Southern Brown Sugar Pie is quick to make (only 5 ingredients!), richly flavored, and pleasingly sweet. Served with fresh whipped cream, this pie is a real crowd pleaser!
Food Regionality
Back when I was in culinary school, one of the first lab classes I took was American Regional Cuisine (ahh…memories). Each week we made a meal based on the area of the country we were studying, and it was an interesting class for me because I was unfamiliar with many of the dishes. When we got to Cuisine of the South, there were lots of new dishes for me (Hush Puppies? Hoppin’ John Salad? Shrimp Perloo?). Some items I had known and loved, especially the desserts like Pecan Pralines (we’re not surprised there), but had never made.
I thought of this class recently because my favorite show, Outlander, is back from hiatus (or “Droughtlander” as us fans call it…we’re a humorous bunch), and this year it’s set in Colonial North Carolina. I’ve mentioned before that I write a blog post on the Outlander Cast fan site called How they made it discussing the food and drink of the Outlander timeframes. Since the show setting is now the New World of the 1760s, I’ve been looking at recipes from the South that would fit in that time to write about for Outlander Cast. That’s how I discovered another unfamiliar but wonderfully easy and delicious pie, and I wanted to share it here…Dear Reader, let me present Southern Brown Sugar Pie!
Kind of like a cross between Butterscotch Pie and Pecan Pie (minus the pecans), Pizzazzerie's Southern Brown Sugar Pie is very quick to throw together...only five ingredients! (Well, eight if you're making the pie crust, which I usually do. Don't be picky.) Served with fresh whipped cream, this pie really is a crowd pleaser, especially since most people (in my acquaintance, at least) haven’t had it before. I highly recommend you give it a go!
Just five ingredients (plus a pie crust) go into making this delicious pie
Going into the oven, cooling after baking (slightly puffed up), then cooled and set.
Hey...where's my slice of pie?!
Scale up or down
I scaled my version of the recipe down from the original to make one 9-inch pie (or even one 6-inch pie using 1 egg and less baking time) instead of making two pies (not that haven’t an extra is a bad thing, mind you). If you want a deep dish or 2 9-inch pies, just double the recipe (except use 3 eggs) and just adjust the baking time accordingly. I've even converted the recipe into Southern Brown Sugar Pie Bars, a fun twist for pie in bar form. One idea I have (but haven’t tried…yet) is to reduce the vanilla to 1 tsp and add 1 Tbsp of bourbon instead (you know me…I add spirits in wherever I can!). If you decide to try the spirited version, please let me know how it goes.
Ah...a slice just for me
I'm ready to watch the Outlander Season 4 premiere...I've got pie and scotch!
I served my Southern Brown Sugar Pie at the Outlander Season 4 premiere party I attended on Sunday with lightly sweetened whipped cream and a wee dram of The Balvenie Doublewood 12 year old. Heavenly! What a great way to end Droughtlander…with friends, good food, good scotch, and great TV!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy
Southern Brown Sugar Pie
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 single pie crust, see Recipe Notes
- 1 cup brown sugar (7-1/2 oz, 213g)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (2 oz, 56g), melted
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (see Recipe Notes)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, optional
Procedure
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Roll out the pie dough, then ease into a 9-inch pie pan.
- Break up any lumps in the brown sugar (use your fingers, a fork, or both...actually it's kind of fun!)
- Whisk together the eggs, then add in the brown sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla, stirring until well combined and smooth. Pour the batter into the pie pan.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Check to see that the pie is baked through (it will be gooey but it should be set). If you're making a 6-inch pie (see Recipe Notes), reduce the baking time to 30-40 minutes. If you make one deep dish (instead of two 9-inch pies), then increase baking time slightly.
- Allow pie to cool on a cooling rack, then refrigerate to set up further.
- An hour before serving, take the pie from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (not strictly necessary, but that's how I like it). Serve with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Recipe Notes
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