Granulated sugar is great and all, but brown sugar reigns supreme in my eyes and a whole pie based around it is dreamy in my book. I had brown sugar pie (some call it Chess Pie depending on the ingredients) back in high school at a friend's house and I remember thinking there HAD to be something else in it to make it taste like there wasn't just a bowl of brown sugar dumped into a pie shell, but truly, the recipe is just a handful of simple ingredients and the flavor is so good! You can make it without any of the additional add-ins below, but I love the taste of the cinnamon and nutmeg, and they definitely add a dimension to this sugary pie. It made me think of fall (I'm all about summer but I cannot wait for fall) and it was awesome served warm or cold. I would highly recommend a nice scoop of classic vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, but it's not totally necessary ;).
Side Notes: I cheated and used Pillsbury's pre-made refrigerated pie crust, but use whatever crust you prefer! Also, browning the butter in this recipe adds so much rich flavor to this simple recipe!
PS. Could I have side "pie" any more in this post!?!
1 and 1/4 cup of brown sugar (I use light brown sugar)
1 stick of butter (8 tbsp.)
1/4 cup of milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of flour
Dash (about 1/4 teaspoon) of cinnamon and of nutmeg (optional but recommended :))
Dash of salt
- Heat the oven to 325F.
- Line a 9 inch pie pan (I use a glass one) with your pie pastry. Feel free to flute, crimp, etc. the edges! Place pie pan on baking sheet just in case the mixture spills over the crust while in the oven (it didn't happen any of the times I've made this, but better to be safe than sorry!).
- Place butter in medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until butter melts and begins to form brown flecks. Remove pan from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Feel free to pour the butter into a heat safe bowl to allow it to cool fully.
- Cream together sugar and room temperature butter. Add milk, eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined.
- Mix in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Pour mixture into pie crust.
- Bake 50-55 minutes (check on pie after 50 minutes - every oven is different) until pie crust is golden and there is a thin stiff layer formed on top of the pie (reminds me of the top of creme brΓ»lΓ©e!).
- Let the pie rest for at least 1 hour before placing the pie into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. This will ensure the filling sets, as it will remain quite liquid-y after it's removed from the oven.
- Serve warm or cold with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream! Don't panic if the top layer of the pie cracks - that's completely normal. Enjoy! :)