It’s National Pie Day, and what a splendiferous thing to celebrate! Pie in all its many incarnations is something to make the mouth water. And the seemingly endless variety of sweet pies are unique to our country. Yes, immigrants from all over the world have contributed to our culinary heritage … but pie as dessert? Well, we seem to have the corner on that.
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote in the mid 1800’s, “The pie is an English institution which, planted in American soil, forthwith ran rampant and burst forth into an untold variety of genera and species.” In fact, the eating of pie was once so ingrained in the American way of life that an Englishman printed a newspaper editorial in 1902, saying that our typical slice of pie a day was sheer gluttony. He suggested that a mere two slices in a week should suffice. Incensed, a New York Times editorial writer responded thus:
“It is utterly insufficient as anyone who knows the secret of our strength as a nation and the foundation of our industrial supremacy must admit. Pie is the American synonym for prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons. PIE IS THE FOOD OF THE HEROIC. No pie-eating people can ever be vanquished.”
On that note, let’s bake a pie! I am not going to go into the instructions for making a homemade pie crust. (I have every good intention of doing a video tutorial of one soon.) So, you need either one homemade crust, or a store-bought one. Please, just don’t get the kind already in the tin pan. I never ate one that did service to the filling put inside it. Plus, you are making a pie; half the fun is the crust (and if you’ve been practicing my Flaky Foolproof Biscuit recipe, you should have just about perfected the techniques you need to make a great homemade pie crust).
I’m not going to tell you how to edge it. Everyone has a different idea. I like to flute my pies.
For the filling, I debated about a two-crust fruit pie. But they are just bound to boil over in the stove, and they have a greater chance of a soggy bottom crust due to all that trapped steam. Cream pies are lovely, but they require “blind baking” the crust first—a technique that is not always easy even for a seasoned baker. So, I’m going to give you the easiest, most fool-proof pie recipe that I have: Southern Buttermilk Pie. Trust me, this is a big, beautiful bite of the South, and as simple as baking can get!
Southern Buttermilk Pie
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- sprinkling of nutmeg
Heat oven to 425° F.
Beat the eggs and sugar on low speed until combined. Put in remaining ingredients, except nutmeg, and mix just until incorporated. Pour into an uncooked pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg. 
Place on middle rack of oven to bake. After approximately 7-10 minutes, check to see that the crust edge is golden and the custard has browned. 
Cover the entire pie with a sheet of foil covering the crust and pressed to the pie plate to prevent more coloring. Bake for another 25-28 minutes (a total of roughly 35 minutes).
The pie is done when it is firm to the touch, but jiggles slightly. The blade of a butter knife can be inserted in the center and will come out clean, if the pie is fully cooked.
Let cool 30 minutes, then refrigerate. The custard will slice best after it has been chilled at least two hours.
I hope this recipe piqued your interest … and your patriotism. Are you one of those folks who longs to make America great again? Well, now you know the real secret to it, sugar: Get to baking some pie!
Southern Buttermilk Pie (download a printable version of the
Southern Buttermilk Pie recipe
)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- sprinkling of nutmeg
Heat oven to 425° F.
Beat the eggs and sugar on low speed until combined. Add remaining ingredients except nutmeg, mix just until incorporated. Pour into an uncooked pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg.
Place on middle rack of oven and bake for 35 minutes. After approximately 7-10 minutes, check to see that the crust edge is golden and the custard has browned.
Cover the entire pie with a sheet of foil covering the crust and pressed to the pie plate to prevent more coloring. Bake an additional 25-28 minutes, until custard is firm to the touch, but jiggles slightly, and the blade of a butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool 30 minutes, then chill in refrigerator for 2+ hours before serving.
Editor’s Note: Visit our Resources page to download copies of every recipe we’ve published,
including LOTS more from Ms. Sam!
