We don’t need an excuse to enjoy pie but we won’t pass one up either.
We are here for you — especially when it comes to pie. And to help you — and us — enjoy this special day to its fullest potential, we’ve rounded up a few favorite pie recipes. Dig in.
Ann’s Pecan Pie
Courtesy Royers Round Top Café
(Yields 1 10-inch pie)
Filling
⅓ cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 10-inch pie crust, preferably Royers Round Top Café’s pie crust (recipe follows)
1½ cups pecan halves
The Café’s Pie Crust
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup water
2 cups (minus 3 tablespoons) shortening
5 cups white flour
Dissolve the salt in the water and set aside. Cut the vegetable shortening into the flour, working the mixture thoroughly until it is crumbly. Add salt water to the mixture and continue to work the dough until the water is absorbed. Add several tablespoons of flour and continue to work the dough until it pulls cleanly away from your hands. Ball the dough up into three balls. Put them in plastic baggies and freeze them till you need them.
To use the dough, set it out on the counter to thaw for 3 – 4 hours or set in your refrigerator overnight. The dough is rolled out the easiest when it is chilled.
Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla in a bowl: mix well. Beat the eggs until very light. Add to corn syrup mixture. Pour into pie shell. Arrange the pecan halves on top. Bake at 350 degrees until the filling is set and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Blueberry-Thyme Buttermilk Pie
(Serves 8 – 10)
Graham Cracker Crust
2½ cups cracker crumbs
¾ cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons almond extract
Filling
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
⅓ cup butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons flour
1½ cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon thyme
1 cup blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For graham cracker crust, mix crumbs, butter, and almond extract. Grease 10-inch pie pan. Shape crumb mixture into pan. Bake 10 – 12 minutes in oven.
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside. Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl. Add egg yolks, lemon juice, and flour. Mix thoroughly, and then slowly incorporate buttermilk. Fold in egg whites, thyme, and blueberries. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool, and serve.
Jack Daniel’s Pecan Pie
Courtesy Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse
2 pie shells
1 ½ cups of chocolate chips
2 cups pecans
2 ½ oz. butter
10½ cup brown sugar
7 eggs
1 cups light corn syrup
1½ cups dark corn syrup
⅓ ounce vanilla
⅓ ounce Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
Prepare the pie shells buy crimping the sides decoratively and spreading ½ cup of chocolate and 1 cup of pecans in each pie shell. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the butter-sugar mixture. Then add corn syrups, vanilla, and Jack Daniels. Fill each pie and bake in a convection oven at 300 degrees or a conventional oven at 350 degrees.
Jack Daniel’s Crème Anglaise (Vanilla Custard Sauce)
2 cups whole milk
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla beans
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
In a 2-quart heavy saucepan bring 2 cups of the milk, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the scraped vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Slowly pour 1 cup of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly, into the egg yolk-sugar mixture. (Do not pour the entire yolk-sugar mixture into the boiling milk mixture, as it will curdle the eggs.) Whisk in the remaining milk. Pour the milk-yolk mixture into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil.
Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey. Strain the mixture through a fine wire sieve into a heat-proof bowl. Place the sauce in an ice bath. When cool, transfer the sauce to a bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days if well sealed.
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Photography: Courtesy Royers Round Top Café, Courtesy Tanque Verde Ranch
