Sugar Pie

As much as I know I should be easing into the New Year with lighter fare after eating my way through the holidays that doesn't seem to be happening. As I've mentioned, it's very, very cold in our neck of the woods right now. As a natural defence mechanism my body seems to be craving foods designed to help me keep warm with good old fashioned body fat. Last week it demanded macaroni and cheese. This week, Sugar Pie.

Sugar Pie isn't very complicated. It's basically what happens when you take some brown sugar, mix it with a bit of flour, egg and milk and bake it in a pie shell. In other words, it's a great idea. There are many recipes out there for sugar pie. Wikipedia even has an entry for sugar pie, although no specific recipe.

I took my recipe for Sugar Pie from Rose Murray's hungry for comfort, which is a great title for a cookbook. I refer to hfc often through the Winter months which seems to be when I most need comfort from my food. (Did I mention it's very cold?) Sugar pie is kind of like eating a really big butter tart without being slowed down by those pesky raisins or currants or nuts people often like to add to butter tarts. Serve yourself a slice with some whipped cream.

Sugar Pie

pastry for 1-9 inch single crust pie (I used a pre-made Pillsbury, from the dairy case)
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Fit pastry to pie plate. In a bowl, blend sugar, flour and salt. In separate bowl, beat eggs and yolk until frothy; beat in milk and vanilla. Stir into sugar mixture until smooth. Pour into pie shell and bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is set.

So what does good sugar pie look like? Here's what it looks like at our house: