the bell pepper and cheese. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to add something . . . what do you suggest? Italian herbs, maybe? Basil? Dill weed? Something else?

I often make something similar but more in the quiche range (no flour or bp). Just the onion is fine (broccoli and onion is classic), or any aromatic. I wouldn't go strong on the herbs, but a little red pepper flake is nice. Oregano goes well enough with broccoli, but a lot of herbs really don't. If you want to add a little tanginess in the absence of cheese you can use goat's milk instead of cow's. If you want to add a little cheesiness, you can add some nutritional yeast. If you want to add brightness, try some lemon juice. Really, anything you like with broccoli should work fine.

plllog :So sorry about your lemon pie

Glenda, it was good eating! Just nothing I could call crust.

I tried Nickel's broccoli pie tonight, and it was delicious! I omitted the peppers and the cheese, but sprinkled the top very lightly with Penzeys Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle, which also contains basil, garlic, pepper, and parsley. Oh, and I used a little Herbes de Provence in the egg mixture. Now I'm psyched to make a gluten-free version for my daughter.

The "crust" is a bit of a misnomer. None of the Impossible pies have anything resembling a true pie crust, but the bottom layer holds the filling nicely and also facilitates removal from the pie plate.

Made one today with mushrooms, green onions, garlic, herbs, smoked salt and Swiss cheese - it really puffed up in the oven, and of course deflated as it cooled. Very yummy 😋

Alisande, sounds good! And GF should be easy.

Carol, that sounds interesting. What does the smoked salt taste like in it? (I don't think I’ve ever had smaked salt.)

Re crust, mine didn't have any kind of bottom differentiation. It served easily becauce I oiled the dish and custard holds together. I used a clear glass dish, and the bottom didn't brown or change texture or do anything crustlike. Just an even, yellow soft egginess bottom to top. The very top had a different texture skin of sweet and dry, which I think was the sugar on the top drying, melting and forming a melted sugar layer.

Smoked salt gives foods a smoky flavor, and you can find it smoked with various woods. The one I have right now is hickory. I don't use bacon or ham and I find smoked salt and smoked paprika provide the same sort of umami to many dishes.

I like to use it on fried eggs for breakfast sandwiches too.

I baked my 'pie' today in a buttered 9" Pyrex pan and top & bottom both browned a lot - baked @ 400F for 30 minutes.

We have achieved the impossible! Crust has happened. I starded making my usual kind of crustless quiche/egg bake in aa pyroceram white pie plate, rather than the clear Pyrex I use for pies. I thought instead of my usual eggy rich custard, I could try Dave's no-Bisquick (because I don't have any and it's a bother to make) amended recipe. No one said it had to be a clear dish and there was no trace of a crust on the lemon I made in clear. I made Dave's custard as written, in the blender as in Glenda's recipe, and the oven 350F with convection for 50 minutes as a combo between my usual and recipes here.

The filling is a diced bunch of broccolini and a couple slices of red onion diced smaller. Like I'd do for the usual, I scattered shredded cheese over the top. Pepper white cheddar. I forgot to season, but between the saltiness of the baking powder and the cheese (and perhaps the onion), plus the cheese's pepper, it didn't need it. There is plenty of salt flavor. I can definitely taste the flour, but in a good way, helping it taste like there's crust, though spread through the custard, not settled on the bottom. The bottom is nicely and evenly brown, in a way that browned eggs on their own never are, though it's as many above said, all browness but not a separate or thick layer. I’ve only eaten the tester wedge, and at cool enough to cut but not chill (i.e., just warmer than tepid, which usually isn't a good temp for flavor) but it tastes really good! A bit more like casserole than quiche, probably because of the flour. I think the lift from the large amount of baking powder is what lets it get away with only two eggs. That's fine with me, More carbs by a little, less fat by a lot, more protein could be added to the filling.

Dave, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this, but it's a keeper. Thank-you.

ETA: After serving this for dinner, I'd like add that the flour does seem to be a component of the "crust". Additionally, the veg floated and the batter below them baked to the consistency and flavor of custard cake. I might revert to the egg bake quiche-y stuff, but I'm sure I'll do this again, whether it forms the crust or not. It's much lighter.

Glenda, I made your lemon impossible pie yesterday, and it is a keeper. I do love custard, ang liked the custard that formed on the bottom. i appreciate your sharing the recipe. Next i will try the coconut version.

I make the coconut one sometimes, just using flour instead of Bisquick and sometimes I replace the coconut with a can of undrained crushed pineapple. I only use 3 eggs in mine.

Sue

Carol, I look forward to trying smoked salt! Do you use it in combination with smoked paprika, or (more likely) is it one or the other? I'll probably order it from Amazon since our one opportunity to find more exotic foods locally closed during the pandemic. Thanks!

our area Amish folks have a general store in which it is available.

I tried the impossible Mexican pie for dinner tonight. Not good enough to bother making it again again. Edited to add that I just baked the coconut impossible pie from Betty Crocker. It is quite good. I think folks would enjoy it more if they were not expecting the typical pie. Next I want to try the cheesecake version. Glenda Glenda,thanks for recommending the lemon and the coconut versions. I can always trust your recommendations and appreciate them.

I baked 3 Impossibly Easy French Apple Pies today. Giving two of them away.

Sue

I should make some of these sweet ones some time. I hate making pie crust, and even shaping a pre-made one. I knock myself out and still my Dad prefers a salty, bht laden commercial product. He's a child of the Depression. To him, that's the taste of luxury!

Sorry I didn't sees Alisande's comment until now - not sure why.

I mix and match with smoked paprika, and often use part smoked and part plain salt, since what I currently have is rather strong and seems saltier too. A few dashes are really good added to meatballs/meatloaf and taco meat too. Anywhere you might use bacon or ham as seasoning.