It Only Took 13 Years!

Thirteen years.  Thirteen long years.  That’s how long my husband had to wait for me to be able to make a good buttermilk pie.  Before I moved to Texas I had never eaten or even heard of a buttermilk pie (or brisket, jambalaya, gumbo & a bunch of other things).  I never knew what I was missing.  Buttermilk pie is wonderful, that is, if you can make one.  For some reason I could not make one worth eating.

The first time I made a buttermilk pie I couldn’t wait for Greg to take a bite.  He was gracious, but I could tell that the pie wasn’t a winner.  So I tried again and failed again.  I don’t know how many different recipes I tried, it felt like hundreds, but still no winner.  One night I made an applesauce custard and after trying it Greg began to laugh.  I wasn’t sure if I should be offended that he was laughing.  When he finally gained his composure he informed me that my applesauce custard tasted more like a buttermilk pie than any attempt I had ever made.  After that I decided that buttermilk pie was just one of those things I would never master.  I stopped trying to make them all together.  If Greg wanted a buttermilk pie he could eat one at the family Thanksgiving  dinner.

That was several years ago.  I don’t know what changed, but a few weeks ago I felt like taking up the challenge again.  I love to cook and bake and I decided I wasn’t going to let this pie get the best of me.  A few different recipes later and I struck gold!  For the first time in thirteen years I made a buttermilk pie worth eating!

I combined my sister-in-law’s pie recipe (with a little less sugar) and a pie crust recipe a dear friend gave me years ago.  The great thing about this crust recipe is that you make it in the pan you are going to bake your pie in.

Pat in the Pan Pie Crust

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil (I use coconut, but you can use veggie oil if you prefer)
3 Tbsp. milk

In your pie pan combine the flour, sugar and salt.  Then pour in your melted coconut oil and milk; mix well.

Pat the crust up the sides of the pan and press flat in the bottom.  For this recipe we don’t need to prebake the pie crust, but if you need it for a recipe that calls for a prebaked crust, it does well at 375º for about 10 minutes.

 

Buttermilk Pie

1 stick butter (softened)         1 tsp. vanilla                                                                                                     1 1/2 c. sugar                            5 eggs                                                                                                                 3 Tbsp. flour                             1 c. buttermilk

Preheat 325º.  Mix the butter and sugar until well combined.

Add flour, vanilla, and eggs; mix well.  You can add the eggs one at a time, but I usually just do them all at the same time.  Finally stir in the buttermilk.  Your mixture will not be thick.

Pour into your pie crust/shell and bake at 325º for 45 min, or until firm.  The top should look golden brown and the center shouldn’t be jiggly [yes, that is a technical kitchen term 😉 ]

Let the pie cool completely, this is the hard part.  We actually enjoy our pies even more once they’ve sat in the refrigerator overnight, but they rarely make it that long.

This recipe will make two regular pies or one deep dish.  You will have to bake longer for a deep dish.  I used to have about 6 pie plates but somehow over the years my number has been drastically reduced to 0.  So, I just use what I have.  The shape of your dish won’t change the taste.

Now go get in the kitchen and bake a pie!