Pono Pies

A friend was telling me about one of his clients, the baker of Pono Pies. As he was talking, a few other friends walked in and all said - oh, Pono Pies, sooo good.

Seriously? What have I been missing?

Pono Pies are locally made by a guy in Wailuku (the County seat of Maui). This is a small bakery, the main ingredient of his pies being - wait for it - breadfruit! Breadfruit? What is that? Let's just say a large weird-looking starchy fruit that grows commonly in the South Pacific.

Here's what his website says about his pies:
In Hawaiian pono means 'correct, beneficial, done in the right way.' My pies are made from Breadfruit from Kahanu Gardens in Hana, Macadamia nuts from Waiehu, and tropical blossom honey from Haiku. They contain no dairy, processed sugar, wheat, or any GMO ingredients. This makes for a healthy, satisfying dessert that helps to address the issues of sustainability and food security one bite at a time.
Intrigued? I was.... So I went to Hawaiian Moons (a natural food store in Kihei) and sure enough, they had two types of Pono Pies in their fridge. So I bought both - for the blog, of course! According to my friend, these pies are NOT baked, but set in the fridge. The consistency is creamy like cheese cake, but they contain no dairy.

Of the two, the lilikoi was my definite favorite. It was lemony-tart (lilikoi is tart) and just all-round wonderful. I would love to know what the calorie count on this is, because with the cheese cake consistency it seems really rich and decadent, though reading the ingredients, it's probably not (after all, it's healthy, right?)

Here is the ingredient list from the lilikoi pie:
Lilikoi filling: Maui grown breadfruit, lilikoi puree, Maui macadamia nuts, Maui honey, cashews, coconut oil, lemon juice, non GMO soy lecithin, salt and vanilla.
Crust: dried coconut, macadamia nuts, cashews, Maui honey, salt.
Most of these ingredients are indicated to be organic. And they are gluten free.

The coffee & chocolate one was good too, but having grown up in Austria, I am quite particular about my chocolate cake.

Looking at their website, I would really like to try the mojito pono pie! Here's where to find them. And if you go to Hawaiian Moons in Kihei, be sure to bring the Pueo discount card from our condo (if you are staying at one of our condos, that is) for a 10% discount off your entire purchase.

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